Showing posts with label George Clooney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Clooney. Show all posts

Alfonso Cuaron Defies Odds to Bring "Gravity" to Big Screen

9:14:00 PM

“I have always had a fascination with space and space exploration,” states Alfonso Cuarón, the director, producer and co-writer of Warner Bros.’ new dramatic thriller “Gravity.” He continues, “On the one hand, there is something mythical and romantic about the idea of separating yourself from Mother Earth. But in many ways, it doesn’t make sense to be out there when life is down here.”

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In “Gravity,” Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) in command. But on a seemingly routine mission, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

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“Gravity” was co-written by Alfonso Cuarón and his son, Jonás, marking their first official collaboration. “I was inspired by Jonás’s ideas for the movie,” Alfonso says. “I was very intrigued by his sense of pace in a life-or-death situation that dealt primarily with a single character’s point of view. But, at the same time, placing the story in space immediately made it more expansive and offered immense metaphorical possibilities.”

Jonás Cuarón adds, “The concept of space was interesting to us both; it is a setting where there is no easy way to survive, thousands of miles from what we call home, so it was perfect for a movie about surmounting adversities and having to find your way back. We also wanted it to be a realistic story, which required us to do extensive research to become familiar with space exploration in order to depict a plausible scenario.”

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The filmmakers soon discovered that they would need to push the boundaries of moviemaking to tell a story that transpires wholly in zero gravity. “I have to say that I was a bit naïve; I thought making the film would be a lot simpler,” Cuarón admits. “Yes, I knew it would require a certain amount of tricks, but it was not until we started trying conventional techniques that I realized in order to do the film the way I wanted to do it, we were going to have to create something entirely new.”

To accomplish that, Cuarón called upon cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, and visual effects supervisor Tim Webber of Framestore. “From the get-go, Chivo, Tim and I decided we wanted everything to look like we took our camera into space. That would have been my dream, but, of course, that’s not feasible,” Cuarón smiles.

Simply put—though there was nothing simple about it—the filmmakers did not want anything akin to a sci-fi fantasy world, but rather to depict the stark realities of being marooned in the harshest environment known to mankind.

That objective turned out to be a game changer.

The filmmakers invented entire systems to generate the illusion of being in space in ways that were both totally convincing and utterly visceral. As a result, “Gravity” is a hybrid of live-action, computer animation and CGI, with sets, backgrounds and even costumes rendered digitally.

“Gravity” had been envisioned from the beginning as a 3D cinematic experience. Jonás Cuarón says, “The concept was always to do this movie in 3D because we wanted people to be truly immersed in the imagery as well as the narrative.”

That said, Alfonso Cuarón emphasizes, “We didn’t want it to be 3D for the sake of things flying in your face. We tried to be subtle…to let you feel like you’re inside the journey.”

Despite all the technological breakthroughs developed in making “Gravity,” the journey that remained the most vital to the cast and filmmakers was the personal one at the heart of the story—particularly that of Ryan, who is alone for a large part of the film.

“For us,” Jonás Cuarón offers, “the meaning of ‘Gravity’ isn’t just what keeps your feet on the ground. It’s the force that is constantly pulling you back home.”

The director affirms, “Throughout the film there are constant visual references of Earth as this beautiful, nurturing place. And floating above it is a woman who is cut off from her nurturing self. We wanted to explore the allegorical potential of a character in space who is spiraling further into the void, a victim of her own inertia, moving away from Earth, where life and human connections reside. Amidst all the tools and effects, we were always clear that Ryan’s struggle is a metaphor for anyone who has to overcome adversity in life and get to the other side. It is a journey of rebirth.”

Opening across the Philippines in Oct. 3 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular theatres, “Gravity” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

"Gravity" Character Posters Debut Online

4:42:00 PM

Two new character posters for Alfonso Cuaron's “Gravity” are now online, featuring George Clooney's Matt Kowalsky and Sandra Bullock's Dr. Ryan Stone. Check them out below!

Academy Award® winners Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) and George Clooney (“Syriana”) star in the heart-pounding thriller that pulls you into the infinite and unforgiving realm of deep space.

In the film, Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

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Opening across the Philippines in Oct. 3 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular cinemas, “Gravity” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

First Look Photos and The Untold Story of “The Monuments Men” Finally Revealed

9:04:00 PM

A whole lot of art loot is at stake in the action-thriller “The Monuments Men” produced, directed and starred by George Clooney along with an all-star, high-caliber cast including Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin.

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Based on the non-fiction tome by Robert Edsel, “The Monuments Men” takes us back to World War II when Western Allies protect heritage sites at risk during the war and recover art treasures from the Nazis.

