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Moriarty's RUMBLINGS FROM THE LABS #26: SPIDER-MAN, HANNIBAL and ROCKY & BULLWINKLE + more...

I can't believe deniro is in this... by I'mAlanPartridge	Jan 25th, 2000 07:31:01 AM
i saw the trailer and wanted to cry. It just looked...I dunno...awful...but then i know NOTHING about it so id shouldn't judge (yeah right!)
But if you say so... by I'mAlanPartridge	Jan 25th, 2000 07:33:27 AM
I will suspend belief.
Wow, I'm actually excited with Rocky and Bullwinkle now by 7	Jan 25th, 2000 08:07:09 AM
Seriously, I am!
I'll eat his liver.... by Gil Reynard	Jan 25th, 2000 08:20:25 AM
I can't wait for Hannibal to come out.I like Manhunter and love The Silence of the Lambs.Any news on what the plot is going to be?
Matrix wins, je pense... by I'mAlanPartridge	Jan 25th, 2000 09:21:49 AM
Just becasue it showed effects can add to the plot of the film rather than being background candy. Having said that Ja-Jar was a TECHNICAL achievement - but an artistic mistake (ie. he wasn't 100% succesful). Whereas Matrix made the FX work for the plot. And I for one had never seen anything like it before.
Did You Say "Jess Franco?" by mrbeaks	Jan 25th, 2000 09:32:45 AM
The man is a filmmaking God. When it comes to inept directors, I'll take Jess over Ed Wood and Kevin Smith any day of the week. As for DDG, I rented it last week, and laughed maybe once; so, you'll excuse me if I don't await SUGAR AND SPICE with unbridled enthusiasm. How something so poorly conceived made it into production at New Line is beyond me. As Moriarty pointed out, I thought Miramax had the market cornered on uninspired teen comedies. However, you can chalk one up for New Line last weekend, as Miramax's estimates for DOWN TO YOU were off by a whopping $700,000; thus, NEXT FRIDAY is, once again, the box office champ. Really, though..... $700,000? And they're trying to pass that off as an honest mistake?
Good for De Niro! by cady	Jan 25th, 2000 09:54:43 AM
What's wrong with De Niro doing this kind of movie? I'm glad he's trying to do more comedy. He's also never done a family picture. Read somewhere that Kevin Smith (CLERKS, DOGMA) also thought that the script for ROCKY & BULLWINKLE was the funniest he's read in a long time. Looking forward to it. It opens opposite THE PATRIOT and THE PERFECT STORM, both vying for the same audience in the lucrative 5-day 4th of July weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out on top at the box-office because it's got the family market cornered. I, for one, would rather see it than the other two.
Intergallatic Geek Civil War: Phantom Menace vs. The Matrix! by Tall_Boy	Jan 25th, 2000 10:46:05 AM
The battle lines will be drawn! Who will come out on top? One thing for certain, this is gonna be bloody! Tune in March for the answer. I know I won't. I'm heading for shelter! (heads for the hills screaming at the top of his lungs)
Just curious... by Achilles	Jan 25th, 2000 03:21:16 PM
OK, this is not a precursor to a slam on any of the AICN crew or anything like that. I have come to enjoy Moriarty's insight, and I've always liked Harry's views when he gets down to the nitty-gritty of filmmaking. My question is this: what do these guys do for a living, i.e. how do they support themselves? Are they writers? Do they actually work in the entertainment industry? Do they make their living solely by working on the site? They do jet off to LA a lot (that can't be cheap) and they're always getting advance copies of this or that. It sounds like they spend an inordinate amount of time watching films or reading scripts, time that would seem to preclude the possibly of having a 9-5 job, unless that actually was their job. If I recall, most or all of these guys live in Austin, not exactly a filmmaking Mecca, so I doubt if it can support a large community of movie industry personnel (although I think Sandra Bullock and Matthew McC. live there). Just wondering, I don't mean to invade anyone's privacy, or anything.
