Christopher Nolan's New Deal With Universal - Explained

If you want to attract Christopher Nolan to your studio, it turns out he comes with a list of terms and conditions.

Just in case you’re a studio head reading this and contemplating a last-minute raid on Universal to try and secure the services of Christopher Nolan, you might want to finish this article first.

Whilst Nolan’s contract with Universal is said to be in the final stages of negotiations, there’s a long list of demands that reportedly come with securing the services of such a successful and prestigious director. Sony, Apple and others were all said to be courting the director at one point when his departure from Warner Bros became an inevitability, following his public dressing down of the studio over its decision to release its films both theatrically and via its streaming service. However, it’s Universal that have seemingly won his favour, with the studio reportedly meeting Nolan’s demands, which have now become public.

According to Variety, Nolan’s demands included a $100 million budget for his next project, a film about Robert J Oppenheimer, the ‘father’ of the atomic bomb. Nolan also wants total creative control of the film and 20% of the first-dollar gross. Reportedly, Nolan is also requesting a six-week non-release period surrounding the theatrical release of his Oppenheimer film, throughout which Universal will not release any other films. We have to imagine that this request would be granted on a wait-and-see basis, given the current state of the world, but who knows?

The list of demands features as part of a wider story on the chase to secure Nolan’s services, and it’s well worth a few minutes of your time.

Whilst Nolan’s expectations may raise eyebrows in some quarters, most of them are contractual elements that he had already earned at Warner Bros, plus you can’t help but admire the director’s commitment to the theatrical cause, even if demanding a 100 day theatrical window probably lost him Apple’s interest immediately. We’ll bring you more details of Nolan’s next film as we hear them.

Source: Film Stories

Denis Villeneuve Isn't A Fan Of Marvel Films

Dune director Denis Villeneuve has been ruminating on why the MCU probably isn’t right for his work.

Denis Villeneuve has the hotly-anticipated Dune coming up for release next month. He’s also hoping to get moving onto the sequel pretty quickly should the first one do well. However, one project he’s not interested in is a gig with Marvel, and creating a future instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Villeneuve has been discussing the limitations of sticking to Marvel’s ‘house style’, stating that “the problem today… Well, if we’re talking about Marvel, the thing is, all these films are made from the same mould. Some filmmakers can add a little colour to it, but they’re all cast in the same factory. It doesn’t take anything away from the movies, but they are formatted.”

In a separate interview with Harper’s Bazaar, both of which were pulled together by Dark Horizons, Villeneuve was interviewed by Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao, whose next release is the upcoming Marvel flick, The Eternals... [continue reading]

Source: Film Stories

The Purge 6 Is On The Way, Frank Grillo To Return

Frank Grillo is heading back to The Purge franchise, he’s confirmed, as he awaits the script for The Purge 6.

This year, the fifth film in the Purge series of movies – The Forever Purge – was released, to pretty good reviews. The whole series has bounced up and down a bit, and for our money it’s peaked thus far with the second, The Purge: Anarchy. But there’s little doubt that it’s a franchise short of neither ideas nor legs.

Little surprise then that a chapter six is on the way. Frank Grillo has confirmed both the existence of the project, and also that he’ll be back as Leo Barnes in the next film.

Furthermore, James DeMonaco is not only scripting this way again, but he’s also returning to the director’s chair for the next movie.

No word yet on what the title of the new film will be, or when to expect it. But as Grillo explains, he’s set to receive the script for the new movie any day. On top of that, they don’t tend to take too long to film. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

Source: Film Stories

What To Watch On Netflix: Blood Red Sky

Let Me In meets Snakes on a Plane, Blood Red Sky boasts high-concept appeal with a touching mother-son relationship at its core and a great breakout performance from the very talented Peri Baumeister. Director Thorwarth manages to give us both the kinetic, visceral action set-pieces that titillate the senses alongside poignant, quieter moments that champion the bonds of parenthood. It means Blood Red Sky leaves a lasting impression that goes beyond the tearing of flesh and dismembered body parts.

Watch on Netflix now. 

PLOT (from Wikipedia):

An airborne plane is headed for a landing based on a hijacking. Someone has control of the plane and lands it successfully at an RAF base in Scotland. A man in the cockpit claims he is injured but suspected of being a hijacker.

A woman then is seen talking to a child who was a passenger aboard the plane at the behest of the base's commanding officer.

A German widow, Nadja, and her son Elias prepare to board a plane to New York; Nadja, who appears to suffer from leukemia, is set to visit a doctor who can provide her with the treatment she needs to restore her health. At the airport, Elias befriends a man named Farid, while his mother takes medicine that causes her severe discomfort.

