Guillermo del Toro – Way Too Indie http://waytooindie.com Independent film and music reviews Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:34:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Way Too Indiecast is the official podcast of WayTooIndie.com. Our film critics grip and gush about the latest indie movies and sometimes even mainstream ones. Find all of our reviews, podcasts, news, at www.waytooindie.com Guillermo del Toro – Way Too Indie yes Guillermo del Toro – Way Too Indie dustin@waytooindie.com dustin@waytooindie.com (Guillermo del Toro – Way Too Indie) The Official Podcast of Way Too Indie Guillermo del Toro – Way Too Indie http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/waytooindie/podcast-album-art.jpg http://waytooindie.com Crimson Peak http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/crimson-peak/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/crimson-peak/#respond Thu, 15 Oct 2015 20:00:42 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=41247 A not-so-serious haunted mansion story with stunning gothic imagery you won't soon forget.]]>

Filmmakers with imaginations as wild and uninhibited as Guillermo del Toro‘s (there are only a few) cultivate rabid fan followings because, even if their films aren’t a success, we’re guaranteed an honest expression of their innermost demons and desires. Crimson Peak is the Mexican filmmaker’s latest, a 1901-set gothic horror tale with a wicked sense of humor that pays homage to super-cool stuff like Hammer Films, Edgar Allen Poe, and Alfred Hitchcock. It never brushes the greatness of his most popular work, Pan’s Labyrinth, another lushly-imagined, mildly terrifying storybook picture, but it’s entertaining throughout and visually show-stopping, which won’t come as a surprise to del Toro die-hards.

The film’s ensemble is rich in talent, led by the delicate Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, our virgin heroine who sees ghosts but is more often than not laughably naive to the immediate real-world threats that constantly circle her pretty little head. She lives in Buffalo, NY and has a longtime admirer in Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), an eye doctor and respectable gentleman. Edith’s finds a foreign visitor more fetching, however; British charmer Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) has come to town to seek funding for a clay mining operation on his estate back in England (the valuable resource is blood red in appearance—crimson, in fact!) but finds himself equally enamored with fair-skinned Edith.

They fall for each other and get married, a development Alan takes with honorable acceptance. Less accepting of the arrangement is Lucille (Jessica Chastain), Thomas’ sister, who becomes the proverbial third wheel as the three travel from New York to Allerdale Hall, the siblings’ childhood home. It’s an almost laughably haunted-looking mansion with a big hole stabbed through the ceiling due to weather damage. A nest of dark passageways, dusty-but-ornate rooms, and creaky elevators that plunge you into the dark mines underneath the mansion floor, where the clay operation (and probably some icky stuff Thomas doesn’t want Edith to know about). Del Toro riffs on the same story elements and themes Hitchcock perfected in the feverish Notorious. Del Toro being the Hitchcock expert that he is (he taught Hitchcock classes in Mexico), the film honors its roots well.

Much of the film’s movie’s humor stems from how clueless Edith is to the fishiness of her arrangement with the siblings. Lucille has more than a few obvious psycho-killer tendencies (Chastain hams her performance up to mixed success) and Thomas is just as suspicious in how he always seems to be hiding something. Wasikowska’s aloofness might be a turn-off for those seeking material less littered with silly dialogue, but for this critic, the schtick was fun and good for a laugh. It seems at times the actors struggle with the script’s nimble tone, and it’s hard to tell whether the occasional oddly-delivered line of dialogue is the fault of the actors or the writers (del Toro co-wrote with regular collaborator Matthew Robbins).

Without question, one of the major draws of a del Toro picture is the visual presentation, and Crimson Peak will let no one down on this front. The cinematography is spellbinding, as is the costume and production design. The sets are instant classics and Edith’s handful of interactions with the vaporous ghouls that haunt her are startlingly convincing (del Toro never settles for his movie creatures looking anything less than tactile).