Magnolia web sites by BenthicEx	Jan 25th, 2000 04:10:14 PM
www.tameher.com or www.wdkk.com (as in What Do Kids Know?) take you to the Magnolia web site. Kinda cool. I think we have the Blair Witch Project to thank for this "it's really real" advertising. I heard there is a Seduce and Destroy infomercial somewhere on TV. Can anyone confirm this?
this SFX thing is no contest by Lazarus Long	Jan 25th, 2000 04:20:57 PM
Please don't confuse the quality of the film or its story with the special effects. As one who has watched the documentary on the Matrix DVD, and seen many behind the scenes stuff for Phantom Menace (60 minutes special, etc.), it's quite clear that with the Matrix you have everyone creaming their jeans over one thing: the bullet-time photography, which the SFX people DID NOT INVENT FOR THIS FILM. Aside from that technique, you just have some good old decent effects. But Jar Jar criticism aside, the ILM people worked for years on the Episode One effects, and pushed the boundaries of every aspect of effects in film. I'm flabbergasted that you can look at an entire universe that was created, and then compare it to the Matrix, which isn't really more impressive for its time that Terminator 2 (again, one technique, the morphing, speaking for the whole film). This is just going to turn into another Anti-Phantom Meance debate, which should be behind us by now. From a technical standpoint, only a person with Zero conception of the creative process would believe this award belongs to the Matrix team. When the academy voters see the reel of highlights that ILM will provide for TPM, there won't be any question in their minds.
My first choice for the role of Peter Parker; Chad Christ by Jimmy the Saint	Jan 25th, 2000 05:27:53 PM
I don't think Jimmy Duvall is the best choice for the role. I just don't think he would be believable as a wizkid. Remember Keanu Reeves as an atomic scientist in Chain Reaction! shudder. No, my first choice for the job is Chad Christ who acted in Gattaca and Jawbreaker. Why do you ask? Age;The actor who is going to play Peter Parker has to look like a teenager, so the actor has to be in the age range of 16 to 23. Chad Christ has the right age. Appearance & Attitude; Chad has played a character in the movie Gattaca that is reminiscent to Peter Parker, when he was a geeky outsider at highschool. But Chad also played a confident kid in Jawbreaker, that acts like Peter after he became Spiderman. And he was believable as both characters, eventhough they couldn
SpectraDisc??? Fuck that... by Jopapa	Jan 25th, 2000 06:43:49 PM
Just the same way all the wars and hatred do, SpectraDisc is physical proof that not only does mankind not learn from its mistakes, but that their all a bunch of dolts obsessed with money and greed. Beam me up, Scotty. There's not a single brain here even worth a squishy shit.
Best Visual Effects? How about eXistenZ? by Stephen Dedalus	Jan 25th, 2000 06:50:38 PM
I didn't care for the movie itself very much, but the FX were fantastic, and I'm not just talking about Jennifer Jason Leigh in the tight leather mini-skirt.
Rocky and Bullwinkle Soundtrack by gromit	Jan 25th, 2000 07:50:43 PM
Let's see if anyone else thinks this is a good idea for the ending credits: Hey, Rocky by Boris Badenough. It's a novelty song from the 80's. I've got an mp3 at http://www.idrive.com/cslemp in the Shared folder.
Vampyros Lesbos flaw by pulpculture	Jan 25th, 2000 07:51:30 PM
The brief blackouts during the "Vampyros Lesbos" DVD are where Don May has dropped frames from his print. The prints May cobbled together to get the best transfer possible were not in the best of shape, and May decided the best thing to do was simply drop out the bad frames rathen than leave them (and their artifacts) in. Still, it's as good a transfer of the film as anyone is ever going to see.
I guess I'm not the only one who watched the Oscars last year... by EL Duderino	Jan 25th, 2000 07:51:53 PM
Did anybody remember when Scorcese and DeNiro were up on the stage about to present a series of clips of Stanley Kubrick (There was one other guy up there with DeNiro and Scorcese presenting this) and DeNiro's hair nearly took all of the seriousness of the event away because it looked so bad? Did anybody ever post a scoop on how that was the haircut for Rocky and Bullwinkle? Either way, I hope this movie does the series justice and doesn't turn out to be anything less than what the TV show was.
HA!!!!!II knew it!!!! by user id indeed!	Jan 25th, 2000 08:38:29 PM
You foolish naysayers once said Rocky and Bullwinkle would fail!!!Now look at you all!!!You believe!!!Yes!!!Gaze,my friends.Gaze upon the wonder that will surely be the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie!!!Go Rams!Superbowl,BABY!!!!!
TPM? Matrix? VFX Oscar? by Devils Halo	Jan 25th, 2000 09:28:54 PM
Matrix, while it is gracious eye-candy, did nothing to further the accomplishments of visual effects. there was nothing groundbreaking and they only succeeded in 'bullet-time', something already being used (and already OVER-USED). TPM may be well ahead of the pack for overall achievement, but I think people may vote for Stuart Little. Now if Jar Jar had fur... that would probably cinch the Oscar for ILM, but I don't remember too many hairy creatures in TPM swimming in washing machines. The VFX Oscar goes to advancement of the medium, not artistic uses. Tho I keep scratching my head as to why Babe won over Apollo 13, in a field missing a 3rd participant.
