"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Hey, kids... Too sleep deprived to even read the thread, but I thought you'd appreciate this:

http://filmfest.ca/2010/09/14/the-pr...-edge-of-town/

There will be a more substantial review perhaps later, but this is what you get mid fest.

I actually got to the talk/interview with Ed Norton. Still working on write-up for that, but you'll also get that later. Short version: Ed Norton asked about 2 good questions, and would NOT shuttup... Like, Bruce trying to interrupt him and he wouldn't stop talking. They had a guitar tech pre-talk, and we figured we'd get a mini private concert. No, they talked so long they just called it a day. Great to see and hear bruce from 6 feet away, terrible choice of Ed Norton as interviewer.

Mini (read: twitter) reviews of the flicks I've seen are posted here, including some big ones (BLACK SWAN, for one). http://filmfest.ca/2010/09/13/140-character-reviews/

A film I think many of you will LOVE is genre pic SUPER (review here: http://filmfest.ca/2010/09/13/super/) It got sold to IFC, and will make a great BD. Got to chill with Ebert and Rainn Wilson for a bit, hung out with Guillermo Del Toro, and generally have been having a killer time.

There you go, as promised, info on the Promise doc and more.

Nice to have you stop by and thanks for the links.

We want more! I, myself, am off to an entertainment summit on 3D right now, albeit not as a reporter.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

There is what appears as noticeable edge enhancement on the Blu-ray.

I am painfully aware of that. See my first post.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

If younger folks are unaware of the cinematic significance and iconic nature of Connie Hall, the DP, because he passed away awhile ago, it might be appropriate to acknowledge it at this time. In that regard, I kept an old interview with Sam Mendes by some blogger which includes a tidbit on American Beauty, but more importantly, a personal accolade to the legendary cinematographer. It’s in some folder I have to search for on this old computer…. I’ll dig it out in a few moments after I’ve checked all of today’s questions/posts.

^
Interviewer - My favorite film of yours is Road to Perdition. I was a fan of the graphic novel, but I loved the way you reinvented what was basically a John Woo Hong Kong film set during the Great Depression, and turned it into something completely different, basically an original work. We also need to talk about two people you worked with in the film: Paul Newman and Conrad Hall, two of my heroes.

Sam Mendes -They’re both very easy people to talk about. I suppose they were two of the biggest pleasures of my professional life, the more important relationship of the two being Conrad. We were really close friends, and he influenced everything about how I make movies. There isn’t a day that goes by on a set when I don’t think to myself ‘What would Connie do here?’ or just about the fact that I miss him. He was just a wonderful human being. They both were just great people who transcended their skills as artists and went into that very rare realm of just being great human beings. They were both able to keep their lives separate from their work. Conrad was the greatest lighting cameraman of the last 30-40 years, along with a handful of people like Gordon Willis, Haskell Wexler, Sven Nykvist, and just set the agenda for all the cinematographers that followed him.

From…
http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspo...interview.html

Hope the link above works as I've got to run, already late.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by PaulGo

Two things - I wanted to get you expert opinion on this and yes I wold like you to pass this on.

Quik note- yesterday spokesperson from DreamWorks A. thought another “year or two” with bundling.

C.T.O. of Panny thinks things should loosen up for early adopting consumers in Jan.

[Penton-Man]

Greatest line of the day…”Embrace the learning curve, do not fight it".

[Penton-Man]

^

Another notable comment came from Vince Pace (you know, AVATAR fame and designer of his newest toy….the Shadow D camera rig). He stated that in 3-5 years every prestigious sporting event would be broadcast in 3D.

I’m not one to handicap such things but, if anyone should know, Vince should, as he works with so many different broadcasting entities.

[Penton-Man]

Folks,
Awhile ago, I received a couple of complementary passes to this event of which me and the Mrs. can’t attend because for one thing, we won’t even be in Manhattan on this upcoming date………
http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_New...2521282830892/

Papa needs a new pair of shoes, so, unlike previous Blu-rays which I have given away to folks in the past, I’m compelled to sell these passes. I’ll let each go for several Ben Franklins.

A guy has gotta make a living, right?

PM me if you’re interested…and you’ve got a fat wallet.

Doctorossi – I’m told that Bob and Harvey W. are both scheduled to attend so, this may be your big chance to plop any script you’ve got onto their table…accidently, of course. I think Eli Roth is also planning on being there.

[Penton-Man]

A Jeopardy fan PM’ed me this tidbit……….

The subject is....Literary & Movie Title Objects -
http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/09/14/je...winning-total/ < if a commercial comes up first, you may have to click on it again in order to get the clip running.

That particular trivia tidbit may have been easy for some of you classic motion picture aficionados but maybe something which you didn’t know offhand was that the digital restoration also involved fixing all the scratches an editor for TBOTRK etched into many frames of the film element signifying what said editor thought was the *correct* 2.35:1 framing.

More here……..
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevide...in-production/

Ciao

[JimSD]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Another notable comment came from Vince Pace (you know, AVATAR fame and designer of his newest toy….the Shadow D camera rig). He stated that in 3-5 years every prestigious sporting event would be broadcast in 3D.

Le Tour in 3D!

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

That's what I was talking about- higher-element-density CCDs with discrete simultaneous multiplexed capture as an HDR methodology. It's one of the principal avenues John Galt at Panavision is exploring.