As the passengers settle down for the evening, a group of men, including the co-pilot Bastian, discreetly murder the three air marshals on the plane and sabotage the black box, preventing the plane from being tracked on radar. Their leader, Berg, then makes an announcement to the passengers that he and his men are now in control of the plane and expect everyone to stay put until a ransom is paid. Elias tries to hide, and Nadja follows him. A sociopathic hijacker named Eightball sees them and shoots Nadja several times. Assuming she's dead, the hijackers begin the second stage of their plan, forcing Farid to record a statement that makes it appear the plane has been seized by terrorists for a suicide attack, knowing it will then be shot down.

As Nadja slowly regains consciousness, she begins to relive the day her husband, Nikolai, was killed. He had gone to a local farmhouse for help when their car broke down during a family trip but failed to return. When Nadja went looking for him, she was attacked by his murderer, a vampire who managed to bite Nadja before being burned to death by the sunrise. Nadja soon turned into a vampire, and went back to the farmhouse looking for answers. She ran into an elderly vampire who tried to shoot her to stop further spread of vampirism, but she overpowered and beat him to death before escaping with vials of vampire suppressant and burning the farmhouse to the ground.

Nadja manages to access the cargo hold, and removes the contacts and dentures that conceal her mutated eyes and fangs before killing and feeding on a dog. A hijacker catches her in the act and she kills him and drinks his blood, which fully transforms her into a vampire. She finds Farid and they manage to regain control of the plane just as the hijackers are about to parachute out. Berg tries to take back control of the cockpit before Nadja surprises and bites him. She then stabs him with a knife before he can fully transform.

The hijackers, realizing what they're dealing with, task Eightball with killing Nadja. He subdues her with UV light before extracting some of her blood, but just as he is about to stake her, Elias confronts him with Berg's gun and accidentally shoots out a window which depressurizes the plane. The hijackers take back the cockpit and restore the pressure. Eightball flees into the cargo hold and injects himself with Nadja's blood; she tries to set him on fire but fails to fully destroy him. Soon enough, the other hijackers, with the exception of Bastian, are ambushed and killed by a vampiric Eightball, while the rest of the passengers arm themselves. Nadja convinces them that she wants to help, and they manage to lock Eightball in the hold and secure the plane.

Bastian informs Nadja that the plane doesn't have enough fuel to reach New York, and that they must land soon or crash. A selfish passenger dying from an injury releases Eightball in the hopes of being bitten; instead, he kills him and proceeds to turn most of the other passengers into vampires. Nadja, knowing that they will escape if the plane lands, decides to sacrifice herself by using the hijackers' explosives to kill them. Elias stops her and goes himself, but only manages to grab the detonator before being surrounded by vampires. Nadja makes Farid promise to look after him before killing and feeding on Bastian. She tries to save her son but is attacked and drained of her blood by Eightball. Just as he goes for Elias, Farid steers the plane into the path of the morning sun, causing Eightball to burn and fall to his death.

Elias uses his blood to save Nadja's life, but she rejects him and flees, knowing that her taste for his blood puts him in danger. The plane lands at an RAF base in Scotland, but the authorities ignore Elias and Farid's pleas and board the plane looking for survivors, resulting in a massacre. They mistake Elias' pleas as trauma, so an ambulance is sent to transport him to a hospital. But before embarking he demands for his teddy bear to be given back, and he becomes reunited with it. As a medic prepares to inject him with sleep sedative, Elias escapes from the ambulance and runs back to the plane. He sees his mother get out of the plane and feed on a soldier, but when he calls her she only returns a hungry roar, then heads toward him with the intention of devouring him. Realizing that his mother is gone and all that is left of her is a rabid beast, Elias activates the detonator he hid in his teddy bear, killing her and the other vampires. Farid is released from custody and hugs Elias as the camera slowly pulls away.

What to Watch on Netflix?

The Conjuring: Does for "hanging out the washing" what Jaws did for swimming

To coin a cliché: The Conjuring does for “hanging washing on the line” what Jaws did for swimming.

What's The Conjuring about?

The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in the Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their purportedly real-life reports inspired The Amityville Horror story and film franchise. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experienced increasingly disturbing events in their farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.

Development of the film began in January 2012, and reports confirmed Wan as the director of a film entitled The Warren Files, later retitled The Conjuring, centering on the alleged real-life exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple who investigated paranormal events. In his second collaboration with Wan, Patrick Wilson starred alongside Vera Farmiga in the main roles of Ed and Lorraine. Production commenced in Wilmington, North Carolina, in February 2012, and scenes were shot in chronological order.