Can Lona Williams just steal ALL of Michael Ritchie's work while by Chthonico	Jan 25th, 2000 09:36:29 PM
So she rips off Smile to make the pathetically unfunny Drop Dead. That does'nt work so the next logical step? To steal ideas from Ritchie's incredibly smart (and woefully under-appreciated) Positively True Adventures of the Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom (easily Holly Hunter's best work- and Beau Bridges' too for that matter). Gee what else has Ritchie made that she can steal, since she obviously can't come up with original concepts of her own?
Where the hell is Fight Club? by Basilica	Jan 25th, 2000 10:15:21 PM
Damn the Academy, they leave Fight Club out of every frigging category! I understand why they wouldn't nominate best picture of director because the movie is way to subversive for them, but dang nabbit, it deserves at least a nomination for best special FX. I mean, come on, what was cooler: a fast boat going over some jumps, of a shot of the human brain, or of a jet liner being ripped in half? Now Phantom Menace will win best FX, no doubt about it, but Fight Club at least deserves a nomination.
Rocky & Bullwinkle movie might just work... by Kubrick	Jan 25th, 2000 11:43:20 PM
I remember seeing the trailer for Rocky and Bullwinkle. A wonderful parody of the trailer for the 1st Superman movie and a nice refrence to another live-action/animated movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Honestly, I think this movie may just be very good.
Rocky and Bullwinkle by ultraman	Jan 26th, 2000 12:48:22 AM
I just came back from the LA Gift show. You should see all the cool Rocky and Bullwinkle merchandise that is coming out. And wait until Toy Fair in New York. R & B is going to be a huge movie this summer which is why it has the 4th of July opening date. But the MOVIE EVENT OF THE YEAR will be at the beginning of the summer season by Universal again it will be The Flinstones. I know a lot of people didn't like the first one but this one is different. Live action and animation and a whole new attitude and cast. Everything you love about the cartoon will be reflected in the movie. Wait until you hear the details of the story Baby this is gonna ROCK. The casting is incredible and there's SOMETHING ELSE. Brian Levant directs Spielberg produces. Mark my words This will go down as one of the coolest movies Spielberg has ever touched in his carrer. DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID. I can't say anything else because I will be in BIG TROUBLE. 3 of the top movies of the year will come from Universal The Flintstones, The Grinch, Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Regarding the Oscars, who SHOULD win is often different from who by Niiiice	Jan 26th, 2000 01:37:41 AM
These aren't technical computer whizzes who are voting for the VFX oscars, its the members of the academy, for crying out loud! I'm sure you all know how Oscars often aren't just given out for a single performance, but also for their contributions to film and their bodies of work. Lucasfilm's presence is going to play a big part in their decisions...
I'm on the fence about "Rocky and Bullwinkle." by Cereal Killer	Jan 26th, 2000 02:33:11 AM
The teaser trailer looks like the worst kind of crap but Moriarty says the script is good so I'll reserve judgement for now. The effects award will probably (rightly) go to "Phantom Menace." The movie itself sucked but the effects are innovative. The only thing standing in its way is if voters mistakenly think Jar Jar, Watto and those Trade Federation guys are the sum-total of the effects. If they pay close attention to the cityscapes and vistas then "Phantom Menace" stands far above everything else that came out last year. It's just a pity that the script was so weak. As for "Fight Club," it had great effects but they don't give awards to movies that die at the box office. "Sugar and Spice" I'll go see since I enjoyed "Drop Dead Gorgeous." True it didn't push hard enough with the black comedy but it was still funny. As for "Spider-man," I always felt that having Parker invent his own webshooters was a weakness in the story and that he should've mutated so that they shot from his wrists organically. It doesn't make sense that he'd be broke when he invents this substance which would have many uses in the real world and would be worth millions of dollars. By rights if he were bitten by a spider and developed spider-like characteristics then he should be able to spin a web. Of course if we're being technical then the web shouldn't shoot from his wrists but should instead come out of his ass (or thereabouts). I still think that either Freddie Prinze or Nicholas Brendan make good choices for Peter Parker. This James Duvall guy is too Keanu-like for me. Parker isn't some dope-headed surfer type who looks like he bathes in bong water. This guy might make a good Jeff Spicoli in a remake of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (God forbid) but he's all wrong for Peter Parker. Also wrong would be Ryan Phillipe; right build but far too suave and in love with himself.
VFX and Technical Achievments are two different things by prajadhipok	Jan 26th, 2000 03:15:25 AM
Isn't there another section of the academy awards dedicated to Technical Achievement? I wouldn't be surprised if TPM was cocksucked in those categories, but think about it... which movie did you gawk over more when the scenes came in? Matrix's Bullet Time was actually innovative cuz its not really the GAP ad weve seen, its far more superior to that if you look closely. My jaw dropped first time I saw it, and I still get amazed by it.
