Filmonic » Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones needed “more violence and suffering”

Liam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:09:23 +0000

You would have thought The Lovely Bones, which tells the story of a raped and murdered 14-year-old girl named Susie who watches over her family as they mourn and try to find her killer, would have the ‘violence’ and ’suffering’ boxes well and truly ticked. However, according to Reuters early test screening showed that people were not satisfied, and wanted more.

Possible spoilers:

Jackson told Reuters he was taken aback to find that in early screenings audiences “were simply not satisfied” with a scene of one character’s death. “They wanted far more violence,” Jackson said, so the “Lord of the Rings” director went back to the editing room to “basically add more violence and suffering.”
Yet, with a higher level of violence, it may have earned an “R” rating, meaning it would be seen mostly by adults. So, when shooting one death scene of a man falling to his death, Jackson chose to simply have him disappear off the edge of a cliff and not show the gruesome details of his fall. “We got a lot of people telling us that they were disappointed with this death scene, as they wanted him to see (the character) in agony and suffer a lot more,” he said. “They just weren’t satisfied.”
Jackson said he and his filmmakers were perplexed because they had already shot much of the movie. They had to go back to the editing room and use digital effects to add shots where (the character) bounces against the cliff on the way down. “We had to create a whole suffering death scene just to give people the satisfaction they needed,” he said.

So if you see The Lovely Bones next January (or February if you’re in the UK) and you witness a character bouncing off a cliff, you’ll know it’s because some people (with possible mental conditions) wanted it.

Ian McKellen “couldn’t be happier” with The Hobbit script

Liam — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:11:45 +0000

Over the past few months we’ve been following the progress of The Hobbit script rather intensely. We got updates from Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro during the writing process, then Ian McKellen said he would receive his copy of the first draft in September, and now two months on McKellen has read the script.

Sci-Fi Wire caught up with him recently and he shared his thoughts:

“As Peter has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for The Hobbit] because they knew who they were writing him for,” McKellen told us exclusively in an interview last week while promoting AMC’s The Prisoner. “There are a lot of characters in The Hobbit, including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don’t know who’s going to play Bilbo. So it’s extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf. There’s lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn’t be happier. But I’m sworn to secrecy. I’m not to say anything at all about the script.”
As for del Toro’s input into the new script, McKellen said that he and Jackson speak the same language. “They are the same person,” he said. “They were separated at birth. They’re twins. They have the same attitude. Neither likes working in Hollywood. They’re both fascinated by fantasy and violence on the screen, and gore, and things that frighten you. They like going into the psyche. They’re both brilliant storytellers in very much the same way. And I think the script, because I have read it, plays very much to Guillermo’s strengths, as I’ve seen them. I have seen his other movies, and people act very well in them. So I think it’s all fine. And Peter will always be there.”

McKellen will be heading to New Zealand in March and will be there throughout 2010. He also knows who will be playing Bilbo Baggins, however he can’t reveal who, although he’s sure that the fans will be “very, very pleased”.

New poster for The Lovely Bones

Liam — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:32:58 +0000

Yahoo! got themselves a new poster for Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. The film tells the story of a young girl, Susie Salmon, who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven.

The Lovely Bones will be released on January 15th in the US and January 29th in the UK. We would have already seen The Lovely Bones by now if Paramount didn’t push it back. The studio thinks the film is Oscar bait, which I think it might be. It is Peter Jackson afterall.

Here’s the trailer:

District 10?

Liam — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:47:15 +0000

Over the weekend District 9 made $37 million at the US box office and has earned another $7 overseas. As the film was made for only $30 million it’s safe to say it will make a nice profit, especially as it has yet to open in places such as the UK, France and Germany. Combine the numbers with positive reviews and the words ‘hit’, ’success’ and ’sequel’ start to pop up. Directer Neill Blomkamp spoke to Fangoria about the possibility of a sequel a few days before it’s release, and it looks like he’s up for one.

“I’d love to make a sequel, because it’s so creatively rewarding to me; there’s just something about [the story],” the South African-born Blomkamp told Fango of his debut feature, in which aliens have been living alongside humans for the past 28 years in Johannesburg—albeit confined to a shantytown slum. “It’s my background mixed with the science fiction that I loved. I’d really like to go back to the world of DISTRICT 9—which, without Sharlto’s character, would be a very different kind of movie. So I think automatically the two of us will be reunited again, should the public decide that this film is something they want to see and it’s successful.”

