The sleepy Japanese town of Minamata was the scene of one of the world’s greatest environmental disasters when it was poisoned by mercury in the 1970s. It was also the setting for a groundbreaking international treaty designed to control use of the deadly metal.
U.K. sales agent HanWay Films will use its platform at FilMart to unveil updates on “Minamata,” its drama-thriller about the celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith. His images from the toxic town gave the eco-disaster a heartbreaking human dimension, and put reckless big business on front pages around the world.
Johnny Depp stars as Smith, a colorful character who was a celebrated WWII photographer and later became close to jazz great Thelonious Monk. Smith ventured to Minamata near the end of his life, accompanied by his Japanese wife Aileen Mioko Smith.
“At that point, Gene [Smith] was about to give up. He wasn’t sure it was worth it,...
U.K. sales agent HanWay Films will use its platform at FilMart to unveil updates on “Minamata,” its drama-thriller about the celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith. His images from the toxic town gave the eco-disaster a heartbreaking human dimension, and put reckless big business on front pages around the world.
Johnny Depp stars as Smith, a colorful character who was a celebrated WWII photographer and later became close to jazz great Thelonious Monk. Smith ventured to Minamata near the end of his life, accompanied by his Japanese wife Aileen Mioko Smith.
“At that point, Gene [Smith] was about to give up. He wasn’t sure it was worth it,...
- 3/19/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Principal Photography has begun on Minamata, directed by filmmaker, writer, and acclaimed artist Andrew Levitas and starring three-time Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe winner Johnny Depp as celebrated war photographer W. Eugene Smith.
Bill Nighy has joined the cast of Minamata which will co-star Minami (Vision), acclaimed actor Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Ryo Kase, and Jun Kunimura. The famed Yôko Narahashi is the casting director on the film which is currently underway in locations in Japan, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Developed by Depp’s production entity Infinitum Nihil, Depp will also produce along with Infinitum Nihil’s Sam Sarkar, Levitas under his Metalwork Pictures banner and Academy Award® nominee Gabrielle Tana. Jason Forman, Stephen Deuters, Peter Watson, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Gabrielle Stewart, Stephen Spence, Peter Touche, Norman Merry and Peter Hampden will executive produce. Heads of department include César Award nominated cinematographer Benoit Delhomme, production designer Tom Foden and...
Bill Nighy has joined the cast of Minamata which will co-star Minami (Vision), acclaimed actor Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Ryo Kase, and Jun Kunimura. The famed Yôko Narahashi is the casting director on the film which is currently underway in locations in Japan, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Developed by Depp’s production entity Infinitum Nihil, Depp will also produce along with Infinitum Nihil’s Sam Sarkar, Levitas under his Metalwork Pictures banner and Academy Award® nominee Gabrielle Tana. Jason Forman, Stephen Deuters, Peter Watson, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Gabrielle Stewart, Stephen Spence, Peter Touche, Norman Merry and Peter Hampden will executive produce. Heads of department include César Award nominated cinematographer Benoit Delhomme, production designer Tom Foden and...
- 1/31/2019
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Johnny Depp has been set to star as celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith in movie Minamata, which HanWay Films will launch at the upcoming Afm.
Andrew Levitas (Lullaby) will direct Minamata based on the book of the same name by Aileen Mioko Smith and Smith and adapted by David K. Kessler (A Hard Day’s Day). Shoot is due to begin in Japan followed by Serbia in January 2019.
The film will follow the reclusive Smith after his celebrated exploits during the Second World War as he travels to Japan in the 1970s to fulfill a commission from Life editor Ralph Graves. Armed with only his trusted Nikon camera he goes there to document the Minamata disease scandal: an annihilation of a coastal community by the Chisso Corporation’s negligent mercury poisoning and local police and government cover-ups. The victims’ case against the corporation responsible for the environmental disaster represents one...
Andrew Levitas (Lullaby) will direct Minamata based on the book of the same name by Aileen Mioko Smith and Smith and adapted by David K. Kessler (A Hard Day’s Day). Shoot is due to begin in Japan followed by Serbia in January 2019.
The film will follow the reclusive Smith after his celebrated exploits during the Second World War as he travels to Japan in the 1970s to fulfill a commission from Life editor Ralph Graves. Armed with only his trusted Nikon camera he goes there to document the Minamata disease scandal: an annihilation of a coastal community by the Chisso Corporation’s negligent mercury poisoning and local police and government cover-ups. The victims’ case against the corporation responsible for the environmental disaster represents one...
- 10/23/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Johnny Depp will star as a real-life war photographer W. Eugene Smith in “Minamata,” which takes place in Japan in 1971.
Andrew Levitas will direct the film based on the book of the same name by Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith and adapted by David K. Kessler.
“Minamata” will start principal production in Japan and then in Serbia in January 2019.