The Conjuring was released in the United States and Canada on July 19, 2013, by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, direction, screenplay, atmosphere, and musical score. It grossed over $319 million worldwide against its $20 million budget. A sequel, The Conjuring 2, was released on June 10, 2016.

Is James Wan's The Conjuring any good?

The craft – if not the art – of a great horror flick skitters around Saw creator James Wan's new popcorn-spiller. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga play Ed and Lorraine Warren, the real-life paranormal investigators who in the early 1970s helped the Perron family (led here by Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor) rid their Rhode Island pad of a demon, before clearing up at Amityville. The beast roves the house, as bashful about its hell-raising as Wan is about reeling off genre tropes: slamming doors, stopping clocks and smashing family photos.

The Conjuring was a huge hit in the US, perhaps because it plays to sceptics and believers alike; there's never any question that what we're seeing might be absurd or imaginary. The Warrens – religious folk concerned for their victims' souls (their church attendance is patchy) – are presented as dedicated professionals, rather than kooks, weirdos or (whisper it) hucksters. But the 70s setting, paired with the cheapish visual effects, helps the thing scramble along like a fleshed-out episode of Scooby Doo. Wan's shocks are predictable but – yikes! – are they scary.

Review by Henry Barnes.

Radio 4 increases airtime for the arts with new shows and an extended Front Row

Three new regular arts, film and music strands to launch on Radio 4 and flagship live arts programme Front Row extended to 45 minutes

Radio 4 is upping its arts coverage, to bring the best in cultural interview, discussion and criticism to our listeners, in a revamped offering.

 

A new film show, Screenshot, co-hosted by Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode, will take listeners on a fresh journey through film and screen culture . A new music programme, Add To Playlist, co-hosted by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye, will explore music through surprising connections between songs and artists. And This Cultural Life, hosted by John Wilson, will feature in-depth interviews with the most important arts practitioners working today – from new talent to global icons.

 

Also from this Autumn, Front Row will air from Monday to Thursday at an extended running time of 45 minutes (from 30 minutes) with two regular presenters, Samira Ahmed and Tom Sutcliffe. The reinvigorated magazine programme will feature more regional coverage showcasing what’s happening in arts and culture across the UK. Throughout the week there will be big name interviews and an exciting mix of guests from across the arts industry having lively discussions about the big arts stories and events of the week. Each Thursday, the programme will focus on review and criticism of the key new arts openings, publications and events.

 

Mohit Bakaya, Controller Radio 4, said “The Arts matter. At all times, but especially during periods of uncertainty and change, culture provides an important lens that helps deepen our understanding of the world around us. However, the way we are consuming and experiencing the arts and culture is evolving. I’d like our arts programming to be even more ambitious, and intellectually curious. The new film and music shows will explore our evolving relationship with these two important genres as a result of the changing digital landscape, and the wonderful opportunities for discovery, as well as making fascinating new connections between past and present. The expanded Front Row will keep listeners across the most important cultural activity in the UK.  There will be more space for coverage and review of contemporary film releases, especially, but also a more thorough exploration of the worlds of performance art, the visual arts and literature.  Finally, This Cultural Life will do for the Arts what the Life Scientific has done for science - giving us deep insights into what makes our leading creative minds tick.”

 

SCREENSHOT

A new film programme co-hosted by Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode.

 

Radio 4’s new film programme Screenshot looks at the kaleidoscopic world of the moving image; from cinema to streaming, across decades and genres alike.  

 

Co-hosted by Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode, Screenshot will take Radio 4 listeners on an eclectic journey through the universe of the moving image, exploring the best of cinema and screen culture, wherever they encounter it.

 

Along with a wide range of guests, Ellen and Mark will share their knowledge and passions, making links across the ages, reflecting both the changing nature of contemporary viewing habits and the timeless art of screen storytelling. At a time when people can watch what they want, when they want, and how they want, Screenshot will help guide Radio 4 listeners to some of the best films and shows available, and to dig out hidden treasures, old and new.

 

Ellen E Jones, co-host of Screenshot, said "Screens are as everyday as the phone in your pocket, and yet screen stories retain this power to transport, transcend and unify. It’s a magical paradox which I love almost as much as I love talking about films and telly, so this Radio 4 project is a true joy. It’s as if I’ve walked out of a rainy night and into a fire-lit pub, where all my most erudite pals are gathered in animated conversation. Oh, and one of them just happens to be the legendary film critic, Mark Kermode!”

