Thursday, November 5

• A Christmas Carol Reviews

  We think this is officially the 25th movie version of the classic Dickens tale, this time done with the performance capture technique director Robert Zemeckis used for The Polar Express and Beowulf. Reviews are split, basically along the line of how one feels about performance capture.

  "...a marvelous and touching yuletide toy of a movie, and the miracle is that it goes right back to the gilded Victorian spirit of those black-and-white films of yore."

  — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

  "...an exhilarating visual experience..."

  — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  "Disney's A Christmas Carol is, in its essence, a product reel, a showy, exuberant demonstration of the glories of motion capture, computer animation and 3D technology. On that level, it's a wow. On any emotional level, it's as cold as Marley's Ghost."

  — Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

  "...a whiz-bang 3-D thrill-ride with all the emotional satisfaction squeezed out of it."

  — Ella Taylor, LA Weekly

  "Shortchanging traditional animation by literalizing it while robbing actors of their full range of facial expressiveness, the performance-capture technique favored by director Robert Zemeckis looks more than ever like the emperor's new clothes in Disney's A Christmas Carol."

  — Todd McCarthy, Variety

  
  
  

  A Christmas Carol Trailer

  An animated remake

  Posted 11/05/2009 by reelz

  Related: Robert Zemeckis | Jim Carrey | A Christmas Carol

• A Christmas Carol Director Discusses Superheroes

  With comic book adaptations all the rage in Hollywood these days, MTV used a recent press conference for A Christmas Carol to ask prolific moviemaker Robert Zemeckis why he has never made a superhero movie. Zemeckis said:

  I'm a superhero fan, although I actually have never been offered one. I've never really brought one to someone and said, "I really want to do this superhero [movie]." Obviously, I love the form, as movies really are the extension of comic books.

  Of course, you don't build a Hollywood resume as impressive as Zemeckis' without knowing how to deal with the press. He easily turned the conversation back to the movie at hand.

  The one thing about A Christmas Carol — it's been made more times than Batman.

  
  
  Next Showing: A Christmas Carol opens November 6

  Posted 11/05/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Robert Zemeckis | A Christmas Carol

Thursday, July 23

• Disney: 3D Panel Features Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Tron: Legacy, and A Christmas Carol

  

  

  One of Thursday's most anticipated events at Comic-Con was the Disney: 3D Panel. The panel didn't disappoint, either, with Robert Zemeckis kicking things off by speaking about 3-D movies as the wave of the future, though not necessarily right for all movies. The main focus of his talk was on his upcoming re-imagining of A Christmas Tale, which is a decidedly eerie take on the classic novel. The clips he showed definitely upped the creepiness factor in Zemeckis' attempt to reach the surreal tone of the book. He also revealed that Jim Carrey will be playing eight roles in the movie, though why Zemeckis would want that is still unclear.

  Despite a little wind being kicked out of his sails, Tim Burton's part of the panel was still the highlight. Although the clip he showed was leaked earlier, it still made quite an impression. Plus, Burton still had a surprise up his sleeves, and brought out his friend Johnny Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter in Burton's upcoming adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

  Last up was the Tron panel, which showed footage from last year in 3-D as well as new clips that weren't yet converted. No new details about the plot or technology that's being used to create the movie were offered, but it was officially titled Tron Legacy and the original Tron's creator, Steven Lisberger, joined Jeff Bridges and director Joseph Kosinski onstage.

  We'll have videos from this event and others posted shortly, so stick around.

  
  

  Posted 07/23/2009 by reelz

  Related: Johnny Depp | Robert Zemeckis | Steven Lisberger | Tim Burton | Alice in Wonderland | A Christmas Carol | Tron: Legacy

Saturday, November 17

• A glimpse of Christmas future

  With their 3-D dazzler Beowulf debuting in theaters this weekend, director Robert Zemeckis and his team of visual effects wizards are already at work on their next CGI "performance capture" flick, A Christmas Carol, with Jim Carrey set to star as history's most notorious miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.

  At the recent Beowulf press day, Zemeckis' producer Steve Starkey described the look of their take on Charles Dickens classic as "very much like (Joseph Mallord William) Turner's paintings from the middle of the 19th century. That's what London's gonna look like -- and it's really quite beautiful...we can rebuild London from historical references and actually create the exact London of the time that Scrooge is walking through."

  "Tom Hanks is not attached," Starkey replied when asked about the rumors that Hanks had been cast in the role of Bob Cratchit.

  
  
  Next Showing: A Christmas Carol opens November 6, 2007.