Also Read: Johnny Depp to Produce and Star in 'Waiting for the Barbarians' in Production Partnership with Andrea Iervolino
Per the film’s description, Depp plays W. Eugene Smith, a war photographer from World War II, who in 1971, goes up against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan. With the glory days of World War II far behind him, Smith has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But an old friend and a commission from “Life Magazine” editor Ralph Graves...
Andrew Levitas will direct the film based on the book of the same name by Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith and adapted by David K. Kessler.
“Minamata” will start principal production in Japan and then in Serbia in January 2019.
Also Read: Johnny Depp to Produce and Star in 'Waiting for the Barbarians' in Production Partnership with Andrea Iervolino
Per the film’s description, Depp plays W. Eugene Smith, a war photographer from World War II, who in 1971, goes up against a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan. With the glory days of World War II far behind him, Smith has become a recluse, disconnected from society and his career. But an old friend and a commission from “Life Magazine” editor Ralph Graves...
- 10/23/2018
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The 38th Annual Saturn Award Nominations were announced earlier this week and we now have the full list of nominees. The Saturn Awards recognizing outstanding Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror releases in the last 12 months. Included in the list of nominees is multiple nominations for American Horror Story and The Walking Dead.
“Hugo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 each received 10 nominations as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films today announced nominations for the 38th Annual Saturn Awards, which will be presented on Wednesday, June 20.
Other leading titles in the Academy’s film categories were Super 8 (eight nominations); Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger (seven); and The Adventures of Tintin and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (six each). Rise of the Planet of the Apes breathed new life into a classic sci-fi franchise with five nominations, including a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Andy Serkis.
“Hugo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 each received 10 nominations as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films today announced nominations for the 38th Annual Saturn Awards, which will be presented on Wednesday, June 20.
Other leading titles in the Academy’s film categories were Super 8 (eight nominations); Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger (seven); and The Adventures of Tintin and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (six each). Rise of the Planet of the Apes breathed new life into a classic sci-fi franchise with five nominations, including a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Andy Serkis.
- 3/2/2012
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films has announced the list of nominations for the 38th Saturn Awards, which will be presented on June 20th. These are presented without comment, other than to say to certain TV series, “Surprise! Welcome to Sci-Fi!”
Hugo and Harry Potter Cast Their Spells and Lead Film Nominations for 38th Saturn Awards
Breaking Bad and American Horror Story Scare Up Most TV Nominations in Banner Year for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror; Winners to be Announced June 20
Los Angeles – February 29, 2012 – Hugo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 each received 10 nominations as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films today announced nominations for the 38th Annual Saturn Awards, which will be presented on Wednesday, June 20.
Other leading titles in the Academy’s film categories were Super 8 (eight nominations); Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger (seven); and The Adventures of Tintin...
Hugo and Harry Potter Cast Their Spells and Lead Film Nominations for 38th Saturn Awards
Breaking Bad and American Horror Story Scare Up Most TV Nominations in Banner Year for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror; Winners to be Announced June 20
Los Angeles – February 29, 2012 – Hugo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 each received 10 nominations as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films today announced nominations for the 38th Annual Saturn Awards, which will be presented on Wednesday, June 20.
Other leading titles in the Academy’s film categories were Super 8 (eight nominations); Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger (seven); and The Adventures of Tintin...
- 3/1/2012
- by Erin Willard
- ScifiMafia
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films have announced the nominations for its 38th Annual Saturn Awards. In the film categories Martin Scorsese’s Hugo and David Yates’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 each scored 10 nominations; whilst in the TV categories AMC’s Breaking Bad scored 6 nominations, followed by American Horror Story with five. The awards ceremony will take place in June in Burbank, Calif.
The complete list of nominees is below:
Film
Best Science Fiction Film
The Adjustment Bureau (Universal)
Captain America: The First Avenger (Paramount/Marvel)
Limitless (Relativity Media)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox)
Super 8 (Paramount)
X-Men: First Class (20th Century Fox)
Best Fantasy Film
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Warner Bros.)
Hugo (Paramount)
Immortals (Relativity Media)
Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Muppets (Walt Disney Studios)
Thor (Paramount/Marvel)
Best Horror/Thriller Film
Contagion (Warner Bros.
The complete list of nominees is below:
Film
Best Science Fiction Film
The Adjustment Bureau (Universal)
Captain America: The First Avenger (Paramount/Marvel)
Limitless (Relativity Media)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox)
Super 8 (Paramount)
X-Men: First Class (20th Century Fox)
Best Fantasy Film
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Warner Bros.)
Hugo (Paramount)
Immortals (Relativity Media)
Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Muppets (Walt Disney Studios)
Thor (Paramount/Marvel)
Best Horror/Thriller Film
Contagion (Warner Bros.
- 3/1/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Awards season may have come and gone, but sci-fi fans still have something to look forward to with today's announcement of the Saturn Award nominees.
The awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, recognize excellence in these genres, which are often underrepresented at other awards shows.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this year's big movie contenders are "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2," "Hugo," tied with 10 nominations each.
A number of the movies scoring big have been commercial successes but have not received awards show love, including J.J. Abrams' $260-million grossing monster hit "Super 8," which nabbed eight nominations, and "Captain America: The First Avenger," which earned nearly $400 million worldwide, coming in with six.
One of the most surprising cross-genre hits is Woody Allen's romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris," which took home the award for Best Original Screenplay at Sunday's Oscars, in...
The awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, recognize excellence in these genres, which are often underrepresented at other awards shows.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this year's big movie contenders are "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2," "Hugo," tied with 10 nominations each.
A number of the movies scoring big have been commercial successes but have not received awards show love, including J.J. Abrams' $260-million grossing monster hit "Super 8," which nabbed eight nominations, and "Captain America: The First Avenger," which earned nearly $400 million worldwide, coming in with six.
One of the most surprising cross-genre hits is Woody Allen's romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris," which took home the award for Best Original Screenplay at Sunday's Oscars, in...
- 2/29/2012
- by Sarah Crow
- NextMovie
Immortals is a flagrantly artificial, insanely violent film. 'Insanely' violent because minutes at a time pass where the frame is filled with nothing but graphically split bodies and crushingly brutal combat, with no point beyond the arresting visual of digital viscera in slow motion. But the director of Immortals, Tarsem, who also made The Cell and The Fall, is talented at fooling us into thinking that looking cool is good enough, and so I drank in the gory violence like spring water at an oasis. The movie is as dumb as it is gory and pretty. It is, on one hand, imaginative enough to present a creepy and ugly reworking of the myth of the Minotaur. But on the other it is so blind to all but the self-indulgence of beautiful design that all concerns are subverted to the cause of presenting weird and beautiful things. It sets up potentially provocative conflicts,...
- 11/11/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
If you're a fan of uber-bloody action film or consider yourself visual effects fetishist, Immortals -- the latest theatrical release from stylemaster Tarsem Singh -- won't disappoint. On the contrary, if you're looking for a film which successfully shows the scope of Greek mythology in a discernible story line filled with interesting characters you may not be too pleased. Immortals is pure, unadulterated eye candy. The film contains some of the best augmented reality effects I've ever seen, let alone this year. Director Tarsem Singh (the Cell) successfully blends the vivid aesthetics brought together by director of photography Brendan Galvin (Behind Enemy Lines) and production designer Tom Foden with a surprising score by composer Trevor Morris to make a roller coaster ride for the...
- 11/11/2011
- by Pietro Filipponi
- The Daily BLAM!
Filming on Relativity Media’s comedy action-adventure Untitled Snow White will begin on Monday, June 20, 2011, under the stylish direction of Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Cell).
In Relativity’s Untitled Snow White starring Oscar-winner Julia Roberts and breakout star Lily Collins (The Blind Side), an evil Queen (Roberts) steals control of a kingdom, and an exiled princess (Collins) enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the imagination of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the object of their affection, Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.
Rounding out the cast are: Mare Winningham (Brothers) as Baker Margaret, Michael Lerner (Elf) as Baron, Robert Emms (War Horse) as Renbock, and Mark Povinelli (Water for Elephants...
In Relativity’s Untitled Snow White starring Oscar-winner Julia Roberts and breakout star Lily Collins (The Blind Side), an evil Queen (Roberts) steals control of a kingdom, and an exiled princess (Collins) enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the imagination of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the object of their affection, Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.
Rounding out the cast are: Mare Winningham (Brothers) as Baker Margaret, Michael Lerner (Elf) as Baron, Robert Emms (War Horse) as Renbock, and Mark Povinelli (Water for Elephants...
- 6/16/2011
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Roberts, Collins, Hammer & Lane Star
(Beverly Hills, CA) June 15, 2011 . Filming on Relativity Media.s comedy action-adventure Untitled Snow White will begin on Monday, June 20, 2011, under the stylish direction of Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Cell).
In Relativity’s Untitled Snow White starring Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts and breakout star Lilly Collins (The Blind Side), an evil Queen (Roberts) steals control of a kingdom, and an exiled princess (Collins) enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the imagination of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the object of their affection, Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.
Rounding out the cast are: Mare Winningham (Brothers) as Baker Margaret, Michael Lerner (Elf) as Baron, Robert Emms (War Horse) as Renbock,...
(Beverly Hills, CA) June 15, 2011 . Filming on Relativity Media.s comedy action-adventure Untitled Snow White will begin on Monday, June 20, 2011, under the stylish direction of Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Cell).
In Relativity’s Untitled Snow White starring Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts and breakout star Lilly Collins (The Blind Side), an evil Queen (Roberts) steals control of a kingdom, and an exiled princess (Collins) enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the imagination of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the object of their affection, Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.
