Posted on December 14, 2007 at 9:35 am
Thanks so much to LoveBean2 for pointing me to this fascinating viral marketing intiative for I Am Legend.
They’ve sponsored a contest to document the “God Still Loves Us” message. The intended message is “go see ‘I am Legend,'” but it still takes on a power of its own, both in the website forums and in the video submissions.
Posted on December 14, 2007 at 8:00 am
Khalid Abdalla stars in “The Kite Runner,” based on the world-wide best-seller by Khaled Hosseini. The book, the first-ever Afghan novel published in English, was a word-of-mouth sensation. It is the story of Amir, who left Afghanistan as a child following the Soviet occupation and returns during the time of Taliban control to find the son of his childhood friend. Abdalla, a Cambridge-educated actor of Egyptian heritage, plays Amir as an adult.
You have an extensive background in theater. How is it different preparing for appearing on screen?
It all came about by accident, just like my getting into acting in the first place. With acting, it was a teacher who came up to me one day and invited me to audition for a part and with “United 93” it was a case of them looking for actors of my descent in London. My background’s in theater but both mediums are about story-telling. You’re trying to find the best way to tell the story. From a director’s perspective it’s very different but for an actor it is very similar. There was a bigger difference between “United 93” and “Kite Runner” than between theater and movies. In “United 93” our average take was 20 minutes, but in “The Kite Runner” the longest one was an hour and 15 minutes. We used two cameras and variety of tricks in continuity. But the actors had to sustain the performance for a much longer time, as we do in theater.
One thing that is a huge difference is with a play you have to rehearse with a sense of the rhythm of the entire piece. That’s one reason you have to rehearse so long. With a film you have to concentrate on each scene and the majority of the rhythm is made by the editing so that in some ways frees you. But in both you find a performance essentially the same way. It always starts off badly, gets going, then slips a little bit. In film you start with a master shot, then cover it. It follows the rhythm of a rehearsal. You’ve always got to find it in a way that is sustainable relative to the whole.
You share the role of Amir with Zekeria Ebrahimi, who plays your character as a child. Did you coordinate at all in creating the character?
We didn’t go out actively to create a thruline, the “how do you hold a cup of tea” sort of thing, but we were around each other a lot. I watched the whole of that section on the set and I learned to fly a kite with him. There was the power of suggestion as well. We play the same story and that story carries both of us. You read me through the experience of one, having left my country and two, having gone through that history with Hassan. When you see me in the bar having the conversation with my father when he says, “I wish Hassan were here,” how I respond to him. You also see Amir begin to stand up to his father.
Posted on December 13, 2007 at 8:38 am
Some great lists from around the web:
Cinematical’s Seven Stupid Things Last Men on Earth Do (Hint: don’t get too attached to one pet and do try to get out more)
Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Best Movie Musicals — just in time for some reminders of classics for holiday viewing.
Posted on December 12, 2007 at 8:00 am
The author and star of this year’s most popular and critically acclaimed independent film talked with me about “Juno,” a smart, funny, touching film about a pregnant teenager who decides to give her baby to a childless couple. This is the first screeplay for Diablo Cody (born Brook Busey), whose book and blog about her life as a stripper first brought her to the attention of Hollywood. Ellen Page’s astonishing performance in “Hard Candy” as a young girl who turns the tables on a predatory pedophile showed her to be an actress of formidable range and talent. There could not be a better match of performer and material and it was clear that they have become close friends.
NM: I am a big fan of your director, Jason Reitman, who wrote and directed Thank You for Smoking
EP: Working with him in the kind of atmosphere he creates is just lovely, awesome. He is extremely assured, he knows what he wants, but he is also unbelievably collaborative. And he has an enormous heart, only good intentions, there’s only goodness with Jason.
DC: I agree on all counts. It’s very rare actually. It’s very rare that you meet somebody who has that incredibly sharp mind and is also incredibly compassionate. You don’t see those qualities paired in a lot of people, and Jason has that elusive combo. He is a great filmmaker and has a keen comic timing, which is something that is evident in his first movie as well. Juno is a movie where he really wears his heart on his sleeve as a director. As a writer it was amazing to work with him because he is such a generous collaborator.
NM: It’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Ellen, you seem perfectly cast as the stunningly self-possessed but very vulnerable heroine. I was especially moved by the scene where she finally lets go and sobs.
EP: Ever since first reading “Juno” and Juno kind of entering my life, I immediately fell head over heels in love with Diablo, the script, with Juno, I became obsessed. With regards to that scene, Juno definitely hides a lot in what she projects as herself in her kind of sarcastic wit and what have you, but the reality of the situation is that it is a bit of an extreme situation, even though Juno in the film deals with it in such a refreshing way. There’s the kind of relationship she hasn’t had with her mother, literally abandoned by her mother, as she develops this connection with the baby that is growing inside her along with Vanessa’s love for that, when it all starts falling apart, it’s absolutely devastating for her. In that moment, when she’s alone, she allows herself to experience that devastation at that point.
DC: Ellen is such a strong actor I’ve seen that people sense a connection between her and every character she plays. I like to believe in my heart that she has a special connection to Juno, but that’s just talent, baby.
EP: I think the reason that Diablo’s script is so awesome and people are connecting to it is so many elements of it are completely unexpected and that is so refreshing. People, especially these days, are afraid to take risks. Mind you, every year, it is the people who do take those risks who are successful, the people who have had those really long careers are the ones who have dared to have a sense of integrity and individuality. And I think that’s something Diablo really did with this script. So you have Jennifer Garner giving an incredible performance, just outstanding. And Allison Janney and JK Simmons, it’s full-on pandemonium extravaganza of awesome individuals.
Posted on December 12, 2007 at 8:00 am
“A Perfect Holiday” is a stocking-stuffer of a movie, a family-friendly story about a little girl who asks a department store Santa for a special gift — a compliment for her mother. The Santa makes the girl’s wish come true, and, after the usual complications, ends up making his own wish come true as well, finding himself on Christmas morning with a new job and a new love. The movie stars Gabrielle Union as the single mother, Morris Chestnut as the would-be songwriter picking up some holiday work as a store Santa, and Faizon Love as his friend who dons the world’s largest elf costume. I spoke to Chestnut and Love about the movie and about their own perfect holidays.
NM: What’s your idea of a perfect holiday?
MC: My idea of a perfect holiday is spending time with the family, waking up on Christmas morning or Thanksgiving morning, watching football all day, having the family come over, people you haven’t seen..
FL: …eating nice food..
MC: seeing people I haven’t seen in months.
NM: Did you ever have a perfect holiday as a kid? Was there one you especially remember?
FL: My parents tried very hard and every holiday was perfect. There was this remote control car
MC: Firefox? I wanted one of those!
FL: Yeah, it was a Firefox. I came down there Christmas morning and there was tons of things, but I didn’t see the remote control car. I was like “Where’s the control car?” and my mamma took me out to the car and she pulls it out and she’s like “I knew you knew it was there!” I had the first Atari and I was like “What is this?” Football with three guys, Space Invaders, the paddles for Pong. Not very exciting.
MC: Now my son wants like an iPhone, he’s 10, I don’t even have an iPhone!
