Geoff Murphy.
Producer, director and screenwriter Geoff Murphy, a leading figure in New Zealand cinema’s renaissance of the late 1970s and early 1980s, died in Wellington on Monday. He was 80.
Murphy was best known as the director of Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth. Action-comedy Goodbye Pork Pie, a road movie starring Kelly Johnson, Tony Barry and Claire Oberman, became the first local film to gain blockbuster status at the box office in 1981, according to the New Zealand Film Commission.
“He deserves every ounce of credit for the brilliant things he did with The Quiet Earth,” writer-director Sam Pillsbury told Stuff Nz. “He was a genius and one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever worked with and I learned a lot from him.”
He was was a founding member of Blerta, the musical and theatrical co-operative that toured New Zealand in the early 1970s. His first feature,...
Producer, director and screenwriter Geoff Murphy, a leading figure in New Zealand cinema’s renaissance of the late 1970s and early 1980s, died in Wellington on Monday. He was 80.
Murphy was best known as the director of Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth. Action-comedy Goodbye Pork Pie, a road movie starring Kelly Johnson, Tony Barry and Claire Oberman, became the first local film to gain blockbuster status at the box office in 1981, according to the New Zealand Film Commission.
“He deserves every ounce of credit for the brilliant things he did with The Quiet Earth,” writer-director Sam Pillsbury told Stuff Nz. “He was a genius and one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever worked with and I learned a lot from him.”
He was was a founding member of Blerta, the musical and theatrical co-operative that toured New Zealand in the early 1970s. His first feature,...
- 12/3/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Cannes 1988 (L-r) John Maynard, whose feature The Navigator was in competition, Nzfc chief executive Jim Booth, Lindsay Shelton and distributor/producer Barrie Everard.
Many of our earliest highlights were at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1980 we took New Zealand films to the market at Cannes for the first time. We persuaded Geoff Murphy to rush completion of Goodbye Pork Pie and it became New Zealand’s first commercial hit in terms of sales: Six contracts for distribution in 20 countries.
John Laing’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt and Roger Donaldson’s Smash Palace earned success in the market in our second year – with Roger’s film getting one of our first deals for theatrical release in the USA.
In 1982 New Zealand earned official selection at Cannes for the first time with Sam Pillsbury’s The Scarecrow in Directors’ Fortnight.
That was followed in 1983 by Geoff Murphy’s Utu in official selection out...
Many of our earliest highlights were at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1980 we took New Zealand films to the market at Cannes for the first time. We persuaded Geoff Murphy to rush completion of Goodbye Pork Pie and it became New Zealand’s first commercial hit in terms of sales: Six contracts for distribution in 20 countries.
John Laing’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt and Roger Donaldson’s Smash Palace earned success in the market in our second year – with Roger’s film getting one of our first deals for theatrical release in the USA.
In 1982 New Zealand earned official selection at Cannes for the first time with Sam Pillsbury’s The Scarecrow in Directors’ Fortnight.
That was followed in 1983 by Geoff Murphy’s Utu in official selection out...
- 11/21/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Remember the warning to avoid ‘crossing the streams’ in Ghostbusters? Director Geoff Murphy enjoyed a world-wide release for this eerie sci-fi fantasy about a scientist who becomes unstuck in time-space, alone in an empty world.
The Quiet Earth
Blu-ray
Film Movement
1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / Street Date December 6, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith
Cinematography James Bartle
Production Designer Josephine Ford
Art Direction Rick Kofoed
Film Editor Michael Horton
Original Music John Charles
Written by Bill Baer, Bruno Lawrence, Sam Pillsbury from the novel by Craig Harrison
Produced by Sam Pillsbury, Don Reynolds
Directed by Geoff Murphy
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
New Zealand was indeed quiet on science fiction filmmaking before the massive production Lord of the Rings. When Geoff Murphy and Bruno Lawrence surfaced in 1985 with The Quiet Earth it was received as a pleasant surprise, a brainy alternative to the Australian Road Warrior series. Distinguished...
The Quiet Earth
Blu-ray
Film Movement
1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / Street Date December 6, 2016 / 39.95
Starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith
Cinematography James Bartle
Production Designer Josephine Ford
Art Direction Rick Kofoed
Film Editor Michael Horton
Original Music John Charles
Written by Bill Baer, Bruno Lawrence, Sam Pillsbury from the novel by Craig Harrison
Produced by Sam Pillsbury, Don Reynolds
Directed by Geoff Murphy
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
New Zealand was indeed quiet on science fiction filmmaking before the massive production Lord of the Rings. When Geoff Murphy and Bruno Lawrence surfaced in 1985 with The Quiet Earth it was received as a pleasant surprise, a brainy alternative to the Australian Road Warrior series. Distinguished...