Rounding out the cast are: Mare Winningham (Brothers) as Baker Margaret, Michael Lerner (Elf) as Baron, Robert Emms (War Horse) as Renbock,...
- 6/15/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Generally, such news is not the sort of thing I find worth mentioning, but despite even the inclusion of Julia Roberts (because I am no sort of fan of hers), I find myself bizarrely excited for this project. The day-to-day news release of yet another cast member became something of a joke among film bloggers, but that doesn't mean it isn't an interesting cast that was being reported.
However, dodging a lot of people's interest (an piquing mine) is the fact that Tarsem Singh is directing. Not that people aren't mentioning it, naturally, but few seem especially moved by his name the way I am. They perhaps don't have quite the love for The Fall that I do, but I'm looking forward to anything he's attached to, even Immortals, which might ordinarily manage little, if any, interest from me.
Also, the thing is apparently billing itself as a "comedy action-adventure,...
However, dodging a lot of people's interest (an piquing mine) is the fact that Tarsem Singh is directing. Not that people aren't mentioning it, naturally, but few seem especially moved by his name the way I am. They perhaps don't have quite the love for The Fall that I do, but I'm looking forward to anything he's attached to, even Immortals, which might ordinarily manage little, if any, interest from me.
Also, the thing is apparently billing itself as a "comedy action-adventure,...
- 6/15/2011
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Filming on Relativity Media’s comedy action-adventure Untitled Snow White will begin on Monday, June 20, 2011, under the stylish direction of Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Cell).In Relativity's Untitled Snow White starring Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts and breakout star Lilly Collins (The Blind Side), an evil Queen (Roberts) steals control of a kingdom, and an exiled princess (Collins) enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the imagination of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as the object of their affection, Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.Rounding out the cast are: Mare Winningham (Brothers) as Baker Margaret, Michael Lerner (Elf) as Baron and Mark Povinelli (Water for Elephants), Jordan Prentice (Harold & Kumar Go to...
- 6/15/2011
- LRMonline.com
Glenn from Stale Popcorn here to throw in two cents worth of discussion about the year 2000 per Nathaniel's request.
It was quite surprising to read the other day that Nathaniel Rogers had not seen Tarsem Singh's The Cell. I know he can be a bit queasy when it comes to horror, but there are quite a few cinephiles who swear by that movie as some sort of masterpiece. From two completely different ends of the spectrum there is Roger Ebert, whose four-star opinion might not hold much (much?) weight these days, but reading his four-star rave (and later top ten placement) of the time in 2000 was influential in my desire to see the film. And then there's Nick Davis' rave, which makes me sit here and scream "Yes! Of course!" a lot. In my own humble opinion I say that The Cell is a stunning very-very almost masterpiece.
It was quite surprising to read the other day that Nathaniel Rogers had not seen Tarsem Singh's The Cell. I know he can be a bit queasy when it comes to horror, but there are quite a few cinephiles who swear by that movie as some sort of masterpiece. From two completely different ends of the spectrum there is Roger Ebert, whose four-star opinion might not hold much (much?) weight these days, but reading his four-star rave (and later top ten placement) of the time in 2000 was influential in my desire to see the film. And then there's Nick Davis' rave, which makes me sit here and scream "Yes! Of course!" a lot. In my own humble opinion I say that The Cell is a stunning very-very almost masterpiece.
- 11/10/2009
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village", as does much his previous work, harkens back to an earlier era of scare movies, where what you don't see is more crucial than what you do. Literate and visually expressive, "The Village" relies on the soundtrack's unsettling noises, the strangely disturbing harmony of its colors and pristine innocence of its rural setting to provoke audience goose bumps.
Unlike "The Sixth Sense", however, the film's key revelation might be too mild to jolt audiences. Some may even feel cheated. The temptation is to declare the film's main appeal will be to older audiences. Yet Shyamalan's track record argues that his own branded style of suspense connects with all sorts of audiences. "Signs", a fairly routine alien movie, brought in more than $400 million worldwide, while "Unbreakable", which most critics and even many fans deem a misfire, still attracted $249 million worldwide. Thus, "The Village" may well salvage the Walt Disney Co.'s summer.
For most of the picture, the scene never changes. The writer-director traps his viewers in a 19th century town -- press notes claim the year to be 1897, but the design and costumes make it look much older. This almost too idyllic village spreads out over fertile farmland surrounded by a stately forest. A utopian community of hard-working, God-fearing folks have settled here, far from "the towns," as they quaintly refer to the wicked world. They also have a quaint way of speaking that combines flourishes of 19th century English with a Midwestern pithiness.
There is one problem: No one ever ventures into the woods. Threatening creatures lurk there, creatures they keep at bay with a color code that banishes all things red and finds safety in yellow. Large torches light the perimeter at night and a tower watchman is always on duty.