Bullet time VS. Gap Ads by Niiiice	Jan 26th, 2000 04:00:05 AM
Its not all too obvious, but the GAP ads are frozen, then the camera rotates. On the Matrix DVD, the "innovation" came in when they decided for the characters to move while the camera moved and changed angles around them, something that showed heavy anime influence. How innovative that really is is subjective. Personally, I think they used it almost to the point of overkill in the Matrix, particaularly during the scene where Morpheus is jumping from the skyscraper and the agents shoot him in the leg. Just a thought....
Artaud in Austin by Achilles	Jan 26th, 2000 08:26:21 AM
Hey Artaud, I wasn't dismissing Austin at all. I've never been there but I do hear great things about the town. I'm sure it is a great place to live (hence the reason why big name actors are moving there). All I was saying is that I don't think it could qualify as a filmmaking capital of America.
VFX, best improvements? best use? or best innovation? by enigma	Jan 26th, 2000 03:09:05 PM
of all the nominees only TPM deserves the oscar for effects simply because how jaw dropping thet are. and as for all those who believe flo-mois a good story telling tool? how exactly realy? it hsows nothing about what its supposed ot imply, complete control of your environment, its just a spinny camera for gods sake. the REAL winner should be FIGHT CLUB. i dunno why it wasn't nominated, the title sequence was amazing. In fight club you only knew the things were cgi because you know no camera could move that fast etc. it is also a real use of the medium for narrative unlike a 'spinny camera' SPOILERS!! The film shaking literally The fake scene markers the title sequence the ikea room the basement bomb finding camera the Tyler vs Tyler fight the love scene the shooting himself the airplane collision need i go on? nu'uh fight club innovated special effects, its not an action film or a special effects film so no nomination despite it ebing the best use. and why no nom for mystery men?
Does this mean you're going to be regular again Moriarty? by All Thumbs	Jan 26th, 2000 05:31:16 PM
And I'm talking about your column, evil one, not your prune juice intake.***I tried getting into this Talk Back all day yesterday (well, at least three times) and got an error message. It's almost no fun posting the first time in a day-old Talk Back. The energy from the author isn't lingering anymore and the energy from spirited Talk Back fights, er, discussions is only starting to form. Anyways...hope everything is fixed and that we'll see a lot more of our fav AICN writers on here, regularly.
Fight Club is the 3rd best movie ever made and the best movie ma by darius25	Jan 27th, 2000 12:23:55 AM
Right behind Trainspotting (#2) and Braveheart (#1). Fight Club should win Best Everything HANDS DOWN!!!! That was all I had to say.
Ahem...Is there a Doctor Doom in the house? by Mahoney	Jan 27th, 2000 08:50:19 AM
Forget any other Spidey villian out there...Doctor Doom is the one you need.
Matrix vs TPM, now I want a nice clean fight, no punches below t by Palmer Eldritch	Jan 27th, 2000 09:15:06 AM
So what if the Matrix effects were used in the gap ads first so they're not as good as the TPM effects? like there hasn't been a mixture of live action and CGI combinations before, or totally CGI characters (Jabba in the SE anyone?) or motion capture. Anyway, what's wrong with movies taking effects and techniques from other forms. Does that mean that Januzs Kaminski shouldn't have his oscars for "Schindlers List" and "Saving Private Ryan" because natural light, handheld camera work and shutter effects were used in documentaries before feature films, or that Kubrick should have his Oscar for best special effects for "2001" posthumously taken away because he and Trumball copied the stargate "slitscan" technique from avant garde animators. A lot of TV ads have budgets and shooting shedules that are vast compared to movies if scaled up to the same running time (say 1 week and $1m to shoot thirty seconds, not even Titanic can rival that per frame!) Is is any wonder ads are the test beds for the most advanced FX.
Moriarity: Shyamalan is NOT a first time filmmaker! by mjr_8	Jan 27th, 2000 03:48:24 PM
He also wrote/directed "Praying with Anger"('92) and "Wide Awake"('98). Am I the only one who thought "The Sixth Sense" wasn't that good. Other than the gimmick, it is just Hollywood fluff. Not exactly DGA material. Where's Neil Jordan, David Fincher, or Milos Forman. Far better directors, far better movies.

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Moriarty's RUMBLINGS FROM THE LABS #26: SPIDER-MAN, HANNIBAL and ROCKY & BULLWINKLE + more...

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