- 11/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Back in 1991, Eerie, Indiana premiered on NBC. It was created by Karl Schaefer and Jose Rivera, who had two tracks of mind in creating the series. One, to create a show for children that didn’t pander to children and secondly, to have a fun and scary show. And you know what?
They succeeded.
Eerie, Indiana takes place in the titular town. We first meet Marshall Teller on his paper route. He’s relocated from the dank, rotting Big Apple. He misses it. His father, Edgar is an inventor for a company in Eerie called “Things, Incorporated,” and his mother, Marilyn is a party planner despite having lax organizational skills. His sister, Syndi is a regular, normal teenage girl. Marshall is the odd one out in his family it seems. But he notices that something is amiss in this ‘burb. He sees an older, fatter Elvis on his route. He...
They succeeded.
Eerie, Indiana takes place in the titular town. We first meet Marshall Teller on his paper route. He’s relocated from the dank, rotting Big Apple. He misses it. His father, Edgar is an inventor for a company in Eerie called “Things, Incorporated,” and his mother, Marilyn is a party planner despite having lax organizational skills. His sister, Syndi is a regular, normal teenage girl. Marshall is the odd one out in his family it seems. But he notices that something is amiss in this ‘burb. He sees an older, fatter Elvis on his route. He...
- 8/27/2012
- by Nathan Smith
- Nerdly
NEW YORK -- Matthew Lillard will star in the Lighthouse Entertainment 1980s-set teen comedy Endless Bummer, playing a surf shop owner who helps a group of teens track down a prized stolen surfboard.
The actor joins rocker Joan Jett, Khan Chittenden (Introducing the Dwights) and Jane Leeves (Frasier) for the feature. He plays a veteran surfer who built the board and joins its current owner and friends on a road trip from Ventura, Calif., to the San Fernando Valley to get it back.
Bummer is based on the real-life experiences of screenwriter John 'J.D.' Drury. Lillard joins the production of director Sam Pillsbury's feature this week.
Lighthouse's Steven Siebert (The Darwin Awards, The Rookie) is producing the film with Drury, Todd Wiseman and John Sclimenti (Riding in Vans With Boys). Rosemary Marks ("thirteen") is co-producing.
Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman will executive produce with Darren Quon. The Bummer soundtrack will include new covers of '80s songs from several Vans Warped Tour artists.
"This is a genuine story of a pivotal day for a group of young Ventura surfers in 1984," Siebert said.
The actor joins rocker Joan Jett, Khan Chittenden (Introducing the Dwights) and Jane Leeves (Frasier) for the feature. He plays a veteran surfer who built the board and joins its current owner and friends on a road trip from Ventura, Calif., to the San Fernando Valley to get it back.
Bummer is based on the real-life experiences of screenwriter John 'J.D.' Drury. Lillard joins the production of director Sam Pillsbury's feature this week.
Lighthouse's Steven Siebert (The Darwin Awards, The Rookie) is producing the film with Drury, Todd Wiseman and John Sclimenti (Riding in Vans With Boys). Rosemary Marks ("thirteen") is co-producing.
Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman will executive produce with Darren Quon. The Bummer soundtrack will include new covers of '80s songs from several Vans Warped Tour artists.
"This is a genuine story of a pivotal day for a group of young Ventura surfers in 1984," Siebert said.
- 8/22/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With the first two installments in the "Free Willy" saga snagging almost $108 million in North America alone, Warner Bros. is understandably taking another dip in the ocean with "Free Willy 3: The Rescue".
Handsomely crafted and smartly scripted with solid performances, the latest adventure about a boy and his whale is certainly see-worthy, although it could have used an occasional kick-start in the pacing department.
Given this summer's performance record of family-oriented features, the third "Willy" is unlikely to emerge as much of a catch at the boxoffice, but should make a bigger splash on home video. Greenpeace, meanwhile, should seriously consider adopting it as its official recruitment film.
Back again as Willy's best buddy Jesse is Jason James Richter, who has landed a nifty summer job tracking whales with his trusty mentor, Randolph (August Schellenberg). Both have been brought aboard by Drew (Annie Corley), a research scientist who's investigating a decline in the local orca population off the Pacific Northwest coast.
Their search leads them to a purported salmon-fishing boat actually belonging to an illegal whaling operation headed up by John Wesley (Patrick Kilpatrick), who has invited his 10-year-old son, Max Vincent Berry), on the expedition as sort of a rite of passage. When Max discovers his dad has more than sockeye on his mind -- namely a $200-a-pound trade in harvested whale meat -- he receives a jolt of consciousness-raising that puts a serious strain on their father-son relationship.