The death of the brother of village elder August Nicholson (Brendan Gleeson) prompts the usually silent and brooding Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) to volunteer to go beyond the boundaries to fetch emergency medicine for future use. Council head Edward Walker (William Hurt) rejects this plan, and Lucius' mother, Alice (Sigourney Weaver), can't imagine what possesses him to want to go to the towns.
Meanwhile, Edward's youngest daughter Ivy Bryce Dallas Howard), who is blind, boldly expresses her affection for the taciturn Lucius, who makes a striking contrast to her other best buddy, Noah Percy (Adrien Brody), the village simpleton, who laughs at all the wrong moments and plays rough games like a 10-year-old. As this chaste romance develops, the "truce" between the forest creatures and villagers gets broken. Signs appear on villagers' doors and livestock turn up dead and skinned but not eaten. A sense of dread sweeps the village.
The question in audience minds as the tale unfolds is where the real threat to the village lies. Is it beyond the forest boundaries, where one catches glimpses of what look like live red scarecrows? Or is it in villagers' homes, where locked strongboxes contain "secrets" from the elders' pasts?
Working with cinematographer Roger Deakins, Shyamalan favors simple camera compositions and little cutting, which allows actors to carry the day. And the one who gradually emerges to do so is Howard. Ivy becomes the story's emotional center. In a village where reticence is the norm, this live wire turns her affliction to her advantage and learns how to read emotions with her other senses. The young, theater-trained actress, who is Ron Howard's daughter, gives the role plenty of spunk but lets her vulnerability show through when she reaches the limits of her bravery.
Brody lends exasperating sweetness to his mentally unstable young man, while Phoenix is his exact opposite, so in control of his emotions that he appears not to have any. Hurt is the village's spiritual force, kind and forgiving yet fierce in his devotion to the community. As the widow Hunt, Weaver manages to suggest the mischievous woman she once was even as she plays her role as a village "elder." Gleeson is fine as always but feels underutilized in a role that lacks real dimension.
Designer Tom Foden's art department has expertly constructed 20 buildings on the 40-acre town site, creating a bucolic paradise. Ann Roth's earthy but surprisingly rich costumes indicate that this village must possess some pretty mean seamstresses. James Newton Howard's score becomes overwrought at times, but the dire tones do suit the mood.
THE VILLAGE
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures presentsa Blinding Edge Pictures/Scott Rudin production
Credits:
Writer-director: M. Night Shyamalan
Producers: Scott Rudin, Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan
Director of photography: Roger Deakins
Production designer: Tom Foden
Music: James Newton Howard
Costume designer: Ann Roth
Editor: Christopher Tellefsen
Cast:
Lucius Hunt: Joaquin Phoenix
Noah Percy: Adrien Brody
Ivy Walker: Bryce Dallas Howard
Edward Walker: William Hurt
Alice Hunt: Sigourney Weaver
August Nicholson: Brendan Gleeson
MPAA rating: PG-13
Running time -- 107 minutes...
Unlike "The Sixth Sense", however, the film's key revelation might be too mild to jolt audiences. Some may even feel cheated. The temptation is to declare the film's main appeal will be to older audiences. Yet Shyamalan's track record argues that his own branded style of suspense connects with all sorts of audiences. "Signs", a fairly routine alien movie, brought in more than $400 million worldwide, while "Unbreakable", which most critics and even many fans deem a misfire, still attracted $249 million worldwide. Thus, "The Village" may well salvage the Walt Disney Co.'s summer.
For most of the picture, the scene never changes. The writer-director traps his viewers in a 19th century town -- press notes claim the year to be 1897, but the design and costumes make it look much older. This almost too idyllic village spreads out over fertile farmland surrounded by a stately forest. A utopian community of hard-working, God-fearing folks have settled here, far from "the towns," as they quaintly refer to the wicked world. They also have a quaint way of speaking that combines flourishes of 19th century English with a Midwestern pithiness.
There is one problem: No one ever ventures into the woods. Threatening creatures lurk there, creatures they keep at bay with a color code that banishes all things red and finds safety in yellow. Large torches light the perimeter at night and a tower watchman is always on duty.
The death of the brother of village elder August Nicholson (Brendan Gleeson) prompts the usually silent and brooding Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) to volunteer to go beyond the boundaries to fetch emergency medicine for future use. Council head Edward Walker (William Hurt) rejects this plan, and Lucius' mother, Alice (Sigourney Weaver), can't imagine what possesses him to want to go to the towns.
Meanwhile, Edward's youngest daughter Ivy Bryce Dallas Howard), who is blind, boldly expresses her affection for the taciturn Lucius, who makes a striking contrast to her other best buddy, Noah Percy (Adrien Brody), the village simpleton, who laughs at all the wrong moments and plays rough games like a 10-year-old. As this chaste romance develops, the "truce" between the forest creatures and villagers gets broken. Signs appear on villagers' doors and livestock turn up dead and skinned but not eaten. A sense of dread sweeps the village.
