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New “Blood on the Plain” Trailer and Poster
This is a little film that I have been following closely over the past year. As some of you may recall, I made a few posts about the short as it was in the midst of production, and since then, it has grown by leaps and bounds. Director Mac Eldridge leads a stellar cast and crew, made up of dozens of rising stars in the Chicago film scene. Here they have crafted a visceral and entertaining short film that is about to take the world by storm.
Here’s a brief synopsis of the film, as stated by the film’s website:
Part western, part horror, “Blood on the Plain” is a self-aware pulp exploration of a small town in the wake of tragedy. Following a savage massacre at the Wadsworth High School homecoming dance, the townspeople take up arms and under the guidance of four seasoned trackers, set out in search of justice. Those who survive will be forced to square off with the assailants; a breed of man never before seen and born under a previous generation’s offense.
All in all, the concept is a virtual cross between “No Country for Old Men” and “Predator.” If you’re wondering how those two films could mesh, I believe that’s evident of the stark originality of this piece. Right now, the film exists as a short narrative that focuses on the massacre and the events that lead up to it. However, the film is now gaining a lot of traction in different film communities and is about to begin its international festival tour. From there, it will hopefully gain enough support to become to the full feature it deserves to be.
Everything I say about this exciting project could not do enough justice as the trailer below. I must warn that were it viewed by the MPAA, this preview would certainly carry a red band rating. It contains some footage of the film’s fantastic make-up and special effects which can get a little gory at moments. Yet, considering the movies I have mentioned above, that shouldn’t be unwelcome or a surprise.
Check out the trailer, along with photos, cast and crew biographies, and behind the scenes footage, at the link, below:
“BLOOD ON THE PLAIN” TRAILER AND WEBSITE!
New “War Horse” Trailer and Poster
Over the summer, everyone questioned what I said when I declared that what we had seen of Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” was only a teaser and there would surely be more to come. Well, here I stand on my own high horse with a new trailer for the upcoming film. Unfortunately, the new trailer doesn’t really seem to do much more than rearrange and expand on a lot of the footage shown in the last preview.
Many pundits, at the moment, are calling this film the frontrunner for Best Picture. While it definitely has a boatload of nominations in line, I would not put it at the front of the gate. The Oscars seem to enjoy Spielberg most at his grittiest, and this appears to be perhaps one of the most sentimental ventures he has ever made. One thing’s for sure about the film, however. It looks absolutely gorgeous. If all plays out, one award we can definitely say that “War Horse” is leading the field in is Best Cinematography. Should it win, my favorite active DP, Janusz Kaminski, would have three Oscars on his mantel, putting him among a group you could count on one hand, including Robert Surtees and the great Conrad L. Hall.
Recently, Dreamworks bumped up the release date to Christmas day. This now puts it within four days of “The Adventures of Tin Tin”‘s official opening. Mr. Spielberg does love to face off against himself. Not that he has anything to lose, really. Both films are sure to gross well over the 100 million mark. Combined with the success of “Super 8,” “Transformers 3,” “Terra Nova,” and all coupled with his reception of the David O’Selznick award from the Producers Guild, this will be a pretty good year for one of Hollywood’s greatest sons. And “Lincoln” hasn’t even started shooting yet.
Check out the new trailer, below:
“Contagion” Billboard is LITERALLY “Viral”
So, now I have now seen “Contagion” and all the cards are on the table. I thought it was decent, but frankly, quite underwhelming. However, I have to give props for this brilliant marketing tool. After all, who needs a regular billboard when you can have a billboard made completely out of bacteria?
To gain publicity at the Toronto Film Festival, Warner Bros. tapped the Canadian advertising company Lowe Roche to design a form of marketing acute to the disturbing plot of Steven Soderbergh’s film. The artists used fungi and bacteria to illustrate some posters. When first hung up, they appeared like simple, blank billboards. However, after some time passed, onlookers were excited and horrified to see that the substances had rotted and evolved in a way that beautifully (and, at the same time, disgustingly) advertised the movie.
I must say that in the past decade or so of viral marketing, this is the first advertisement to take that phrase to a whole new level. Well done to the “Contagion” marketing team for really using the creative side of their brains.
Check out the awesome making-of video, below:
“The Ides of March” Trailer
I don’t think that there was ever any doubt in my mind that of all the films slated for a 2011 release, none of them has grabbed my attention more than George Clooney’s “The Ides of March.” Maybe it’s the sustained energy leftover from Obama’s 2008 campaign. Perhaps it’s my undying passion for the socio-political TV drama “The West Wing” for the vibes from this movie tickle me with a similar sensation that Sorkin once did (and still does. Who am I kidding?).
