Shakespeare on Film: Antony and Cleopatra

In MM's sixth week of Shakespeare on film, we examine why Charlton Heston's Antony and Cleopatra didn't fare too well.

by Daniel Rosenthal | Published Jul. 3, 2008 11:07

After playing Marc Antony in the 1950 and 1970 Julius Caesars, Charlton Heston had become obsessed with adapting Antony and Cleopatra, which he considered Shakespeare’s finest work, but which had never previously been filmed at feature length. His love affair with character and play reached a rocky conclusion in this overlong epic. (1 comment)

Will Smith in Action

by Mallory Potosky | Published Jul. 3, 2008 10:07

Jonathan Levine’s Total Wackness

Lessons learned in landing one of the world's greatest actors for The Wackness

by Jonathan Levine | Published Jul. 3, 2008 10:07

The prospect of meeting Ben Kingsley is a daunting one for any director, especially a man of such limited talent and eloquence as myself. So when I heard the news that Sir Ben had enjoyed my script for The Wackness and would like to meet me in Vancouver, my excitement was tempered by an immediate pang of terror.

I recalled the episode of “The Sopranos” in which Sir Ben attempts to blow off Christopher and his mob cohorts as they push their script onto him. Needless to say, I hoped my meeting would go a bit better than that... (No comments yet)

Pixar Introduces Wall-E

by Jessica Wall | Published Jun. 27, 2008 00:06

A Wanted Man

Chicago location director Mark Mamalakis shares his process for setting the perfect scene

by Carla Pisarro | Published Jun. 27, 2008 00:06

Having handled the locations for such films as Flags of Our Fathers, Ali and this summer’s action thriller Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy, Mark Mamalakis has become one of the film industry’s leading contacts in the Windy City. As he tells it, managing locations is one of the most intricate and important parts of the moviemaking process. (No comments yet)

Shakespeare on Film: Romeo and Juliet

With Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli interprets the language of young love in MM's fifth week of Shakespeare on Film.

by Daniel Rosenthal | Published Jun. 27, 2008 00:06

With Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli interprets the language of young love in MM's fifth week of Shakespeare on Film. Zeffirelli first sowed the seeds of this box-office triumph in 1960, when the Italian director-designer made his Shakespeare stage debut with Romeo and Juliet at London’s Old Vic. In 1967, he set out to replicate that Old Vic passion on film. He was confident of attracting a large international audience and, believing that “the kids in the story are like teenagers today,” took a gamble by casting actors almost as young as their characters: Leonard Whiting was seventeen, Olivia Hussey, chosen ahead of 350 other hopefuls, just fifteen. (No comments yet)

Atom Egoyan’s Adoration in the Internet Age

by Karin Badt | Published Jun. 20, 2008 09:06

The press alternately booed and applauded the Cannes premiere of Atom Egoyan's new film, Adoration, and few came to greet the director at his press conference. Granted the film, which tells of a boy who reinvents the mundane story of his parents' death as an international terrorist conspiracy only to face the truth at the end, falls as flat as the bomb that never went off on the plane.
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Peter Segal Gets Smart

How a decision made in college brought audiences one of this summer's most anticipated comedies

by Mallory Potosky | Published Jun. 20, 2008 09:06

From the beginning, Peter Segal carved a niche for himself as the director of action-packed comedies. From his first feature Naked Gun 33 1/3 to the hijinks of his remake of The Longest Yard, he has managed to capture the disparate skills—pratfalls and natural comedic stylings among them—of the genre’s top players. Among his collaborators over the years, Segal has worked with Chris Farley, Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler. His latest project, Get Smart, features the newest comedian to conquer the box office: Steve Carell.

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Daryn Okada Is on Top of the ASC

Celebrated DP wins third term as ASC President

by Jessica Wall | Published Jun. 20, 2008 00:06

Membership in the American Society of Cinematographers (attainable by invitation only) is itself an honor; to be elected president a higher honor still. Accomplished cinematographer Daryn Okada has just been elected to serve as ASC president for a third term and is well aware of the magnitude of his position, “I feel privileged to be a part of this extraordinary group of dedicated filmmakers,” he acknowledges.

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Shakespeare on Film: Kiss Me Kate

Shakespeare to music? Yep. MovieMaker continues its summer of Shakespeare on Film with George Sidney's Kiss Me Kate

By Daniel Rosenthal | Published Jun. 20, 2008 00:06

MM's fourth week of Shakespeare on Film looks back at 1953's Kiss Me Kate, an updated, musical version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Produced in garishly colored 3-D, five years after the original stage musical became a Broadway smash, George Sidney’s Kiss Me Kate combines Cole Porter’s songwriting genius with energetic backstage comedy.

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Win $1,500 Making SHORTSNONSTOP

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published Jun. 19, 2008 14:06

Burgeoning moviemakers take note: iThentic and The Canadian Film Centre’s Worldwide Short Film Festival recently announced the renewal of the SHORTSNONSTOP mobile movie festival, presented by TELUS. SHORTSNONSTOP is an innovative, year-round online film festival which movie buffs can experience “Anytime. Anyplace.”

SHORTSNONSTOP, which can be accessed at http://www.shortsnonstop.com, is currently accepting short film submissions for a July 15th deadline. A cash prize of $1,5000 will be awarded to the best entry each quarter throughout the year. SHORTSNONSTOP submissions must run under three minutes long and be in either English or with no dialogue. According to Catherine Tait, CEO of iThentic, “Audiences will have the opportunity to see [the] winning films on the big screen at the Worldwide Short Film Festival.”
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M. Night Shyamalan Happens

by Jennifer M. Wood | Published Jun. 13, 2008 08:06

After the disaster that was Lady in the Water, seems like M. Night Shyamalan's backers have got another marketing trick up their sleeve as they release his latest film, The Happening: Promote the hell out of the fact that it's the director's first R-rated movie. It's probably not enough of an incentive to outdo The Incredible Hulk as the summer season box office continues to heat up, but the reviews so far have been on Shyamalan's side. As the sci-fi auteur awaits the final tallies, MM takes a look at the roller coaster ride Shyamalan has his taken critics and audiences on since The Sixth Sense.

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Zak Penn’s Incredible Journey

by Zak Penn | Published Jun. 13, 2008 07:06

Sure Zak Penn can write you a surefire blockbuster. He has proven that time and again with X-Men, Elektra, Fantastic Four. But that's not all he can do. The Grand, an improvisational comedy set in the world of competitive poker that he wrote and directed, contains neither a superhero nor a highfalutin special effect, and is on DVD now. And with his long-awaited adaptation of The Hulk in theaters now, MM asked the in-demand scribe to share the "things he's learned" in the business. (1 comment)

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