What’s missing in this immaculately presented story is a sense of spiritual involvement, something the film strives for but doesn’t quite grasp (Pan’s Labyrinth felt more fully-realized as an expression of del Toro’s beliefs in the supernatural). The plot is so evasive with the siblings’ motivations that it undermines Edith’s reluctant relationship with those from the great beyond. Nothing, however, could distract from the stunningly detailed gothic imagery which, like in many del Toro pictures, supersedes everything else.

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2015 SFIFF Full Lineup Announced http://waytooindie.com/news/2015-sfiff-full-lineup/ http://waytooindie.com/news/2015-sfiff-full-lineup/#respond Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:45:25 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=33582 An array of films of a global scope make up this year's SFIFF lineup.]]>

In a press conference yesterday the San Francisco Film Society announced the complete lineup for the 58th annual San Francisco International Film Festival, running from April 23rd – May 7th. Festival Executive Director Noah Cowan led the presentation, emphasizing SFFS’s mission to champion films and filmmakers from around the globe.

“I think this festival doesn’t get as much credit as it’s due as being among the most significant champions of emerging filmmakers from around the globe,” said Cowan at the press conference. “There’s a lot of focus right now in the festival world on American independent cinema. There’s lots of great stuff going on here, but sometimes it happens to neglect the quite extraordinary artists coming from other parts of the globe.”

Emblematic of the festival’s initiative to spotlight films on a global scale is its “Global Visions” section, which boasts an array of narrative and documentary films from Japan (Wonderful World End), Brazil (The Second Mother), Germany (Stations of the Cross), China (Red Amnesia), the United Kingdom (Luna), South Korea (A Hard Day), France (Fidelio: Alice’s Odyssey), New Zealand (The Dark Horse), and many more countries with exciting, emerging filmmakers and films worthy of our undivided attention. Also celebrating global storytelling are the Golden Gate Award Competitions, in which will award films from around the world nearly $40,000 across 14 awards categories.

2015 SFIFF lineup

The festival’s “Marquee Presentations” section takes a look at some buzzy titles from the festival circuit. Highlights include Eden, Mia Hansen-Løve’s French DJ drama starring Greta Gerwig and Brady CorbetBest of Enemies, Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon’s doc about Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.’s legendary 1968 televised debates; Results, Andrew Bujalski’s awkward comedy starring Cobie Smulders and Guy Pearce as personal trainers; Francois Ozon‘s latest drama, The New Girlfriend; and What Happened, Miss Simone?, Liz Garbus’ piercing doc about legendary vocalist Nina Simone.

The festival will open with lauded documentarian Alex Gibney‘s Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, which should be a perfect kick-off for the Bay Area audience. The End of the Tour, James Ponsoldt’s follow-up to The Spectacular Now, is the fest’s Centerpiece presentation, while Michael Almereyda’s biopic Experimenter, starring Peter Sarsgaard as scientist Stanley Milgram, will be the Closing Night Film.

Late additions to the festival lineup are still rolling in, but three additions confirmed are Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Sundance darling Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Patrick Brice’s uncomfortable comedy The Overnight, and Helen Hunt’s Ride.

Special awards will be handed out to two of the industry’s most enduring luminaries. Guillermo del Toro will be in attendance to receive the Irving M. Levin Directing Award, and Richard Gere will be on-hand to receive the Peter J. Owens Award. Also receiving awards are documentarian Kim Longinotto and film translator Lenny Borger.

For the complete lineup, visit www.sffs.org

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Happy Friday the 13th: First Trailer For Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Crimson Peak’ is Here http://waytooindie.com/news/happy-friday-the-13th-first-trailer-for-guillermo-del-toros-crimson-peak-is-here/ http://waytooindie.com/news/happy-friday-the-13th-first-trailer-for-guillermo-del-toros-crimson-peak-is-here/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=30687 The hair, the costumes, the creepiness!]]>

On a day known for it’s superstitions and inherent spookiness levels, those of us more excited about an excuse to watch horror films tonight than rom-coms tomorrow will be extra thrilled by this new trailer.