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Clooney who also produced the Oscar-winner “Argo” collaborates with writer/producer Grant Heslov in “The Monuments Men” to film an untold chapter during WWII when a group of men and women from different countries recovered thousands of stolen artworks perpetrated during the war. The task began with a small group of determined art professionals drafted for war – architects, designers and museum staff who will identify and protect museums, churches and other significant “monuments” from damage. As the Allies pressed farther into occupied territory, the team had to determine what had been stolen and where it was hidden.

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1170482 - Monuments Men 1170482 - Monuments Men

An impossible mission with an unlikely set of platoon trapped within enemy lines, “The Monuments Men” found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture and risk their lives to protect and defend mankind’s greatest achievements.

“The Monuments Men” will soon screen in local cinemas (January 2014) from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

"Gravity" Lifts Off New Trailer Called "Detached"

5:04:00 PM

Warner Bros. has just unveiled the new trailer of director Alfonso Cuaron's upcoming sci-fi suspense thriller “Gravity” codenamed “Detached” which may be viewed here at http://youtu.be/Te0qFeovxL4.

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Academy Award® winners Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) and George Clooney (“Syriana”) star in the heart-pounding thriller that pulls you into the infinite and unforgiving realm of deep space.

In the film, Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

A Warner Bros. Pictures production, “Gravity” will be released in the Philippines in Oct. 3, 2013 in 3D and 2D and distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

Bullock-Clooney Starrer “Gravity” Opens 70th Venice Festival

2:41:00 AM

“Gravity,” the new, much-awaited film directed by Alfonso Cuarón (“Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Children of Men”), starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, is the opening film (Out of Competition) of the 70th Venice International Film Festival (August 28 – September 7, 2013). The Festival is directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta.

The world premiere of “Gravity” will be screened in 3D on August 28th in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema at the Lido, following the opening ceremony.

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Cuarón's history with the festival dates back to 2001, when his film “Y tu mamá también” won the Golden Osella for Best Screenplay (by Carlos and Alfonso Cuarón) and the Marcello Mastroiani Award (Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna). Alberto Barbera was also the director of the Festival that year.

In 2006, Cuarón's “Children of Men” won the Golden Osella for Best Cinematography, honoring Emmanuel Lubezki, who is also the Director of Photography on “Gravity.” And in 2007, “Gravity's” co-writer Jonás Cuarón premiered his directorial debut “Año Uña” during Critics' Week in Venice.

“Gravity,” from Warner Bros. Pictures, is a heart-pounding thriller that pulls you into the infinite and unforgiving realm of deep space. In the film, Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney). But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone – tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

Gravity_TeaserPoster

 

(“Gravity” will be released in the Philippines in Oct. 3, 2013 in 3D and 2D and distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.)

Movie Review: The Descendants

6:23:00 AM

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One thing that I hate about some Academy nominated films is that you go out of the movie theatre, feeling that you’ve been preached, or with a heavy heart due to the complexities of the story and the problems of the character, or just plain dumbfounded because you failed to understand a thing about the movie you just watched. This is somehow the feeling that I am expecting to have before I watched “The Descendants” but I was completely mistaken.

The Descendants is a story about family with George Clooney’s character, Matt King, in the center. Matt King is  a privileged Honolulu attorney who is tasked to be the trustee of their families inherited properties. His character is a “hapa-haole” or half-white. His great-great-grandmother was Princess Margaret Ke’alohilani, one of the last direct descendants of King Kamehameha, who fell in love with her haole (Hawaiian for white or foreign) banker, Edward King, leading to Matt’s current life as a Honolulu lawyer with deep, tangled roots in the islands.

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But his rich roots didn’t help at all in being a good husband and father to his family. Instead, he became an “understudy” father and a non-existent husband. But after his wife went into a coma after a boating accident, he is compelled to reevaluate his marriage and life. His mischievous daughters don’t trust him, his imperiled wife has been cheating on him and his broke cousins see him and the land trust he controls as a piggy bank. To add insult to injury, he’s surrounded by a lush, fertile, awe-inspiring landscape that defies his inner turmoil.

The Descendants made me laugh and cry at the same time. George Clooney may be great in the film, but the real rockstars are the writers: Jim Rash, Nat Faxon and Alexander Payne. The movie was a complete irony that worked. A film that may seem to be serious but was full of comedy, a complex storyline and drama. Even the setting speaks a ton that you are not seeing an ordinary movie.

The characters are colorful in their own ways. George Clooney's performance was heartfelt. I must say that this is a stripped down Clooney. Out of the snazzy costumes and portraying a disgruntled father, this is his performance that I liked best so far.

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I particularly loved Nick Krause’ character "Sid”. He stole the scene in almost all those times where he opens his mouth. The banter between him and Clooney was just funny. Amanda Miller’s character “Scottie King” may be a little bit shocking but this kid did not cringe a bit in those scenes.

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Great ensemble with a moving story. This is one film that proves that you don’t need monster special effects to produce a great film. Hoping to see more of Alexander Payne’s work.

Rating: 4 stars

“The Descendants” opens February 15 in theaters from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

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