"The Invention of" Martin Scorsese!

Martin Scorsese is often considered one of the most influential filmmakers of all-time, some even go as far to claim that he is the world's greatest living filmmaker. I'm not sure anyone will really argue that point, after all Scorsese is renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of film history and his mastery behind the camera. While I've often been left emotionally cold by some of his films, the ones that actually managed to move me are genuine masterpieces, and perhaps another one of those films is coming in his next directorial effort, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is surprisingly enough, a kid's film based upon a bestselling children's book. I am actually excited about the potential here, someone like Scorsese who is known for making gritty pieces of cinema, doing something that feels more as if it should be a Spielberg film. I was so curious about this project that I ran out and bought the book by Brian Selznick, and I absolutely loved it.

The book tells the story of orphan Hugo Cabret, who lives within the walls of a 1931 Parisian train station, tending the clocks in the station for his deceased Uncle who was the timekeeper. Hugo is a natural at fixing mechanical things, and the story is touch mystery, a little adventure, and has a ton of heart. Hugo is on a mission to rebuild an automaton (a mechanical man) that his Father found before he died, and Hugo believes that if he can rebuild it, the automaton will reveal a message from his Father. All the while, Hugo's path intertwines with a curmudgeonly old toy salesman who works in the station and the toy salesman's goddaughter, Isabelle, who joins Hugo in his mission to rebuild the machine.

It is such an intriguing book and tells a fascinating story. It's not really a novel, but more of a chapter book with tons of pictures. The story intertwines into the worlds of film history, highlighting the silent film director Georges Melies, and for this importance on film history, I can see why Scorsese is a nice fit for the story. Though, the book is already a cinematic tome. While it is in excess of 500 pages, the book flies by. It is a very easy read, one that can be done in a few hours, and that is because it is kind of part graphic novel. There are sometimes, where an entire sequence is told like a film. There is no dialogue, just images, pictures drawn by author Selznick that can often link together into 10-20 page segments acting like storyboards for a film. It's so fascinating, I have never read a book quite like it. But aside from that, the story is so fascinating and rich in film history, as a film enthusiast, I adored it.

The film is scheduled to start shooting early this Summer, and its cast is already being lined up. For the lead of Hugo, Scorsese cast Asa Butterfield from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which I believe to be pretty pitch perfect casting for the role. Butterfield has to be the heart-and-soul of this film and he proved that with the above mentioned film. Then in the role of his friend, Isabelle, actress Chloe Moretz, from (500) Days of Summer and Hit-Girl in the upcoming Kick-Ass (which I can't wait to see by the way), was cast, and while I think she is a marvelous young actress, I do have some trepidation about a French accent on her behalf, her being American. Rounding out the principle roles is Ben Kingsley as the toy salesman, which is just amazing casting if you ask me, and Sacha Baron Cohen for the station inspector, the bad guy in the film if there is one. While I'm scratching my head a bit about Cohen, he should be fine in the role, and besides, it's such a small part to begin with.

Regardless to say, Scorsese has assembled a fine cast for this adaptation which is now one of my more anticipated films of the next two years. If the film was in the hands of any less of a filmmaker, I'd be worried, but thanks to Scorsese's vast knowledge of film history (which will benefit the film in droves), and his visual mastery behind the camera, I have very little trepidation that he will transform a book that is already so visually moving and make it into a good film. Now I just hope Scorsese can make the heart of the story come through in the film so that it can become a classic of children's cinema, like Harry Potter.

Bottom line is, go out and read this book now if you like film, you wont be disappointed. Then you can join me in my anticipation.

Second Draft Mayhem

I've recently started construction on the second draft of a screenplay, titled One-Thousand Words, after successfully manufacturing a first draft. Really, it's already proving to be such a relief to just have an entire draft written, even if it all turns out to be awful. At the moment I'm not sure how I feel about this film, but I still feel it has potential.

One main thing I'm working on, other than fixing typos and making things make a little more sense, is the first draft was only 86 pages, and I'm trying to do something things to at least bump it up to 100. I'm adding a subplot that I'm extremely excited about. Needless to say, this project is exciting cause it can be done for such a low budget that if it turns out well, who knows, I might decide to make it.