We’ve been hotly anticipating Guillermo del Toro’s next film Crimson Peak since he teased us with a creepy walk-through set-up at Comic-Con last summer. With the promise of a return to Pan’s Labyrinth-levels of creepiness and the sort of atmosphere del Toro is expert at creating, this film actually made our most anticipated of 2015 list.

In this new trailer we get a better look at Mia Wasikowska’s Edith Cushing, a Victorian era woman swept off her feet by Tom Hiddleston’s Sir Thomas Sharpe who brings her to his childhood home where his creepy sister (a surprisingly dark haired Jessica Chastain) lurks and the house itself is a menacing character. It may have just the slightest bit too much CG, but as Pacific Rim proves, no one makes you buy-in and root for CG more than del Toro.

Watch and get freaked out for yourself below.

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The Book of Life http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/the-book-of-life/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/the-book-of-life/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=26815 The fate of three friends is wagered upon by the leaders of the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten in this colorful but dizzying animated feature.]]>

It’s a given that children’s movies will fall into certain plot paths. Characters and story devices are often obvious; themes and lessons are overly sentimental. Given the right mix of well-placed maturity throughout, this doesn’t have to mean a children’s movie feels “dumb.” Pixar has been doing it right for years. Dreamworks has started catching on with How to Train Your Dragon. Twentieth Century Fox has mostly stuck to animal films, and Reel FX Animation has hardly produced anything, but the two companies are certainly branching out with their latest, The Book of Life. Full of some vibrant and excellent animation, fraught with detail, the film gives some much overdue appreciation and attention to Latino culture. But the film is limited in its innovation, leaning heavily on its imagery while being weighed down by stock children’s cartoon characters with Mexican accents (though not even consistently).

Produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by feature first-timer Jorge Gutierrez, The Book of Life tells the story of La Muerte (Kate del Castillo) and Xibalba (Ron Perlman), the rulers of the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten respectively, who make a wager regarding three children: empathetic and quick-witted Maria (Zoe Saldana), musically inclined Manolo (Diego Luna), and the heroic and orphaned Joaquin (Channing Tatum). Separated at a young age when Maria is sent off to boarding school in Spain, Manolo grows into a sentimental musician forced into the family business of bullfighting, while Joaquin — aided by a magical pin the sneaky Xibalba gave him ensuring he can’t be hurt — becomes a prized soldier like his general father before him. Maria returns all grown up and the wager for which of the men will win Maria begins. But Xibalba doesn’t play fair, and when Maria begins to fall for the crooning Manolo (women are so predictable) he sends his venomous snake to do away with Manolo. This sends Manolo on an adventure among the dead, determined to reunite with Maria.

In a somewhat telling parallel, the film’s story is told by a museum tour guide to a group of unruly white kids. This isn’t the only way Mexican director Gutierrez panders, working in many recognizable Mexican elements (churros, moustaches, mariachi) almost as if to soften the heavier subject of the Mexican view of death to white audiences. It wouldn’t be so bad except that the script meanders and fails in its likability to make up for such things.

The Book of Life

 

The love triangle is generic, with very little motivation behind the men’s competition other than their view of Maria as a muse (Manolo) or a prize (Joaquin). And while she asserts herself, Maria’s feminist stance is barebones and rather moot in the face of almost no character development. Instead generic themes erupt as if trying to fill some sort of quota — teamwork wins, love prevails, good conquers evil, death is not the end, friendship is greater than or equal to love, etc. They’re all there, but none of them really stick. And when about 8 new characters are introduced in the second half of the film, there is just too much going on for there to be real connectedness to anyone.

The puppet style of the characters, with their hinged limbs, is an interesting animation choice, but doesn’t necessarily tie in to Día de Muertos directly. Overall the abundance of detail can be somewhat feverish and points to a director whose background lies primarily within animation. The sunset coloring is at first striking, and then numbing. It is undeniably skillful, but some restraint may have made it that much more impressive.