  Posted 11/17/2007 by reelz

  Related: Robert Zemeckis | Steve Starkey | Tom Hanks | Jim Carrey | Beowulf

Thursday, November 8

• A multitude of images, video clips and more from Beowulf

  For most Americans, mention of the Old English epic Beowulf conjures up harrowing memories of torturous ninth grade homework assignments. Director Robert Zemeckis hopes to change all that with the help of some innovative 3D technology, a cranked-up storyline and a naked Angelina Jolie. Interested? Head over to our Beowulf page for a gaggle of clips, images and more.

  
  
  

  Beowulf - Clip 1

  "Here to Kill Your Monster"
  

  Beowulf - Clip 2

  "Meet the Water Demon"
  

  Beowulf - Clip 3

  "My Glamour"
  

  Beowulf - Clip 4

  "Not my curse anymore"
  

  Beowulf - Clip 5

  "Dragon Battle"
  

  Beowulf - Clip 6

  "Grendel Attacks"
  

  Beowulf - Clip 7

  "Ancestral Sword"
  

  Beowulf - Clip 8

  "Dragon Attacks Castle"

  Posted 11/08/2007 by reelz

  Related: Robert Zemeckis | Angelina Jolie | Beowulf

Thursday, July 26

• Comic-Con Beowulf Preview

  Comic-Con is officially off and running. ReelzChannel has already made their presence known, attending the Beowulf footage screening and living large at the afterparty, the after-after party and finally hanging with the director of the first Saw and the upcoming Death Sentence, James Wan, until the wee hours of the morning... But I digress...

  Beowulf was, well, underwhelming. Director Robert Zemeckis has returned to the motion capture process first used in The Polar Express. It's been a few years and the technology has advanced. The creepy dead eyes of Polar are gone, but other problems remain. It's hard to pinpoint completely, but it just isn't there. Closer, but still off-target. It's a little 300, a little Final Fantasy...

  We saw about twenty minutes of the movie as well as a few trailers. There are some cool moments and the impressive cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich and Ray Winstone look great in their digital incarnations.

  Writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary were on hand to discuss the film afterwards.

  "The Technology has liberated us, liberated Bob Zemeckis, to do whatever was in his imagination," says Avary.

  The writing duo first began the script a decade ago upon realizing a shared passion for the source material.

  "It's the best of all worlds. It's got monsters, dragons, swords," says Avary. "What's not to like?"

  "It was this amazing, creepy little story," says Gaiman.

  Beowulf was shot entirely using the latest motion capture technology, a process which Zemeckis quoted as roughly $1 million dollars per minute of footage.

  Although the footage we saw included a bloody de-limbing and a mostly naked digital Angelina Jolie, the release is planned as a PG-13.

  The release is still a few months away and it's likely that the footage witnessed tonight was not entirely finished. Either way, it's 3-D and has some cool moments, so we're still willing to give it a chance come the November release.

  Okay, it's late...or early now and I've got to get some shut eye. More from Comic-Con tomorrow (or later today rather)!

  
  

  Posted 07/26/2007 by reelz

  Related: Robert Zemeckis | Beowulf

Friday, July 6

• Jim Carrey loves to hate Christmas

  Jim Carrey has just signed to star as Ebenezer Scrooge--as well as the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future--in a Robert Zemeckis written/directed version of A Christmas Carol, reports Variety.. The elastic-faced comedian appears to have a penchant for playing Christmas-hating characters, as anyone who saw him in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas will realize. Perhaps some unresolved issues from his childhood?

  The movie, which will be produced by Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, and Zemeckis under their ImageMovers company, will be made with "performance capture/Disney digital 3-D" animation combined with live action and computer graphics. Zemeckis wrote the script specifically for Carrey, so it's a good thing he said yes.

  Bob Hoskins is also reported to be in the movie, as he let slip to the press, although no deals have been officially confirmed as yet.

  Some quick stats:

  Number of movies (silent, TV, animated, theatrical, etc.) named A Christmas Carol  - 28. This does not include 1988's fabulous Scrooged.

  Number of upcoming projects to which Carrey is attached: 5. (Robert Ripley in Tim Burton's Ripley's Believe it Or Not!; a gay prison escapee in I Love You Phillip Morris [from the Bad Santa team]; a 'reluctant nursemaid' in Me Time, and starring in comedies A Christmas Carol and Sober Buddies.)

  What's 28 minus 5? The Number 23 - Jim Carrey's last movie. Coincidence? We think not.

  
  

  Posted 07/06/2007 by reelz

  Related: Bob Hoskins | Robert Zemeckis | Jim Carrey | Ripley's Believe it or Not! | Sober Buddies | Me Time