Producer Peter Jackson was also asked about a sequel (pre-release) and he says he’d only want to make a sequel for the right reasons:

“We’re superstitious,” Jackson, who produced the film, told MTV News at the time. “Sitting down and talking about sequels when you haven’t even released the movie is, I think, tempting fate. We’ll get the film released, see how it does.”
“I believe movies should come from the heart, and if there’s any sequel or continuation of ‘District 9,’ it should only be because there’s a good idea involved, not because it’s a money-making venture,” Jackson said.

I have to wait 2 more weeks to see District 9 in the UK so at the moment I can’t give my opinion on the sequel. From what I’ve read there are some people who think District 9 should be a standalone film, where as others think a sequel is inevitable and want to see one. If you have seen District 9, do you want a sequel?

Go See District 9

Dave — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:44:43 +0000

District 9 is the kind of science fiction we deserve. The main character is a spineless racist who is only really concerned with his own well-being and the love of his wife, the plot takes logical steps to elevate the situation towards an action-packed climax, but the whole ordeal grows out of a classic aliens-as-metaphor conceit.

Best of all, the flick doesn’t feel like it’s pulling any punches or taking any leaps of faith to trick you into liking it. It’s a bold debut film and, with the exception of Duncan Jones’ Moon, the only science fiction film that feels like it’s ready to join the family of classics without depending on becoming a box office smash over a few weeks. District 9 might be my favorite movie of the year thus far, and I don’t want to spoil the experience I had by blowing the film’s wad in plot description and details.

That being said…

Decades ago, an alien ship appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. It stopped and hovered until the inhabitants of Earth finally cut through its hull, revealing malnourished and starving aliens living in their own filth. It seems that the leadership of the race had died and the remaining aliens, dubbed “prawns” because of their lobster/grasshopper like appearance, we stranded here.

As part of a seemingly philanthropic gesture, the prawns were moved to District 9 in South Africa where they have lived until present day. District 9 has become a slum and the residents of Johannesburg are less than thrilled with their extraterrestrial neighbors. The aliens have brought weaponry, though it’s mostly been confiscated and cannot be operated by any non-alien due to DNA recognition technology that is beyond our understanding. What weapons are left are quickly gobbled up by Nigerian slum-lords who run District 9’s black market and crime syndicate (including prostitution, which – thank God – we never have to watch).

Finally, public uproar is heard and MNU, a faceless bureaucratic company combined with a Blackwater like militia, is charged with evicting the residents of District 9 and moving them to a new camp with a more organize, concentration camp feel. Put in charge of this operation is Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a character who initially looks better suited to be guest-starring on the British incarnation of The Office than running this sort of large-scale, possibly illegal operation.

Wikus burns prawn babies and finds some illegal caches of weapons…and something else.

What happens to Wikus kicks the story off running and the fauxumentary look of the beginning of the film, complete with expert interviews, melts away so we can follow some amazing action set pieces and CGI aliens with hand-held, in the moment action beats. When everything finally simmers down, we get a coda in the documentary style, bookending an intimate experience with wide-world implications.

This is the debut film from Neill Blomkamp, the fine young gentleman who was all ready to direct the Halo movie before that fell apart (now that responsibility lies with Steven Spielberg), and it shows. The action is frenetic and full of tech, the camera is occasionally mounted to soldiers as they spin around corners, guns ready and some of the alien weaponry looks like a video game made manifest. I’m so sad Blomkamp says he won’t do Halo. His prepping for the movie shows, and his series of three Halo live-action shorts titled “Arms Race” have a lot of similar looking action to District 9.

Although it gets dangerously close to spoilers, I will only say that District 9 does leave room for a sequel, but I really hope no one thinks that’s a good idea. A $30 million dollar debut feature has been executed about as well as anyone could, and – like classic science fiction before it – all of our questions don’t need to be answered, they just need to be asked.

District 9 is amazing and because the joy of discovering it is part of the magic, this review is mediocre. Go see it when you can, then I would suggest THIS All Things Fan Girl article for your post-D9 reading.

The Lovely Bones trailer

Liam — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:38:29 +0000

The trailer for Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones is now online, and can be watched below. The film tells the story of a young girl, Susie Salmon, who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. However this heaven isn’t all cloudy and fluffy like we’d imagine, it’s full of great looking CGI scenes like the one above.

We would have already seen The Lovely Bones by now if Paramount didn’t push it back to December. The studio thinks the film is Oscar bait, which I think it might be. It’s Peter Jackson afterall. He can make a movie about a giant gorilla win 3 Oscars, so a film about a murdered young girl should see him choking on the gold.