The question in audience minds as the tale unfolds is where the real threat to the village lies. Is it beyond the forest boundaries, where one catches glimpses of what look like live red scarecrows? Or is it in villagers' homes, where locked strongboxes contain "secrets" from the elders' pasts?
Working with cinematographer Roger Deakins, Shyamalan favors simple camera compositions and little cutting, which allows actors to carry the day. And the one who gradually emerges to do so is Howard. Ivy becomes the story's emotional center. In a village where reticence is the norm, this live wire turns her affliction to her advantage and learns how to read emotions with her other senses. The young, theater-trained actress, who is Ron Howard's daughter, gives the role plenty of spunk but lets her vulnerability show through when she reaches the limits of her bravery.
Brody lends exasperating sweetness to his mentally unstable young man, while Phoenix is his exact opposite, so in control of his emotions that he appears not to have any. Hurt is the village's spiritual force, kind and forgiving yet fierce in his devotion to the community. As the widow Hunt, Weaver manages to suggest the mischievous woman she once was even as she plays her role as a village "elder." Gleeson is fine as always but feels underutilized in a role that lacks real dimension.
Designer Tom Foden's art department has expertly constructed 20 buildings on the 40-acre town site, creating a bucolic paradise. Ann Roth's earthy but surprisingly rich costumes indicate that this village must possess some pretty mean seamstresses. James Newton Howard's score becomes overwrought at times, but the dire tones do suit the mood.
THE VILLAGE
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures presentsa Blinding Edge Pictures/Scott Rudin production
Credits:
Writer-director: M. Night Shyamalan
Producers: Scott Rudin, Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan
Director of photography: Roger Deakins
Production designer: Tom Foden
Music: James Newton Howard
Costume designer: Ann Roth
Editor: Christopher Tellefsen
Cast:
Lucius Hunt: Joaquin Phoenix
Noah Percy: Adrien Brody
Ivy Walker: Bryce Dallas Howard
Edward Walker: William Hurt
Alice Hunt: Sigourney Weaver
August Nicholson: Brendan Gleeson
MPAA rating: PG-13
Running time -- 107 minutes...
- 8/20/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Sy the Photo Guy" is one of those people you see but you don't see. A nondescript middle-aged male who is so innocuous as to be invisible, Sy's also the perfect profile for the serial killer or silent stalker. You'd have to check the film's credits to know that Robin Williams stars as Sy, so under-the-radar is his expressively contained performance as a nebbishy photo attendant. In a similarly restrained vein, so too is the nontransparent power of this film, an absorbing and unsettling psychological drama that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reception.
With a deliberately minimalist set design, emblematic of the vacuity of Sy's life, and with Williams' brilliantly spare performance as the nondescript "photo guy," "One Hour Photo" is an eerie, often disquieting snapshot of a guy who, in real life, seems out of the picture. Sy toils away in a standard suburban mall, processing the film at the little entry counter and, in his own timid way, trying to make himself feel a part of the store. In actuality, he is just part of a cog, with little personal contact other than the younger attendant with whom he shares the mundane task of processing the film that's dropped off.
No one really knows him, but he is well aware of his customers and their routines, especially one very attractive young mother (Connie Nielsen) and her son Jason (Dylan Smith), whose photos he has developed for years. He has come to know them through their pictures and, in a weird sense, he comes to feel like a part of their family. Soon, they begin to recognize him for his courtesies and, with increasing uncertainty, for his somewhat invasive comments. Still, he's a milquetoast little guy with a funny dyed blond hairdo and large dopey glasses. In his little white uniform, dwarfed by the massive antiseptic interior, Sy seems utterly inconsequential.
With a shrewdly developed story line that ladles out bits and pieces of Sy's background and isolated personal life, we come to see that his small smile is not that of a happy observer but one who wishes to insinuate himself into the lives of a family he so desperately needs. Soon his peeping escalates to more invasive actions, focusing in on this seemingly picture-perfect family. Throughout this chilly scenario, writer-director Mark Romanek has distilled Sy's small peculiarities and probed them in such a manner that we come to see him as an out-of-control monster, a man who is just outside the frame of people's lives but who can suddenly strike with deadly force.
Williams' powerful performance, including his singsong little voice, is utterly scary. The other performances are, similarly, smartly drawn -- most prominently Nielsen as the offhandedly alluring wife and mother. Michael Vartan is convincing as the head of the household who has some stray arrows in his direction, while Smith is endearingly vulnerable as the couple's small child. Eriq La Salle brings a crisp, intelligent manner to his role of a police detective, while Gary Cole is well-cast as the discount chain's Rotweiller-tempered manager.