Aha! Why didn't you so the first time.

Any good references for those of us in the cheap seats (for industry outsiders)?
The closest google provided was this (heads up to the rest of you pixel lovers out there - a link to a presentation by John Galt of Panavision and Larry Thorpe of Canon is at the bottom)

Cheers!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by JimSD

Le Tour in 3D!

I would love it, if only to see the topography of the Alps and Pyrenees in the background…in 3D.

But first, I think there will be four-wheeled fun, definitely at least in IMAX motion picture form, from Indianapolis commemorating the 100th anniversary of the event…… http://www.i4u.com/39333/2011-indy-5...l-be-filmed-3d

[Penton-Man]

No more PM’s please.
Passes are sold….and furthermore to the other astute inquiring minds who asked, I can not release my passes to the Abbots dinner (the night before the Roast) for any price, as that’s pretty much restricted to the talent.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Any good references for those of us in the cheap seats (for industry outsiders)?...

Not the same, but this has been of interest to online camera freaks for a few months now…
http://vimeo.com/11255484
and they recently put up a new clip -
http://vimeo.com/14821961

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Where's sharkshark?

Awww, you missed me!

Just recovering from the fest. Topped out around 60 films, saw several that will certainly be not only Oscar contenders but will certainly join my BD library. The Bruce doc, as I mentioned, was great, as was BLACK SWAN (damn good film), 127 HOURS (a minor masterpiece), SUPER, ANOTHER YEAR, etc. Two docs were just outstanding - Morris' TABLOID is just a damn good ride, and Herzog's CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS is truly headporn for any lover of art and the potential for truly aesthetically marvelous applications of 3D filmmaking. From consumer 3D handicams to pro gear, for a guy that really loves this extra dimensional stuff it's an absolute must see in a quality projection environment.

There's still a slew of mini-reviews here:
http://filmfest.ca/2010/09/13/140-character-reviews/

Full reviews will trickle out between having to get back to real life. Oh, and I picked up TOMMY for cheap ($15CDN), happy to have it on BD, pissed Sony left off all the stuff. Since I can't tell anyone else that'd care, I'll tell you

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, I hope he’s taking good notes or else has fresh batteries in his tape recorder because there are a lot of things starting to happen up there in Toronto, not the least of which is Bruce Springsteen's Tuesday discussion session, plus, I would like to read his review of the opening night film….Score! A Hockey Musical-
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b199...fly_north.html

SCORE was so horrifyingly terrible that I (wisely) avoided it. From witnesses, I was told it's bad bad, not good bad, as it were.

What _would_ have been the opening any other year (save for the Gala being on the first night of Rosh Hashana) was BARNEY'S VERSION, based on the Richler book. It was quite good.

And the opening Midnight Madness film was FUBAR II, which completely rocked the house. The first film is a cult classic (read: not a very good work) but the sequel really is an honest-to-gosh movie, well made, well acted, well shot. It was almost creepy

The other MM film well worth seeing (and actually won the People's Choice for Midnight films) was STAKE LAND, which, as I wrote, owes more to Cormack McCarthy than NOSFERATU. It's not just "yet another" Vampire flick, and is very well done.

[sharkshark]

ps. My writeup on the Bruce talk is forthcoming, but suffice it to say, there were issues. First and foremost was a total ban on recording devices and use of cameras

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Awww, you missed me!

Just recovering from the fest. Topped out around 60 films....

And I’ll bet your eyeballs thank you profusely not for 70.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Full reviews will trickle out between having to get back to real life. Oh, and I picked up TOMMY for cheap ($15CDN), happy to have it on BD, pissed Sony left off all the stuff. Since I can't tell anyone else that'd care, I'll tell you

Geez, you make me feel like I’m indebted to you or something. Okay, I’ll hunt down that “who gets to make the call” query of yours from awhile back and unequivocally answer it. One moment….search word “pesky”.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Heh, I'm not going to reshash that again, other than to point out my concern wasn't about whether wire removal was a good or bad thing, but about who gets to make the call.....

In the specific case of the wires attached to the harpies in Jason and the Argonauts, Ray Harryhausen himself made the ultimate decision to have them erased for the Blu-ray incarnation because after the 4k scan, they became obtrusively apparent.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

and Herzog's CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS is truly headporn for any lover of art and the potential for truly aesthetically marvelous applications of 3D filmmaking...

lol, besides you and me that leaves about what… 3-10 people or so on this whole forum? That’s kinda like Step Up 3D establishing the fact that not just animation and CGI but *raw* live action (< by that I mean not relying so much on a motion capture stage) has the potential to look very good in 3D; however, despite its accomplishment , I don’t think the film received much notice at all from the theatrical crowd.

But I’m personally glad to hear your thumbs-up for Cave Of Forgotten Dreams though so, thanks for that and it would be icing on the cake if that particular film changed Roger E.’s mindset about all 3D filmmaking.

I’m hoping that Tron: Legacy will be the next motion picture to champion the 3D format forward because for one thing, it was shot by the cinematographer alluded to in my sig who, along with the Director, had the faith and vision to use what was at that time, essentially a new camera rig which hadn’t been utilized by any other film crew for a feature film up until that time.