The Book of Life is overstimulating, holding all its energy in its colors and the constant action of its characters, but when broken down, while everyone is doing so much, there are almost no moments of originality or chances for emotional affinity. I can’t decide if Gutierrez and co-writer Douglas Langdale underestimate children’s ability to notice when clichés are being thrown at them, or if there was some sort of self-doubt that accounts for their over saturation of trite techniques in the film. Given so much to look at and experience, the film ends up offering very little, even when it seems obvious real talent lies behind the effort.

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Comic-Con 2014 Day 2: The Anti-Harry Potter, Guillermo’s Cartoon, & Kevin Smith Swears Up a Storm http://waytooindie.com/news/comic-con-2014-day-2-the-anti-harry-potter-guillermos-cartoon-kevin-smith-swears-up-a-storm/ http://waytooindie.com/news/comic-con-2014-day-2-the-anti-harry-potter-guillermos-cartoon-kevin-smith-swears-up-a-storm/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=23644 Friday at Comic-Con in Hall H was primarily focused on two of television’s hottest shows, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. We won’t bore you with television news, but… oh, who are we kidding? If you love good films, chances are you watch both of these amazing shows and therefore should know you can […]]]>

Friday at Comic-Con in Hall H was primarily focused on two of television’s hottest shows, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. We won’t bore you with television news, but… oh, who are we kidding? If you love good films, chances are you watch both of these amazing shows and therefore should know you can check out the new preview of The Walking Dead Season 5 here, and be sure to catch the gag reel from Game of Thrones here.

Alright, on to movie news.

RADiUS-TWC Preview Horns and Everly

The first film-related panel of the day showcased two of RADiUS-TWC’s upcoming films, Everly and Horns. To speak on Everly was the film’s lead, Salma Hayek, and director Joe Lynch. The film is the story of a woman whose mob boss ex-boyfriend decides he wants her killed. She holes up in her apartment and defends herself agains the would-be assassins one by one. Lynch talked about his excitement to make a film starring a badass woman and “strong female character” which he said shouldn’t even be a term any more as a female ought just to be allowed to be a “strong character.” No argument here.

Salma talked about the difficulty of making a film shot entirely in one small location, as well as Lynch’s decision to shoot chronologically. For good measure she also mentioned that she “barely wear[s] anything at all through the whole film.”

The real meat of this panel was when director Alexandre Aja, writer Joe Hill, and star Daniel Radcliffe (and let’s be honest, mostly Radcliffe) made their entrance to show off Horns. Based on Hill’s novel, the film stars Radcliffe as Ig Perrish, a young man who wakes up one morning to discover he’s growing horns. His new accessories are fitting as he’s been demonized in his hometown for a year since his girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple) was murdered and the finger of blame was pointed at Ig. With his horns comes the disturbing gift of getting anyone near him to reveal their darkest secrets and innermost evil desires. At first alarming Ig soon realizes he can use his new gift to track down who really killed Merrin and force them to confess to it.

Daniel Radcliffe

After a full-audience rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Radcliffe, who just turned 25, Hill, who looks plenty like his father Stephen King and has his voice, remarked on the splendor of Hall H saying “Joss Whedon’s butt sweat once graced this chair. I can almost feel his essence wafting up to me.”

After that weirdness they showed an especially fun clip from the film where Ig convinces some reporters hounding him that they ought to fight each other before doing some investigating at a local bar. The bartender ends up starting the place on fire, and Ig walks coolly out the front door with smoking billowing around him, horns protruding, with a red shirt, yellow hoodie and great brown leather jacket. (Any similarities to Gryffindor colors were exclaimed to be purely coincidental — “I’m too young to be referencing my own past work in my new films” joked Radcliffe.)

