In this episode of the The Film Stage podcast Jordan Raup and Dan Mecca discuss Tom Ford’s A Single Man and The Hughes Brothers’ The Book of Eli. We also talk about Joe Carnahan’s new projects as well as two things Marc Forster is rumored to direct. You can stream the episode below or download it here. (right click + save as…) Read the full story

I’ve never interviewed a screenwriter before. I’ve talked to directors/screenwriters, but never just a screenwriter. So when I hopped on the phone with Gary Whitta I was hoping for a good experience which actually ended up being a great one. I was a bit worried about seeing the film just a day before our chat since that’s not the best amount of prep time, but after I saw the film I had plenty of questions running through my head I was excited about asking. If you’ve read my review then you know I really enjoyed it and it’s always great to talk to people behind films you not only enjoy, but also admire. The Book of Eli is ambitious and different from the current wave of post-apocalyptic films. It also features a new side of Denzel we haven’t seen before, Gary Oldman going all out as the villain and it’s also a welcoming return for the Hughes brothers. Whitta is one of the main men responsible for Eli’s audacity and talking to him for an hour and forty minutes was a real treat. While not all of that conversation is here since some of that time involved us sidetracking and talking about other films, I have of course included everything revolving around Eli. Now with the long introduction out of the way, here’s what Mr. Whitta had to say: Read the full story

Last year was a phenomenal time to be a genre fan. There was Moon, District 9, Avatar and even Star Trek to fuel the hunger for fresh and exciting new entries. Now it’s 2010 and things couldn’t be off to a better start. With Daybreakers and now The Book of Eli this is shaping up to be another excellent year. The Book of Eli is unique and original; it may not be perfect, but there’s a level of ambition at work that isn’t seen very often.

Eli (Denzel Washington) is a man on a mission. A mission he’s been on for almost thirty years. He’s heading west in possession of a very important and very powerful book. To him, the only thing that matters is accomplishing the mission he’s been sent on. If someone gets in his way, he’ll of course retaliate with brutality — in other words fight you off with a giant body chopping blade. He’s not interested in saving the ones around him if it causes a sidetrack; he’s only looking out for the book he has. He’s carrying a message of hope. A message that some want to harness for the wrong reasons, that’s where Carnegie (Gary Oldman) comes into play. Once Eli makes his way into a nice quaint run down town he finds himself in even more trouble. What Eli has is what Carnegie has been looking for for many years. It’s a book that will give him the power he wants and to do what he truly believes in. Eli will not give it up and will do so at all costs. This leads to an old fashioned face off between the two. Even Carnegie’s lover’s daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) gets involved, but understandably takes Eli’s side.

In the wrong hands, this story could have been mishandled in the worst way possible. It could have been another standard formulaic action romp, another film that doesn’t live up to its great ambitions and something that we’ve undoubtedly seen before. But it isn’t. There’s a few elements here and there that can be connected to past films of the genre, but luckily the film is aware of that. Far too many films lack a sense of awareness of that what they’re trying to do at times has been done before and don’t even try to make an effort by at least putting their own spin on it. This is one of the keys to The Book of Eli’s success, it’s at least aspiring to do something new. It barely ever divulges into the overused tropes set by previous films– that especially applies to the last twenty minutes.

What happens in the third act won’t be spoiled here, but it’s another factor that breathes audaciousness. There’s a twist that will undoubtedly split audiences and some may downright despise it, but there’s a message there and it’s certainly far from predictable. Without spoiling much, it doesn’t end the way most films similar to this would — i.e. final battle then roll credits. It’s known within the first few minutes that this is different, there’s no pandering narration or the always laughable text appearing onscreen describing the events that took place or how the world became the way it was. It’s the opposite, the first few minutes fully pulls one into the world the Hughes brothers have crafted. Everything you need to learn about the world and Eli’s isolation is cemented in a subtle silent manor.