On the other hand, maybe it all just comes down to a film that is written and directed by as well as starring the great George Clooney (a man I have very much grown to respect in front and behind the camera, as well as in the real world) and starring a collection of the greatest performers of our time, crossing several generations.
From the looks of this trailer, the film is not going to disappoint anytime soon. The spirit of Sorkin’s political style of wit seems to be well intact, accented by Clooney and Heslov’s razor-sharp edginess. Gosling, Clooney, Tomei, Wood, and especially Giamatti all seem at the top of their game, while Philip Seymour Hoffman looks to be headed straight for his third Oscar nomination. Yet, I doubt that he will be the only individual waking up to that distinction in January. This film is going to be powerhouse of all forms of talent producing stellar entertainment.
Check out the HD trailer, below:
Batman: “Begins, Falls, Rises” Triptych Poster
Okay. I understand that lately this site has been going a little nutty over anything to do with Christopher Nolan’s new film, although how can anyone really hold it against me? Yet, I promise that after this I will try to cool it for a while. Meanwhile, this gag was just too eye-catching to pass up. I found this over at Sasha Stone’s Awardsdaily, who apparently dug it up at Modernismism.
This is a fantastic effort made towards finding a true thematic harmony for this soon-to-be trilogy. I really appreciate the fluidity created between the three different color schemes, balancing the changing tones cast by the films’ director. It certainly gives a clue into what we can expect from this final chapter for they seem to get bleaker and more sinister as the trilogy progresses.
I would love to have this poster on my wall. Kudos to whoever’s behind this impressive piece of film art.
“The Dark Knight Rises” Joke Poster
There’s not much to this. I just think that, what with all of the guessing and analysis over the poster and upcoming teaser, that this is just downright hilarious. Enjoy spending a few minutes looking this over.
Check out the actual poster, free of red ink, here: “The Dark Knight Rises” Poster
NEW “Tree of Life” Poster
Wow. This film either has to be god’s gift to mankind, or it shall be the biggest disappointment in recent cinematic history. I don’t think any film aside from “Inception” has gained such a heavy base of anticipation among bloggers, fanboys and cinephiles, in general.
They seem to be putting a lot of emphasis on the visual images of the film (which are honestly quite gorgeous). Highly respected cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki could be looking at his fifth Oscar nomination, or perhaps even a win. Nothing will ever offset the snub of his loss for “Children of Men,” however, so a reward is irrelevant in my eyes.
One has to wonder whether or not the story is going to come anywhere near close enough to measuring up to the film’s brilliant eye candy. One has to wonder how a film that contains both Brad Pitt as an abusive, overbearing father and dinosaurs make it into the same screenplay. Yes, that’s right. I said dinosaurs. I remember hearing the rumors years ago, which I didn’t truly believe until I noticed the center square on the poster, fourth from the bottom. That looks quite a bit to me, and a lot of other people on the web, like a dinosaur standing the middle of some kind of river. Also, the top left corner appears to feature some kind of asteroid impact, that one could only guess is the rock that killed off life on Earth sixty-five million years ago.
Will this movie make any kind of discernible sense, or will it be a big visual mess of a film. I’m ready for just about anything at this point, and I hope you all are, too.
Check out the full poster after the cut:
NEW “Red State” Teaser and Poster
So, I go back and forth a lot with Kevin Smith. He did make two of the funniest and most insightful comedies of the 90s in “Clerks” and “Dogma” and I love him for that. And yet, I really don’t think he’s made a film worth much more than a grain of salt in the decade since, and his endless tirades with airlines and…really anything…are just downright annoying.
With his new film “Red State,” Smith has gone COMPLETELY out of his element to make a straight-up horror film about Christian fundamentalism gone to the extreme, as though evangelical Christianity wasn’t already the scariest thing on the planet. Seriously. If you never want to sleep again, see “Jesus Camp.” When I go to sleep, I don’t see boogeyman, I see little indoctrinated children with red tape over their mouths. Therefore, a true horror film about Christianity is music to my ears, especially with a cast featuring John Goodman, Michael Parks, Melissa Leo and Stephen Root. Stellar.
Anyway, I am stoked for this film. There have obviously been a number of posters released for the film, including ones for the priest, sons and virgin characters. However, the one selected above, I believe carries the most weight. The teaser is fast, nondescript and absolutely brutal. I hope distribution comes to this quick because it may just be the film that puts Kevin Smith back on the map, at least in my book.
Check it out:
New Oscar Posters Revealed
The academy has just released their official posters for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. For sure, these posters are very artistic and eye-catching, but overall, I find them kind of boring. They just don’t look as though they put a lot of work and/or creativity into them. Here they are nonetheless.
See this one, and the rest after the jump, as well as my favorite Oscar poster, ever:
The Edge of the Frame 