Of course the audience got a bit swoony, unable to keep from asking Radcliffe questions that related this role to Harry Potter. He very eloquently spoke highly of his experience with the franchise and explained how much he loved the script for Horns immediately, finding himself quite drawn to the dark anti-hero Ig. Aja chimed in saying “Potter was only the beginning of something great.”

Based on what we saw the film has a bit of ridiculousness (how could it not with that premise?) but looks thoroughly enjoyable.

20th Century FOX Presentation

Next up was the two hour jam-packed presentation from 20th Century Fox. First on their slate, The Maze Runner, which they teased by immediately showing an extended look at one of the opening scenes in which teenager Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) finds himself in a fast-moving elevator which opens into a grassy glade surrounding by tall stone walls and filled with many other boys his own age and he himself can’t remember his own name.

Dylan O'Brien

Then out came director Wes Ball along with the author of the novel, James Dashner, followed by cast members Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, and Dylan O’Brien. They answered a few questions around the film, while audience questions focused mainly on the book series and Ball revealed they are hoping to complete the entire series, even showing a conceptual poster for The Scorch Trials, the title of the second book. Another long clip was shown of the bug-like creatures that terrorize the boys as they run through the maze. Things got slightly awkward when O’Brien accidentally let slip a spoiler that really wouldn’t surprise readers of the book, but was a bit of a giveaway for those who will just be seeing the film.

Next up was Jorge Gutierrez‘s colorfully vibrant cartoon, Book of Life. Showing a longer trailer for the film, it really does look impressively creative with breathtaking animation. (Here’s the first trailer.) Championing on behalf of the film was Gutierrez, producer Guillermo del Toro, Channing Tatum, Rob Perlman, and Christina Applegate. Always a fan favorite at Comic-Con, del Toro received the biggest welcome and was eloquent with his responses to questions regarding the film. The man has always been good in deciphering the difference between being a film’s director, and thus owner, and a film’s producer, which is when he plays advocate.

Guillermo del Toro

While del Toro is always geeky charming, and there were plenty of questions for Channing Tatum, especially one alluding to his best asset being his “visual” ones and not necessarily his voice, the real charmer was director Gutierrez who spoke with childlike enthusiasm about his childhood in Mexico and his deep connection with Dia De Los Muertos, a day when the dead are honored and believed to commune with the living.

The panelists left with the audience chanting “Hellboy 3” and del Toro smiling ear to ear.

Next up was Hitman: Agent 47, based on the video game. The film stars Rupert Friend, who sent in a short video hello introducing the first trailer. Clearly his work on Homeland has prepped him well to be a calm collected super-human assassin. The film looks ho-hum and the brief panel with Hannah Ware and Zachary Quinto didn’t inspire much enthusiasm for the film, just a few thank yous from fans to Quinto for his Star Trek work.

Next was a hilarious preview of New Girl co-stars Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr.‘s film Let’s Be Cops. The extended trailer does indeed look hilarious, albeit completely ridiculous. Jake Johnson sent in a video as he’s currently filming Jurassic World (I mean honestly, what is that movie even going to be like with all these comedians?!) that showed him in a hotel with a long-haired, thong clad man. Weird. Funny. Everyone involved, including Nina Dobrev, Rob Riggle, and Keegan-Michael Key, all sounded like they had a lot of fun filming it.

Let's Be Cops

Last in this jam-packed panel was more on Kingsman: The Secret Service. First a video with Mark Hamill, who has a role in the film, introduced an extended scene from the film. In the scene Colin Firth‘s secret agent character smoothly takes out some local thugs who give main character Eggsy (Taron Egerton) a hard time. The film looks action-packed and surprisingly clean for a comic-book adaptation. Perhaps because the main villain, played by Samuel L. Jackson hates the sight of blood?

At any rate it certainly looks like an interesting addition to the action-packed films on the roster this weekend and seeing Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson in the same panel was not something I’d have imagined every seeing.