Goodbye Red Shirts

I found this video on youtube the other day. It's another one of those How It Should Have Ended videos, but this one is actually worth watching if you're a geek and you enjoyed the new Star Trek film:

Casting Fables

This is purely a speculative post, but I don't care, it's so much fun. My brother has recently introduced me to a comic book called Fables, which he was introduced to by his girlfriend. I've read the first few issues in compilation form and I love it. It's a fascinating premise with a unique twist on stories that we all know and love.

The story is essentially that of all of the classic immortal fairy tales, outgrowing their time and their kingdoms and now live in modern day New York City, where Snow White is Deputy (doing all of the actual real work), King Cole is Mayor of the Fables, and the Big Bad Wolf is the Sheriff of Fabletown (which is what they call the building in which the Fables house in New York).

It was such a unique story that riveted me. I was surprised to learn via the internet and Variety that no one hadn't already nabbed up the film rights for such an obvious chance at a huge money maker here and the next big franchise. So I've decided to play producer and get the ball rolling, casting the film with a nice balance of established stars and hot up-and-comings. All this speculation makes me want to start writing a fan script right here and now. Check it out below:

Bigby Wolf (a.k.a. The Big Bad Wolf) - Leonardo DiCaprio










The best character of the comic so far. Bigby needs to be gruff and tough, have the spirit of a rabid Big Bad Wolf, which Leo has done pretty well in recent years in films like The Departed and Blood Diamond. Not to mention, Leo is a good actor.

Snow White - Jennifer Connelly










She's a good actress, gave a very accomplished performance in Requiem for a Dream, and she just looks like she could be Snow White; plus she has some gumption, which Ms. White needs.

Prince Charming - Hugh Jackman










I mean seriously, this one was the biggest no-brainer for me. Hugh Jackman is the cliche charmer who just happens to be a fantastic actor, and I'd love to see him hamming it up as a Prince who lost everything.

Red Rose - Carey Mulligan










After a brilliant performance in An Education and a resulting Oscar nod, there shouldn't be any debate on this one. She's a star of tomorrow.

Red Riding Hood - Abbie Cornish










A model turned actress that exploded out of Cannes last year with tons of Oscar buzz that ultimately wound down once the film, Bright Star, reached the States. Regardless, the film's ability to wow the Cannes panel (which is often considered the hardest judging panel in the world), and her looks, should convince anyone that she should play Red Riding Hood.

Goldilocks - Michelle Williams











If you can get past the Dawson's Creek connection, you'll realize she is a fantastic actress who turned in a very gritty, yet brilliant performance in last year's Wendy & Lucy, which I believe changed the entire course of her career from just Heath Ledger's ex to a legitimate screen actress.

Bluebeard - Common











Don't be fooled by the fact that he's also a rapper. He turned in a fine dramatic performance in American Gangster and was completely awesome in Wanted and Smokin' Aces. He's got the look, the build, and the chops to pull of Bluebeard.

Jack Horner - Chris Evans










A grown-up Jack from Jack and the Giant Beanstalk. Chris Evans is a terrific actor with tons of boyish charm, and I think he could relish in this role.

Boy Blue - Garett Hedlund











The star of the upcoming Tron Legacy and one of the frontrunners for Captain America, he's got the look and the acting ability, of course his casting in this role is a scant possibility if he blows up soon into a star.

Director - Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, Pi)
One of the finest filmmakers working in the industry right now. When he's at his best he is bursting with originality and creative ideas, he's just the right guy to tackle such a property.

Oscar Watch: A New Decade

It's a new decade of film, if you're one of those decade purists who says that the new decade does not start till next year, then you might as well saddle with the fact, cause in my opinion the 2000-2009 decade is over, and 2010 marks a new decade of film. With the Oscars now a full week behind us, it is now time to start looking forward, but before I decide to try and take a sneak peak at the 2011 Academy Awards, I'd like to spend a week talking about what I want from the Oscars over this next decade.