Perhaps the real star of this production is the terrific production team. Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth's smartly empty compositions are packed with menace, while production designer Tom Foden's sterile sets are wonderfully drained of human warmth. At every moment, we feel the emptiness and disquiet of Sy's disturbed little world.
ONE HOUR PHOTO
Fox Searchlight Pictures
A Killer Films production
Producers: Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, Stan Wlodkowski
Screenwriter-director: Mark Romanek
Executive producers: Robert B. Sturm, Jeremy W. Barer
Director of photography: Jeff Cronenweth
Production designer: Tom Foden
Costume designer: Arianne Phillips
Editor: Jeff Ford
Color/stereo
Cast:
Seymour "Sy" Parrish: Robin Williams
Nina Yorkin: Connie Nielsen
Will Yorkin: Michael Vartan
Bill Owens: Gary Cole
Detective Van Der Zee: Eriq La Salle
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
With a deliberately minimalist set design, emblematic of the vacuity of Sy's life, and with Williams' brilliantly spare performance as the nondescript "photo guy," "One Hour Photo" is an eerie, often disquieting snapshot of a guy who, in real life, seems out of the picture. Sy toils away in a standard suburban mall, processing the film at the little entry counter and, in his own timid way, trying to make himself feel a part of the store. In actuality, he is just part of a cog, with little personal contact other than the younger attendant with whom he shares the mundane task of processing the film that's dropped off.
No one really knows him, but he is well aware of his customers and their routines, especially one very attractive young mother (Connie Nielsen) and her son Jason (Dylan Smith), whose photos he has developed for years. He has come to know them through their pictures and, in a weird sense, he comes to feel like a part of their family. Soon, they begin to recognize him for his courtesies and, with increasing uncertainty, for his somewhat invasive comments. Still, he's a milquetoast little guy with a funny dyed blond hairdo and large dopey glasses. In his little white uniform, dwarfed by the massive antiseptic interior, Sy seems utterly inconsequential.
With a shrewdly developed story line that ladles out bits and pieces of Sy's background and isolated personal life, we come to see that his small smile is not that of a happy observer but one who wishes to insinuate himself into the lives of a family he so desperately needs. Soon his peeping escalates to more invasive actions, focusing in on this seemingly picture-perfect family. Throughout this chilly scenario, writer-director Mark Romanek has distilled Sy's small peculiarities and probed them in such a manner that we come to see him as an out-of-control monster, a man who is just outside the frame of people's lives but who can suddenly strike with deadly force.
Williams' powerful performance, including his singsong little voice, is utterly scary. The other performances are, similarly, smartly drawn -- most prominently Nielsen as the offhandedly alluring wife and mother. Michael Vartan is convincing as the head of the household who has some stray arrows in his direction, while Smith is endearingly vulnerable as the couple's small child. Eriq La Salle brings a crisp, intelligent manner to his role of a police detective, while Gary Cole is well-cast as the discount chain's Rotweiller-tempered manager.
Perhaps the real star of this production is the terrific production team. Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth's smartly empty compositions are packed with menace, while production designer Tom Foden's sterile sets are wonderfully drained of human warmth. At every moment, we feel the emptiness and disquiet of Sy's disturbed little world.
ONE HOUR PHOTO
Fox Searchlight Pictures
A Killer Films production
Producers: Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, Stan Wlodkowski
Screenwriter-director: Mark Romanek
Executive producers: Robert B. Sturm, Jeremy W. Barer
Director of photography: Jeff Cronenweth
Production designer: Tom Foden
Costume designer: Arianne Phillips
Editor: Jeff Ford
Color/stereo
Cast:
Seymour "Sy" Parrish: Robin Williams
Nina Yorkin: Connie Nielsen
Will Yorkin: Michael Vartan
Bill Owens: Gary Cole
Detective Van Der Zee: Eriq La Salle
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/23/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
You know from the pair of costume designer credits that "The Cell", starring Jennifer Lopez as an unconventional child psychologist who makes transcendental house calls to the unconscious minds of her problematic patients, isn't going to be about the script.
But that still doesn't prepare you for the ludicrous lengths that this ponderously arty mess of grotesque imagery and mind-numbing claptrap will go to in order to make a statement.
Thanks to Tarsem Singh, a video and commercial director who prefers to be known by his first name alone, this trippy take on "The Silence of the Lambs" does manage initially to catch the eye, but unlike a four-minute video or 30-second commercial, it all gets just a little pretentious by the half-hour mark.
An hour beyond that, medication begins to sound like an attractive option.
Still, if anyone can open this kind of stuff, it's New Line, but it remains to be seen if Lopez, who interrupted her promising acting career for a shot at pop stardom, will again be embraced by movie audiences -- particularly in something that could be mistaken for a collection of outtakes from her music videos.
As dedicated psychologist Catherine Dean, Lopez has all the personality of a synapse as she bravely enters the demented minds of the severely damaged, like serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), a particularly sick puppy who's fond of videotaping his blond victims as they slowly drown in water-filled glass cages.