Richter, filled out from his last "Free Willy" outing and looking like a baby Ray Liotta, once again delivers a committed performance with a conviction that nicely plays off Schellenberg's easy amiability.
But Berry is the big find this time around as the tousle-haired, conflicted Max. A young man with an old soul, he conveys his character's dilemma with a wide-eyed honesty and sensitivity that bodes well for his big-screen future.
The director, New Zealand's Sam Pillsbury ("The Quiet Earth"), has a nice affinity for the naturalistic, British Columbia setting, while John Mattson's tidy, poetic script (incorporating characters created by the late Keith Walker) is a considerable improvement over the 1994 misfire "Milk Money". Still, the fundamental problem remains that there's only about an hour's worth of plot here that has been stretched and padded with unnecessarily lingering underwater images that may look pretty but do the pacing no favors.
Speaking of visuals, Canada-based cinematographer Tobias Schliessler certainly makes good use of the moody Pacific coastline and its challenging mix of light, shadow and fog. As for those Keiko stand-ins, the usual combination of animatronic and digitally composed creatures along with wildlife footage again makes for passable but not exactly groundbreaking effects work.
FREE WILLY 3: THE RESCUE
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. presents
in association with Regency Enterprises
a Shuler Donner/Donner production
Director Sam Pillsbury
Producer Jennie Lew Tugend
Screenwriter John Mattson
Executive producers Lauren Shuler Donner, Richard Donner and Arnon Milchan
Director of photography Tobias Schliessler
Production designer Brent Thomas
Editor Margie Goodspeed
Music Cliff Eidelman
Costume designer Maya Mani
Casting Judy Taylor, Lynne Carrow
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jesse Jason James Richter
Randolph August Schellenberg
Drew Annie Corley
Max Vincent Berry
Wesley Patrick Kilpatrick
Mary Tasha Simms
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Handsomely crafted and smartly scripted with solid performances, the latest adventure about a boy and his whale is certainly see-worthy, although it could have used an occasional kick-start in the pacing department.
Given this summer's performance record of family-oriented features, the third "Willy" is unlikely to emerge as much of a catch at the boxoffice, but should make a bigger splash on home video. Greenpeace, meanwhile, should seriously consider adopting it as its official recruitment film.
Back again as Willy's best buddy Jesse is Jason James Richter, who has landed a nifty summer job tracking whales with his trusty mentor, Randolph (August Schellenberg). Both have been brought aboard by Drew (Annie Corley), a research scientist who's investigating a decline in the local orca population off the Pacific Northwest coast.
Their search leads them to a purported salmon-fishing boat actually belonging to an illegal whaling operation headed up by John Wesley (Patrick Kilpatrick), who has invited his 10-year-old son, Max Vincent Berry), on the expedition as sort of a rite of passage. When Max discovers his dad has more than sockeye on his mind -- namely a $200-a-pound trade in harvested whale meat -- he receives a jolt of consciousness-raising that puts a serious strain on their father-son relationship.
Richter, filled out from his last "Free Willy" outing and looking like a baby Ray Liotta, once again delivers a committed performance with a conviction that nicely plays off Schellenberg's easy amiability.
But Berry is the big find this time around as the tousle-haired, conflicted Max. A young man with an old soul, he conveys his character's dilemma with a wide-eyed honesty and sensitivity that bodes well for his big-screen future.
The director, New Zealand's Sam Pillsbury ("The Quiet Earth"), has a nice affinity for the naturalistic, British Columbia setting, while John Mattson's tidy, poetic script (incorporating characters created by the late Keith Walker) is a considerable improvement over the 1994 misfire "Milk Money". Still, the fundamental problem remains that there's only about an hour's worth of plot here that has been stretched and padded with unnecessarily lingering underwater images that may look pretty but do the pacing no favors.
Speaking of visuals, Canada-based cinematographer Tobias Schliessler certainly makes good use of the moody Pacific coastline and its challenging mix of light, shadow and fog. As for those Keiko stand-ins, the usual combination of animatronic and digitally composed creatures along with wildlife footage again makes for passable but not exactly groundbreaking effects work.
FREE WILLY 3: THE RESCUE
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. presents
in association with Regency Enterprises
a Shuler Donner/Donner production
Director Sam Pillsbury
Producer Jennie Lew Tugend
Screenwriter John Mattson
Executive producers Lauren Shuler Donner, Richard Donner and Arnon Milchan
Director of photography Tobias Schliessler
Production designer Brent Thomas
Editor Margie Goodspeed
Music Cliff Eidelman
Costume designer Maya Mani
Casting Judy Taylor, Lynne Carrow
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jesse Jason James Richter
Randolph August Schellenberg
Drew Annie Corley
Max Vincent Berry
Wesley Patrick Kilpatrick
Mary Tasha Simms
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
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