The second act mostly revolves around the struggle between Carnegie and Eli, which is of course more than fun to watch despite feeling a tad episodic at times. They’re two men who contain the polar opposite set of morals and yet share something in common. They’re both dedicated and believe that what they’re doing is right. It’s an intriguing contrast that doesn’t make the face off come across as the standard good guy vs bad guy scenario. Washington and Oldman unsurprisingly handle the dynamic greatly. Washington perfectly portrays a sense of dedication and the heroism of Eli. Heroism may not be the perfect way to describe Eli though. His mission is priority number one and he won’t go out of his way to help others if it gets in the way of his mission. He doesn’t act all gung-ho, he does his best to stay under the radar. He’s the man with no name or a samurai if you will placed in a post apocalyptic world.

Similar to his classic performance in The Professional, Oldman is menacing and even somewhat likable. He’s a man who is doing terrible things to achieve what he wants, but when he cracks a joke you laugh with him and more importantly he’s an antagonist you can understand. He’s not just evil for the sake of being evil. He’s partially right that the book could help build towns and a society. There’s an underlying goodness there, but he’s ultimately more interested in exploiting that power.

Kunis also handles herself well despite taking a moment or two to warm up. This is a grimy world that embodies savageness, so at first it’s a bit odd seeing someone like Kunis appear. After that, she holds her own with Oldman and Washington. She’s strapped with the challenge of making the usually cliché arc of going from just another person to an action heroine. It’s not an easy transition to portray, but Kunis does it convincingly. She adds a sense of innocence which makes Eli’s transition of going from a man on a mission to someone with a real sense of humanity believable. There’s also an array of fantastic supporting performances worth mentioning from the always wonderful Tom Waits, the intimidating Ray Stevenson and the classy Michael Gambon. They’re unsurprisingly excellent even to the point where you selfishly wish for more of them. Especially with Stevenson who’s a bit underused.

This is a more than welcoming return for the Hughes brothers. Their last film From Hell was slightly overlooked and far more engaging than some would claim, but Eli is unquestionably the superior film. They shot this with the red one and it looks rather stunning. The wide compositions of all the deserted landscapes add an even broader sense of isolation and eeriness. This is a technique that’s been used before, but it’s still none the less effective. The Hughes brothers have always shown a knack for framing and they continue that trait here. Their action choreography especially stands out. They’re all easy to follow, swift and as violent as one would expect. This heavily applies to the first action beat which is done greatly with a single take — clearly inspired by Oldboy.

The Book of Eli is a very good film that will most likely even work better on repeat viewings. If one is fully able to buy into the overall concept of the story then they will find themselves embracing the ambitiousness, the excellent performances and of course the final act.

As a quick final side note: Atticus Ross’s score is terrific.

8 out of 10

What did you think of The Book of Eli?

WeAreMovieGeeks has uncovered a new poster for the upcoming horror remake of The Wolfman, starring Benicio del Toro. The poster can be viewed below: Read the full story

Parallel with the Avatar screening at Comic-Con the trailer for Denzel Washington’s new film The Book of Eli was released. Directed by the Hughes Brothers and written by Gary Whitta, you can check it out below.

Before this I hadn’t seen much of the film other than the video from Entertainment Tonight. Now seeing the trailer it has become one of the first movies of 2010 that I will be looking forward to. It looks great and Denzel looks better than ever.

Are you looking forward to The Book of Eli?

As the recently lukewarm/disappointing The Taking of Pelham 123 fizzles further and further into the box office night, Fox continues to struggle to find a suitable budget for Scott’s next project, a runaway train thriller entitled Unstoppable, set to star Denzel Washinton and Chris “Captain Kirk” Pine, accoring to Variety.

Although it’s still set for a 2010 summer release, the film has yet to be green lit, and the the prices of Washington and Scott remain high while Pine’s has obviously shot up due to his deserved Star Trek success.