Dean is hoping to discover the whereabouts of Stargher's latest victim before it's too late by tapping into the cerebral cortex of the killer's inner child, courtesy of a nifty Neurological Cartography and Synaptic Transfer System.
When things get just a little too crazy over in Stargher's noggin, Dean receives a little psychotropic backup from FBI agent Peter Novak (an equally comatose Vince Vaughn), and ultimately the pair manage to save the proverbial day.
Director Tarsem, who was responsible for R.E.M.'s memorable "Losing My Religion" clip, adopts a similar visual approach here, evoking the surreal kitsch of a vintage Kenneth Anger short. But the darker it gets, the sillier it gets, and the oh-so-somber script by Mark Protosevich (a former reader for Scott Rudin) certainly doesn't help matters.
Neither do the leads' bland, lifeless performances. At least D'Onofrio, an actor who has never met a bizarro role he hasn't liked, manages to be effectively creepy without feeling the need to chew on the scenery, not that all the other world overload couldn't have stood more than a little trimming.
THE CELL
New Line
New Line Cinema presents
a Caro-McLeod/Radical Media production
Director: Tarsem Singh
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich
Producers: Julio Caro, Eric McLeod
Executive producers: Donna Langley, Carolyn Manetti
Director of photography: Paul Laufer
Production designer: Tom Foden
Editors: Paul Rubell, Robert Duffy
Costume designers: Eiko Ishioka, April Napier
Visual effects supervisor: Kevin Tod Haug
Music: Howard Shore
Color/stereo
Cast:
Catherine Deane: Jennifer Lopez
FBI agent Peter Novak: Vince Vaughn
Carl Stargher: Vincent D'Onofrio
Dr. Miriam Kent: Marianne Jean-Baptiste
FBI agent Gordon Ramsey: Jake Weber
Henry West: Dylan Baker
Young Carl Stargher: Jake Thomas
Running time -- 108 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
But that still doesn't prepare you for the ludicrous lengths that this ponderously arty mess of grotesque imagery and mind-numbing claptrap will go to in order to make a statement.
Thanks to Tarsem Singh, a video and commercial director who prefers to be known by his first name alone, this trippy take on "The Silence of the Lambs" does manage initially to catch the eye, but unlike a four-minute video or 30-second commercial, it all gets just a little pretentious by the half-hour mark.
An hour beyond that, medication begins to sound like an attractive option.
Still, if anyone can open this kind of stuff, it's New Line, but it remains to be seen if Lopez, who interrupted her promising acting career for a shot at pop stardom, will again be embraced by movie audiences -- particularly in something that could be mistaken for a collection of outtakes from her music videos.
As dedicated psychologist Catherine Dean, Lopez has all the personality of a synapse as she bravely enters the demented minds of the severely damaged, like serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), a particularly sick puppy who's fond of videotaping his blond victims as they slowly drown in water-filled glass cages.
Dean is hoping to discover the whereabouts of Stargher's latest victim before it's too late by tapping into the cerebral cortex of the killer's inner child, courtesy of a nifty Neurological Cartography and Synaptic Transfer System.
When things get just a little too crazy over in Stargher's noggin, Dean receives a little psychotropic backup from FBI agent Peter Novak (an equally comatose Vince Vaughn), and ultimately the pair manage to save the proverbial day.
Director Tarsem, who was responsible for R.E.M.'s memorable "Losing My Religion" clip, adopts a similar visual approach here, evoking the surreal kitsch of a vintage Kenneth Anger short. But the darker it gets, the sillier it gets, and the oh-so-somber script by Mark Protosevich (a former reader for Scott Rudin) certainly doesn't help matters.
Neither do the leads' bland, lifeless performances. At least D'Onofrio, an actor who has never met a bizarro role he hasn't liked, manages to be effectively creepy without feeling the need to chew on the scenery, not that all the other world overload couldn't have stood more than a little trimming.
THE CELL
New Line
New Line Cinema presents
a Caro-McLeod/Radical Media production
Director: Tarsem Singh
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich
Producers: Julio Caro, Eric McLeod
Executive producers: Donna Langley, Carolyn Manetti
Director of photography: Paul Laufer
Production designer: Tom Foden
Editors: Paul Rubell, Robert Duffy
Costume designers: Eiko Ishioka, April Napier
Visual effects supervisor: Kevin Tod Haug
Music: Howard Shore
Color/stereo
Cast:
Catherine Deane: Jennifer Lopez
FBI agent Peter Novak: Vince Vaughn
Carl Stargher: Vincent D'Onofrio
Dr. Miriam Kent: Marianne Jean-Baptiste
FBI agent Gordon Ramsey: Jake Weber
Henry West: Dylan Baker
Young Carl Stargher: Jake Thomas
Running time -- 108 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/14/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.