The Oscars have been around for a staggering 82 years, one of the last symbols of the Golden Age of Hollywood still around today. There is nothing in the industry that has as much clout as an Oscar, except save for mammoth box office. Even still, the Oscars fall, time and time again, to their pretentious ways and refuse to let in outsiders. The Oscars are stodgy, and have received a reputation over the past decade as being out of touch with the times. Partly this is true. The cliche Oscar film being a drama that might not be the biggest box office draw, but is typically a film filled with some stars and a heavyweight director, that received huge critical praise. For the most part, anything that doesn't fall into that category is tossed by the wayside, and that is one of the main things I hope to see change over this next decade.

Every year, there are a great many movies made in a large variety of genres. I mean, just this past year, my favorite film was Star Trek, a big sci-fi blockbuster loaded with action and thrills. While the Academy has gotten better in recent years at least nominating some more populist fare, they still miss the mark a great many times shutting out films that should have been let in. I mean, look at two years ago when The Dark Knight was snubbed by The Reader. Can you actually say that The Reader was a better film than The Dark Knight? Conventional wisdom says no. So why didn't The Dark Knight get a nom? The answer, it was a comic book movie, thus it was not prestigious enough to get included. Come on! A good film is a good film, regardless of genre. While the Academy tried making up for that blunder this past year by widening the Best Picture field from 5 to 10 nominees, can anyone seriously say that District 9 would have made the cut had it only been 5 nominees, and the same could be said for Avatar if it wasn't so heavily campaigned as a "gamechanger" (which I think is a load of crock).

Just an interesting statistic, in the history of the Academy Awards only one fantasy film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, has ever brought home the top prize, and no sci-fi film ever has (and that includes nominees like Star Wars and E.T. getting passed over). Even comedy is passed over a great deal. A good comedy is hard to come by in my opinion, but a good comedy winning Best Picture is an even scanter reality. In recent years, films like Thank You For Smoking, Being John Malkovich, (500) Days of Summer, and even Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind were all failed to be recognized when they were all smart, savvy, and hilarious comedies that were original, but also had a certain air of class about them that would make them good Academy champions. Now, while I still think the raunchy stuff like The Hangover or The Waterboy should not be let in (I just can't stand that kind of raunchy comedy), I think it's ridiculous to elude certain films the platform that they deserve. Though the Academy also needs to improve in widening the fields of classification.

There are many years, like this past year, where almost half of my 10 favorite films of the year were either Foreign, Animated, or a Documentary. Of course, the 10 Best Picture nominees didn't even come close to mirroring this, with only a small nom for Up. This is most evident in the race for Best Director. Best Director is supposed to honor the five Best Directors of any given year, and while there is no rule that says an animation filmmaker or a documentary filmmaker can't make the cut, they still never get nominated, because of a prejudice against their style of expression. Even foreign filmmakers tend to get ignored on a pretty steadfast basis. I think the Academy needs to be more open-minded and start honoring the other types of filmmakers in their midsts. While a Best Animated Directing category would be nice, it would still be them trying to exclude the talent from the real deal. I mean, if an animated film can get nominated for Best Original Screenplay, why not Best Director? They are still directors, are they not, so why didn't Pete Docter get nominated for Up, or Wes Anderson for Fantastic Mr. Fox? If the Academy really wants to honor the best directing of any given year, they need to stop being so pretentious and share the love, not try to shun it away. Another thing I despise, that I wish would change, is relentless Oscar campaigning.

The mudslinging, the campaigning, it's all just one big political shindig. In the old days, campaigning for your film was considered poor taste, now it's whoever has the biggest PR department with the most money is who will bring home the gold come Oscar night. It's like a Presidential race. Rival studios wait till the last moment to slosh the mud to try and ruin the reputation of rival films, typically trying to take a stab at some sort of behind-the-scenes politics that was covered up about the film that has no real reason to be released to the public. It in many ways ruins the magic of the night for me. I don't care about the politics, I just care about the films. The Oscars are about the films, so let it be about them, stop being selfish and just let the movies and their filmmakers have their night. It's only one night out of the year, so can the studios just pipe it for one night? Perhaps this is just wishful thinking.

I'll end this by saying the main thing I want in this coming decade, to attend the Oscars, preferably as a nominee. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

That does it for this edition of Oscar Watch. Tune in next Tuesday as I take a sneak peak at next year's Oscar race. Till then!