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In the run-and-gun world of film P-and-A (Print and Advertising) selling a movie continues to become more and more viral, i.e. Web sites and movie blog backing, and less and less physical, i.e. posters and movie stars. Posters are now merely window dressing for a film who’s trailer will release on the Web in two days or less. It’s an appetizer for THE appetizer. And, right alongside viral buzz and early criticism from Tweeters and film critics alike, the movie trailer is the most important factor in selling a movie – which, on a side note, is pretty incredible when you consider how long trailers have been around promoting films (check out the trailer for the 1952 The Greatest Show on Earth.)

However, trailers of today are insanely different from the trailers of the past. Few rely on the actors in their films anymore. Consider the initial trailer for The Matrix, which relies nearly entirely on special effects rather than its cast or storyline. Now take a look at the trailer for Psycho, which has Hitchcock himself walking the viewers around the set of the film and selling the thrilling hook of his own film. Can you imagine George Lucas doing something like that for The Phantom Menace?

That being said, not all of the “older” trailers were so different from the trailers of today, a good example being John Carpenter’s The Thing. Pretty standard fare, then and now. The two biggest differences between that and something like the 28 Weeks Later domestic trailer, let’s say, is the amount of narrative arc within the trailer itself. Nowadays, that arc is extended further into the movie’s plot than it once was. The trailer for The Thing was intent on selling the movie with a handful of provocative clips and an ingenious tagline (“Man is the warmest place to hide”), whereas the 28 Weeks Later trailer sold itself, opening with an exposition (London getting back on track after recovering from the initial infection), introducing characters (Robert Carlyle’s family, the soldiers and doctors) and introducing conflict, cuing Muse’s “Hysteria” to accompany the chaos on screen and showing many dying at the hands of this second wave of zombies.

Much of the surprise has been taken out of the actual film, but because the trailer sells itself, it sells the movie. They’re essentially two separate, yet co-dependent entities in today’s market. For further proof of this change, compare the trailers of original Taking of Pelham One Two Three and the remake. One is selling a film that’s based on a bestselling novel, the other is selling Denzel Washington and John Travolta in a well cut, well-scored, snappy two and a half minute short film. A short film that, if good enough, people are going to want to see a 120 minute version of, and pay for it. The remake’s trailer more or less gives away the general ending – we see Travolta’s bad guy in a cab out of the subway, so he at least got away that much. Yet again, much of the surprise has been taking out.

Ironically, where the two trailers are most similar is where the trailer for the remake falters – reliance on star power. Both trailers proclaim there movie stars as though they’re throwing down a four of a kind in a poker game. Back then it worked, nowadays it works less.

This brings us to an updated Trailer Rules to Live By list, based on the successes and busts of recent films and their corresponding trailers.

Check out the list below >>

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is an unnecessary film that pales in comparison to the excellent 1974 film and yet it still manages to mildly entertain. Tony Scott delivers his usual shtick of overstylizing and placing characters in preposterously contrived situations, but here, he actually makes some of those aspects work.

The film follows Walter Garber, a subway dispatcher who’s average day turns bad after the hijacking of a subway train. The train has been taken under control by Ryder who has a pack of armed gun men with him. Garber soon makes contact with Ryder who puts up a ransom on the passengers. If Ryder doesn’t get the money he requests in an hours time he will soon kill one passenger by the minute. Garber must continue to buy more time as he keeps a cat and mouse game going with Ryder over a radio.

Read the rest of this review >>

According to MTV Movie Blog, Denzel Washington (The Taking of Pelham 123) and Will Smith (I Am Legend) might be teaming to do a comedy. When asked if there were any other genres left that Denzel would like to try he stated that Will Smith was working on something for them to do together that had a lot of laughs. No other details have been released.

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Warner Brothers have officially released new stills from The Hughes Brothers‘ The Book of Eli in this Wednesday’s edition of USA Today. The film centers around Eli (Denzel Washington) who’s struggling his way across America in order to protect a mysterious  book that contains the secrets to saving humankind. The film stars Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Tom Waits, and Ray Stevenson. The Book of Eli is set for January 15th, 2010. Check out the photos after the jump via /Film.

Check out the photos >>