The Musk of Tusk: An Evening with Kevin Smith

After a jam-packed day an hour and a half listening to Kevin Smith babble on was almost soothing. Known as a yearly frequenter and panel giver at Comic-Con, this year Kevin Smith started by giving Comic-Conners exactly what they’d want to hear: insider info on the new Star Wars film. Smith is one of the privelaged few who had the chance to visit the film’s set in London by invitation of JJ Abrams. Smith, while careful not to break his NDA, told an extended story (is anything LESS than extended with him?) about walking onto set and going aboard the Millennium Falcon.  He then segued strangely well into a sex-story concerning his wife. And that’s Kevin Smith for you. He got surprisingly more audience questions in than you’d think, considering how long-winded he is. Two of those questions were from children and it was hilarious to watch him try to keep his swearing at a minimum (as if they hadn’t JUST heard the sex story).

Kevin Smith

Eventually Smith revealed that Tusk is what he considers to be his best film to date, and he’s also working on a film he hopes children, especially girls will love, called Yoga Hosers. Finally Smith gave us the first trailer for Tusk, which he elaborately explained came from an idea developed during one of his podcasts, called Smodcast, where he discussed an ad someone in real-life posted about wanting someone to come stay with them and agree to dress in a walrus suit. Smith began to speculate this would make a great horror film, where the man actually wanted to turn his house guest INTO a walrus. After spitballing the premise, Smith got Twitter to affirm his decision to make the film with the hashtag #WalrusYes, and here we are a year later and his film is coming out in September.

The trailer is fantastic. In it, Justin Long plays a podcaster who travels to Canada to interview his latest subjective for his podcast and discovers the old man (Michael Parks) actually wants to keep him hostage and turn him into a walrus. It’s completely bizarre and looks delightfully creepy AND very Kevin Smith-ish, with Justin Long cracking a joke at the end of the trailer that he “doesn’t want to die in Canada.” It looks great, and you can check out the trailer here. After the trailer, actors Genesis Rodriguez and Haley Joel Osment came out to about their roles in the film.

In closing Kevin Smith assures us that though the trailer doesn’t explicitly show it, “We do turn him into a f***ing walrus. And it is f***ed up.”

It looks fantastic and it would be wonderful to see a Kevin Smith film we can get behind after all these years.

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10 Things We’re Looking Forward to at Comic-Con 2014 http://waytooindie.com/features/10-things-were-looking-forward-to-at-comic-con-2014/ http://waytooindie.com/features/10-things-were-looking-forward-to-at-comic-con-2014/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=23168 So Way Too Indie is about to become Way Too Geeky for a few days next week as we cover the annual Comic-Con International in San Diego. While we both decry and yet embrace the infiltration of Hollywood at a convention created for devoted comic fans, we revel in the chance to get our movie […]]]>

So Way Too Indie is about to become Way Too Geeky for a few days next week as we cover the annual Comic-Con International in San Diego.

While we both decry and yet embrace the infiltration of Hollywood at a convention created for devoted comic fans, we revel in the chance to get our movie news AND pop-culture fix all at the same time. I, Ananda, have painstakingly gone through the schedule of events (and OMG there are a lot) to find all those movie-related panels to (try to) attend so that WTI readers get all the juicy pop-culturey news they deserve.

Here are the Top 10 things Way Too Indie can’t wait to see and hear about at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con:

10 – Sony Pictures Panel

Jack Black Goosebumps

(Thursday, 12:30, Indigo Ballroom)

Feeding into our nostalgia is a first look at Goosebumps starring Jack Black and directed by Rob Letterman. Jack and Rob will both be on hand to talk about the film and discuss Black’s turn as the legendary author himself, R.L. Stine. The film is slated for August 7, 2015. Director Chris Columbus will also attend, showing audiences a sneak peek at upcoming Adam Sandler film Pixels also set to début next year.