 

Mark Kermode, co-host of Screenshot, said "I’m thrilled to be working with the brilliant Ellen E Jones on this bold Radio 4 venture, which will perfectly complement Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review on 5Live. Rather than reviewing current releases, Ellen and I will be delving into the vaults to make unexpected links and discoveries from the history of film and TV. In the immortal words of Doc Brown from Back to the Future: ‘Where we’re going, we don’t need roads …’"

 

ADD TO PLAYLIST

A new music programme co-hosted by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

 

Music fans get a new show with Add To Playlist presented by broadcaster and singer songwriter Cerys Matthews and writer, teacher and broadcaster Jeffrey Boakye. Each week the presenters and guests will build a playlist track by track, connecting each track to the next with their own knowledge of musicology, music history and a touch of serendipity.

 

The series will tease out the connections between pieces of music as Cerys, Jeffrey and their guests surprise each other with their music choices and compete with each other to line up the next track, deepening our understanding of music we already know and discovering new pieces to enjoy. Songwriters, musicians, music writers and commentators will be on hand to unpack the rhythms, key signatures, and chord progressions that help the music tell its stories.

 

Cerys Matthews, co-host of Add To Playlist, said “I’m looking forward to launching Radio 4’s brand new music series with Jeffrey. It’s going to be an open armed celebration of music across genres and eras, we’ll journey amidst the backstories of these compositions , hearing how they came to be, and how they may interconnect . It’ll be  a voyage of discovery and I hope listeners will enjoy the ride, and maybe expand their own personal playlists too.” 

 

Jeffrey Boakye, co-host of Add To Playlist, said 'I’m absolutely thrilled to be taking part in this series, which I know is going to be incredibly special. Cerys and I both share such a deep love of music, and this is the perfect platform for us to bring this passion to BBC Radio 4 listeners. ‘Excited’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on.”

 

THIS CULTURAL LIFE

A series of in-depth conversations with artists hosted by John Wilson

 

This Cultural Life, hosted by John Wilson, will feature in-depth conversations with some of the world’s leading artists and creatives. The series will provide listeners with a deeper understanding of the lives and careers of our most celebrated artists from across theatre, visual arts, music, dance, film and more.

 

In each 45 minute edition, John Wilson talks to one leading cultural figure about their life, work, creative process, inspirations, and the emotional highs and lows of ‘this cultural life’. Selected episodes of This Cultural Life will be filmed and broadcast on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer.

 

John Wilson, host of This Cultural Life, said “Radio 4 has always been the proud home of arts programming on BBC radio, so I am delighted to be hosting This Cultural Life. For me, the extended interview has always been the most revealing and rewarding aspect of my radio work, and to be hosting a series dedicated to in-depth conversations with artists is a huge privilege. The new series will offer listeners a fantastic opportunity to gain unique and personal insights into the lives of some of the world’s leading creative people. I can’t wait to get started.”

 

As part of these changes and as previously confirmed, Radio 4 will no longer broadcast Saturday Review and The Film Programme. Across the new slate of arts programming there will be more review and criticism, including Front Row on Thursday evenings, and expanded film discussion and review of the latest releases on Front Row, as well as interviews with film makers and stars in new show This Cultural Life.

 

Add To Playlist will broadcast October to November, and Screenshot will broadcast December to January, both on Friday evenings at 7.15pm, and they will continue to alternate next year. This Cultural Life will broadcast on Saturday evenings at 7.15pm, beginning October.

 

The Debate Is Officially Over: Roger Moore Is The Best James Bond

Who is the best James Bond? Daniel Craig? Sean Connery? No... it's definitely Roger Moore! And this is why!

Live and Let Die (1973)

Moore in 1973

Owing to his commitment to several television shows, in particular The Saint, Roger Moore was unavailable for the James Bond films for a considerable time. His participation in The Saint was as actor, producer, and director, and he also became involved in developing the series The Persuaders!. In 1964, he made a guest appearance as James Bond in the comedy series Mainly Millicent. Moore stated in his autobiography My Word Is My Bond (2008) that he had neither been approached to play the character in Dr. No, nor did he feel that he had ever been considered. Only after Sean Connery had declared in 1966 that he would not play Bond any longer did Moore become aware that he might be a contender for the role. After George Lazenby was cast in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Connery was enticed back to the role of Bond again for Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Moore did not consider the possibility until it seemed clear that Connery had stepped down as Bond for good. At that point, Moore was approached, and he accepted producer Albert Broccoli's offer in August 1972. In his autobiography, Moore writes that he had to cut his hair and lose weight for the role. Although he resented having to make those changes, he was finally cast as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).

Moore then made Gold (1974), based on a novel by Wilbur Smith for producer Michael Klinger and director Peter R. Hunt (who had an editing role in the first five Bond films and directed On Her Majesty's Secret Service). He was paid US$200,000 plus a percentage of the profits.