New District 9 Photo Shows Big Gun

Dave — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:21:48 +0000

District 9 is one of those films that has managed to sharply divide those who pay attention to upcoming releases and the casual movie-goer. So many of my friends that will habitually catch about one film a week just as something to do have no idea why there is a sticker on the bathroom doors that say “Humans Only.”

They laugh and think it’s some sort of joke, they’re not at all aware that it’s District 9 advertising.

On the other hand, the folks I know who voraciously devour movie news on the internet and see summer blockbusters on opening day continue to build the excitement for Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson’s sci-fi summer fare.

After all, Blomkamp and Jackson were the folks who were going to bring us the Halo movie before it imploded in Development Hell. The new previews for the film show some alien fights and crazy alien tech, while G.I. Joe’s Accelerator Suits look like a big-screen version of Spartan warriors. We’re getting pieces, and at least Blomkamp will get to prove his gumption with a late summer alien sci fi film.

USA Today has posted a new image from District 9. It shows Sharlto Copley as on-the-run agent Wikus. Wikus is hiding out in the alien internment camp, and he has a big gun.

CLICK HERE to see the whole thing, and get ready for something interesting when District 9 opens in the US on August 14th.

Peter Jackson on Bilbo casting

Liam — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:05:12 +0000

Last month The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro said that they were “very close to saying one name”, having narrowed down the search for Bilbo Baggins from 4 possible actors, and that he expected to make an announcement in the next few weeks. Well it’s been more than a month now and we are still none the wiser. However, over the past few days casting speculation has been flying around the internet suggesting that either Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), James McAvoy (Wanted) or David Tennant (Doctor Who) will land the role and that an announcement will be made at the San Diego Comic Con next week.

When I read the names of the ‘possible candidates’ I immediately ruled out Radcliffe. The Hobbit will start filming next March and Mr. Potter has a franchise he needs to finish. It won’t work. Thankfully Peter Jackson has squashed these rumors as he revealed to Empire that no announcement will be made next week, but they are starting to think about casting:

“No, we won’t be announcing Bilbo for a little while,” he said when we asked about a Comic-Con announcement. “We’re starting to think about casting, but we’re knee-deep in the script right now. And when we do go to actors, they’re probably going to ask to see a script, so we’re powering ahead with getting the first draft done.”

So we have Guillermo del Toro saying they have narrowed the search down to one actor and we will know within weeks, and then we have Peter Jackson saying that they were just starting to think about casting. It appears we have conflicting reports here. Whatever the case is i’m sure they know what they are doing and they will make an announcement when they are ready.

Full District 9 trailer hits

Liam — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:45:55 +0000

A new trailer for District 9 has appeared online over at Yahoo! We get to see a lot more footage than the teaser revealed and we also get to see some aliens in action. I like the unique style in which it is shot. They could have easily made your usual alien invasion movie but they’ve decided to go down a different route by giving it documentary-style look. Watch the trailer below!

District 9 is directed by Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson, and will be released next month in the US and September 4th in the UK.

Peter Jackson talks Lovely Bones, Tintin and The Hobbit

Liam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:32:37 +0000

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson recently spoke to Stuff.co.nz about his upcoming projects, one of which is The Lovely Bones which we would have already seen by now if Paramount didn’t push it back to December. The studio think the film, which centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven, is Oscar bait.

“When we showed them the cut late last year, they decided to delay the release until December to plop it into the “awards season”, which is a nice vote of confidence in the movie,” Jackson said. The delay meant he had more time to work on the final cut and spend more time on visual effects. He wished he had had the same luxury with his last film, King Kong. “I wish we had this time on King Kong, which we badly wanted to reduce by 20 minutes, but we ran out of time before figuring out how to do it,” he said.

He also spoke about The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn and The Hobbit which will both be released in December 2011. I know Jackson has a thing for December release dates (Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Lovely Bones) but having two of his films competing against each other isn’t a good idea.

Jackson said while Steven Spielberg directed the first Tintin film in Los Angeles, he was helping “beef up” some of the chase scenes and was working on post production at Weta Digital in Wellington.
Jackson said he would start work as the director of the second Tintin film about a year from now. He and Spielberg were also still open to co-directing the third Tintin film, he said.
Jackson is an executive producer and co-writer of The Hobbit. He said shooting was scheduled to begin in March next year. Despite rumours, the two-part film, directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro, would not be 3D.

Peter Jackson will have a busy year next year and I can imagine he will be hopping between The Hobbit and Tintin sets. We knew The Hobbit would start filming sometime next year, so it’s good to know they have a month in sight. Guillermo del Toro and the gang have around 8 months to decide who in Middle Earth will play Bilbo Baggins and the rest of the characters.