9 – Radius-TWC Previews Horns and Everly

Horns and Everly

(Friday, 3pm, Hall H)

Daniel Radcliffe will be on-hand along with co-star Juno Temple to chat about Horns and début the film’s movie trailer. Directed by Alexandre Aja and based on Joe Hill’s dark novel, the film already looks like Radcliffe is tapping into the Voldemort spectrum of evil for his tortured protagonist. Additionally, Salma Hayek will introduce footage from Everly where she plays a woman protecting her family from assassins sent by her ex, a mob boss. We’ve also been promised other news on upcoming Radius titles.

8 – 20th Century Fox Presentation

The Maze Runner

(Friday, 4:20, Hall H)

While there is no formal description of what Fox will be covering they did release to press that talent will be on hand for The Maze Runner, Book of Life, Hitman: Agent 47, Let’s Be Cops, and Kingsman: The Secret Service. So we can expect to hear about all of those, but not a peep about next June’s new Fantastic Four reboot. Maybe because they know die-hard comic audiences at this convention are not entirely thrilled with director Josh Trank’s casting choices and avant-garde vision for the film, namely his suggestion that his cast not bother even reading the comics. At any rate YA fav The Maze Runner should draw a crowd, and Channing Tatum, a voice in Book of Life, will likely cause swooning. Personally Colin Firth, from Kingsman: The Secret Service, is the more likely candidate to cause this girl to swoon.

7 – Warner Bros. Pictures Panel

Jupiter Ascending

(Saturday, 10am, Hall H)

Saturday starts off with a bang, getting one of the most anticipated panels out of the way first thing. Always big presenters at the convention, Warner Bros. will provide a look at three major upcoming films: Jupiter Ascending, Mad Max: Fury Road (we’d better see Tom Hardy), and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. After its pushed back release date the latest Wachowski sibling film is what we most want to hear about, though the Mad Max reboot may also be worth a look. However, The Hobbit exhausted us two years ago. Yawn.

6 – The Giver

The Giver movie

(Thursday, 1:30, Hall H)

A novel with a huge fan base, especially those of us forced to read Lois Lowry’s The Giver in school as children, the film adaptation has generated huge amounts of buzz. With a fantastic cast (oh, please show up Meryl Streep) we can’t wait to see exclusive footage from the film which premieres in August. The trailer has already shown it looks pretty fantastic.

5 – Paramount Panel

Interstellar movie

(Thursday, 3pm, Hall H)

No news on what they will discuss but we’re hoping there is something on Interstellar, Chris Nolan’s new film to be released in November. Also likely are plugs for Hercules (which comes out the very next day) and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We hope they know their audience and don’t bother with Hot Tub Time Machine 2. And if we’re really lucky there might be some small clues about next summer’s Terminator: Genesis.

4 – Goonies Never Say Die

Goonies Never Say Die movie

(Thursday, 6pm, Indigo Ballroom)

Goonies cast members will be on hand to discuss the newly announced Goonies sequel. Surprise guests are guaranteed and plenty of discussion on how this cult-favorite film has stood the test of time. The child in us is literally jumping up and down in anticipation.

3 – The Musk of Tusk – An Evening with Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith Tusk

(Friday, 6:35pm, Hall H)

We’ll definitely be getting a trailer for Kevin Smith’s new monster horror film Tusk, his first film in three years. It was announced yesterday the film will be released September 19. Also guaranteed is hilarious discussion as anyone who listens to Smith’s SModcast podcast already knows. Speaking of the podcast, Tusk was first envisioned in an episode of the show and follows a journalist who encounters a worldwide adventurer and becomes the plaything of a deranged killer. The film stars Justin Long, Michael Parks, Genesis Rodriguez and Haley Joel Osment and we know Rodriguez and Osment will be at the panel.