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Moore made his second Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), which was a hit, though less successful than Live and Let Die. It featured Christopher Lee as the main antagonist. Also appearing are Britt Ekland, Herve Villechaize, and Maud Adams. He then made a comedy That Lucky Touch (1975) which was a box office disaster. Moore made an Italian-shot action film Street People (1976), then went back to South Africa for another Klinger-Hunt movie from a Wilbur Smith novel, Shout at the Devil (1976), which was successful in Britain, though less so in the US. Lee Marvin was a main cast member. Ian Holm was also featured, as well as Barbara Parkins.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Moore returned for a third outing as Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), which was a massive box-office success. It also starred Barbara Bach, and Richard Kiel in his first appearance as the villain, Jaws. He returned to South Africa for a third action movie shot there, The Wild Geese (1978), produced by Euan Lloyd and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. It was a sizeable hit in Britain and Europe but, like Shout at the Devil, less so in the US. The cast featured Richard Burton, who had top billing, and Richard Harris.

Moore played the lead in Escape to Athena (1979) partly financed by Lew Grade. It was a heist adventure set in war-time Greece, and stars Telly Savalas and David Niven, and features mostly American character actors, including Elliott Gould, Stefanie Powers, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono, and Italian actress Claudia Cardinale. Roger Moore (with top billing) plays a charming former Austrian antiquities dealer turned crooked camp commandant, asked to guard Greek antiquities desired by the Third Reich, and also guard the collection of archaeologists who are being forced to work to find and recover these objects, but he has other plans for the treasure he guards and for the people under his watch.

Moonraker (1979)

Roger Moore in 1979

With the success of his fourth outing as Bond, Moonraker (1979), Moore followed it with an action film North Sea Hijack (1980) where Moore played a very un-Bond-like hero, opposite Anthony Perkins. The film was a box-office disappointment.

Better received was The Sea Wolves (1980), another World War Two adventure which reunited many of the crew from The Wild Geese including Euan Lloyd and McLaglen. It was based on the true story of a March 1943 event in British India and Portuguese Goa, in which a group of retired members of the Calcutta Light Horse, coloneled by David Niven's character, assist regular British Army operatives, played by Moore and Gregory Peck, in destroying German ships in neutral Mormugao harbor, all the time surrounded by German spies and Indian nationalist intrigue. Trevor Howard, Patrick Macnee, and Barbara Kellerman also co-star, with a who's who lineup of British character actors.

Moore was in two all-star comedies: Sunday Lovers (1980), which flopped at the box office, and The Cannonball Run (1981), which was a hit. The latter featured an ensemble cast, including Jackie Chan, Burt Reynolds, Dean Martin, Dom DeLuise, Sammy Davis Jr, and Farrah Fawcett.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Moore returned for his fifth outing as Bond in For Your Eyes Only (1981).

Octopussy (1983)

Following the film, For Your Eyes Only, Moore expressed a desire to leave the role, and other actors were screen tested including James Brolin, but Moore was eventually enticed back for Octopussy (1983).

The circumstances around Octopussy's release were highly unusual in that another James Bond film was being released in the same year. The Non-Eon production Never Say Never Again which featured his predecessor Sean Connery returning to the role of Bond, although not canon to his previous Eon Bond films. This led to the media dubbing the one-time situation the "Battle of the Bonds".

He made a cameo as Chief Inspector Clouseau, posing as a famous movie star, in Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) (for which he was credited as "Turk Thrust II"). Then he tried a thriller The Naked Face (1984), written and directed by Bryan Forbes.

A View to a Kill (1985)

Moore starred in his final Bond film, A View to a Kill (1985). Moore was the oldest actor to have played Bond – he was 45 in Live and Let Die, and 58 when he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985, having played the part for over 12 years. With 7 films Moore currently holds the record for playing Bond the most times in the Eon series but is tied with Sean Connery in number of times playing the character when counting Connery's non-Eon appearance in Never Say Never Again (1983).

Moore's Bond was very different from the version created by Ian Fleming. Screenwriters such as George MacDonald Fraser provided scenarios in which Moore was cast as a seasoned, debonair playboy who would always have a trick or gadget in stock when he needed it. This was designed to serve the contemporary taste of the 1970s. Moore's version of Bond was also known for his sense of humour and witty one liners as Moore himself said, "My personality is different from previous Bonds. I'm not that cold-blooded-killer type. Which is why I play it mostly for laughs."

In 1987, he hosted Happy Anniversary 007: 25 Years of James Bond.

Read Marc Haynes' memorable Roger Moore story here.