2 – Legendary Pictures Panel

Guillermo del Toro

(Saturday, 12:25pm, Hall H)

Guaranteed are a look at Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming horror gothic-romance Crimson Peak as well as a look at new found-footage horror-thriller As Above/So Below. The latter is already rather uninspiring after releasing a ho-hum trailer but we wouldn’t mind if Guillermo del Toro took up all the time. Crimson Peak sounds quite promising, with del Toro saying his intentions were to make a film in the vein of the horror greats, The Exorcist, The Shining, and The Omen. A classic ghost story sounds like exactly what we need in the sea of found-footage out there in Horror-land. And if he wanted to go on to talk about Pacific Rim 2, we’d be more than happy to hear all about it! No clue if there will be enough info yet to discuss Godzilla 2, we completely understand director Gareth Edwards might be a little overwhelmed with that little Star Wars spinoff film he’s prepping for.

1 – Marvel Studios Panel

Guardians of the Galaxy

(Saturday, 5:30pm, Hall H)

Always the benchmark of Comic-Con we expect plenty from Marvel’s presentation. For starters they are likely to give us some special guest appearances and footage from Guardians of the Galaxy as a last push before it’s August 1 release. Also pretty much guaranteed is info on Avengers: Age of Ultron including some cast members and hopefully a sneak peek or two at footage. Marvel’s had a busy week with announcements about their universe, especially major changes for The Avengers as Thor is now a woman, Captain America is getting a comic reboot in “The All-New Captain America” where the Falcon takes over as the Captain, and then Iron Man gets back to his darker Tony Stark roots in “Superior Iron Man”. No clue how this will effect the film franchise, but I’m sure we can expect a reboot in a few years depending on how audiences take to the new personalities/sexes/identities. Otherwise, announcements around Ant Man, due for a release next summer, are also likely despite Edgar Wright’s abandonment of the project. Peyton Reed (who is also signed on to direct the screen version of comic book The Fifth Beatle) is now set to direct and the film just might have a chance of keeping up its momentum.

Notable Absences

Where the heck is Disney, Lucasfilm, and Lionsgate? Apparently Lionsgate thinks The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 doesn’t need the added publicity, because they are blowing off Comic-Con this year. They are probably right. Obviously Lucasfilm doesn’t think it has enough to talk about yet in regards to Star Wars Episode VII. And apparently Disney didn’t feel like coming out to promote their first Disney-Marvel animated collaboration Big Hero 6 (which just debuted a trailer). Also no George Clooney to chat about Tomorrowland, the film based on the area of Disney’s theme park, and no Pixar which means nothing on Inside Out. Maybe Disney is skipping out in an attempt to push people to D23, their exclusive Disney convention?

At any rate, be sure to stay tuned to Way Too Indie for up to the minute coverage throughout Comic-Con as we battle the lines and cosplayers to get all the juicy tidbits.

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Guillermo del Toro to Return to Indie Filmmaking with New Project http://waytooindie.com/news/guillermo-del-toro-to-return-to-indie-filmmaking-with-new-project/ http://waytooindie.com/news/guillermo-del-toro-to-return-to-indie-filmmaking-with-new-project/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=23016 While we all eagerly (or not so eagerly) await Pacific Rim 2 and next year’s Crimson Peak, Collider reports in an interview with Guillermo del Toro that the director is set to direct an unnamed project first. Not much is known about the film, though we know it will be shot with black & white cinematography, and del Toro is […]]]>

While we all eagerly (or not so eagerly) await Pacific Rim 2 and next year’s Crimson Peak, Collider reports in an interview with Guillermo del Toro that the director is set to direct an unnamed project first.

Not much is known about the film, though we know it will be shot with black & white cinematography, and del Toro is pursuing legendary actor John Hurt for a leading role along with an unnamed newcomer for the leading female role. In true GdT fashion, he states the film will include at least one ” great creature”. Even with so little info, this sounds like it could be a great return to the smaller-scale indie horror films that built del Toro’s career.

Not yet in production, there isn’t any release time frame yet, but del Toro refers to it as “really, really bizarre,” which sounds like exactly the sort of thing he’s good at.

 

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