ISSUE 009
WINTER 2019
HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL F I L M M A K E R
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Legend of Cinema:
CHARLIE CHAPLIN
For Mov i emake r s Wo r ld w ide 2020'S BIG FILMS
OSC ARS U ND E R THRE AT
B R EA K T H R O U G H I N V R
AVATAR 2 PRE V IE W
N EW M OV I E R E V I E W S
BRITANNIA AWARD S RE P O RT
COVER STORY
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目 录 好莱坞国际电影人
CONTENTS
COVER STORY
Charlie Chaplin—What a Life!
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[Quarterly Publication] 2019 Winter [Issue 009] Published by: Hollywood International Film Exchange Address: 6565 East Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90040, USA Editor-in-Chief: Sandro Monetti Editors: Jimmy Jiang, Xinggang Wang, Yiming (Eva) Bian Art Editor: Yiming (Eva) Bian Editorial Committee: Kimberley Kates, Jimmy Jiang, Xinggang Wang,
LATEST NEWS
We Are The Champions Netflix Plan Angers Hollywood Jane Fonda Shocker Oscar Category Change HiFex, Capstone Group News Releases Big Screen Entertainment Group BAFTA LA
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Sandro Monetti, Yiming (Eva) Bian, Lorraine Chi Facebook: Hollywood International Express Twitter: @HiFilmExpress Website: Hi-Fex.com
HOLLYWOOD SPOTLIGHT The Big Films of 2020 Are the Oscars Still Relevant? Hollywood Studios Struggle
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TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT [Contact Info] Contact: Serena Hife E-mail: Adv.Hifex@gmail.com
SPONSORS -BIG SCREEN ENTERTAINMENT GROUP-BIG SCREEN HOLDINGS-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL FILM EXCHANGE-
Virtual Reality Breakthrough? Get Ready for Avatar 2 Recreating the Vatican
POLICY & REGULATIONS Phone Ban in Theaters? Sustainability Policies Introduced
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-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS-DIAMOND SOFA-FAIRFAX ENTERTAINMENT-CHINESE CREATIVE CULTURE ORGANIZATION-
BACK COVER STORY BAFTA Britannia Awards
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COVER STORY
LEGENDS OF CINEMA:
CHARLIE CHAPLIN W H A T
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L I F E !
As an icon of t he s ilent film e ra , C h a r l i e C h a p l i n i s o n e of t h e most imp or ta nt fi gures in cinem a histo ry. But how m uch do yo u reall y kn ow a bo u t th e co m e d y l ege nd w h o ma de h is L itt le Tramp a class ic character i n th e h i sto ry of i nte r n ati o n a l film w it h t h e likes of Ci ty L ights and Mo dern Tim es? Here are ten fascinat ing fa c ts a bo u t th e B r i ti s h f u n ny m a n w h o set ou t to conquer Hollywood and, more than a hundred years later, is still adored by movie fans wor ld wide.
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* He o nce entered a C h a r l i e C h a p l i n l o o ka l i ke co ntest – and finis hed t hird ! *C h a p l i n m a d e h i s Lo n d o n We st E n d sta ge a c t i n g d e b u t a ge d j u s t 1 2 i n a S h e r l o c k H o l m e s p l ay a s ‘ B i l l y t h e pa ge b oy.’ * His fat her died of a l co h o l i s m a ge d j u st 37 a n d h i s mother was co m m itte d to a m e nta l a sy l u m . * He was m arried fo u r ti m es – th re e of h i s b r i d es were teenagers when he m a r r i e d th e m . * Chaplin fat hered 11 c h i l d re n . * He was o ne of t he r i c h est m e n i n A m e r i ca . A s ea r l y a s 1 9 16, his salary was a l rea d y $ 670,00 0 -a -yea r. *With fellow Ho lly wo o d i co n s D o u g l a s Fa i r ba n ks, Ma ry Pick fo rd and D.W. Gr i ffi th h e fo u n d e d th e fa m o u s fi l m studio, United Ar t ists. * Des pite liv ing in t he Un i te d States fo r ove r 4 0 years, he never b eca m e a US c i ti ze n . I n 1 9 5 2 th e US gove rnm ent revo ked h i s resi d e n cy p e r m i t a m i d r u m ors he wa s a co m m unist sy m path i ze r. C h a p l i n re l o cate d to Switzerland . *Af te r b eing ex iled, h e o n l y retu r n e d to A m e r i ca o n ce in 1 972 to receive an Ho n o ra ry O sca r a n d a sta r o n t h e Holly wo o d Walk of Fa m e. * Grave ro b b ers sto le h i s re m a i n s f ro m th e Sw i ss cemetery where he wa s b u r i e d i n 1 977. —Sa n d ro Mon ett i
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L AT E S T N E W S
UNBEATABLE! We are the champions…again.
For the second year in a row, Hollywood International Filmmaker Magazine has won a trophy at America’s most prestigious entertainment journalism awards. Our editor-in-chief Sandro Monetti retained the title for Best Headline—for a report on the winners of the Cannes Film Festival he headlined “Cannes You Feel the Love Tonight.” Long established showbiz magazines Variety and the Hollywood Reporter also took home trophies at the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards 2019 held at LA’s Biltmore Hotel.
has come in such a short time and is a great tribute to the whole fantastic team here.”
Film director Quentin Tarantino was another winner at the ceremony, organized by the LA Press Club, receiving the Distinguished Storyteller Award. That trophy was presented by actor Jamie Foxx who said, “Quentin takes unknowns and makes them stars and takes stars and makes them legends. He’s amazing at what he does and he’s cool too.”
Sandro said, “To share the winners’ circle once more with iconic titles like that shows how far our new magazine
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Moviemakers have reacted with fury to a new feature being developed by Netflix which would allow viewers to watch movies at faster speeds. The subscription giant has been testing a fast forward system similar to that used by podcasts and audio books which enables quicker playback so that content can be binge watched more rapidly. But leading directors and other Hollywood creatives have hit out at the plan saying it ruins their carefully crafted movies, especially the timing of dialogue, and loses more of the cinematic experience. Director Judd Apatow tweeted Netflix to threaten: “Don’t make me have to call every director and show creator on Earth to fight you over this. We give you nice things leave them as they were intended to be seen.” Actor Aaron Paul said Netflix moving forward with this plan would “mean they are completely taking control of everyone’s art and destroying it.” Other creatives have complained that Netflix is catering to the “lazy”
Apatow
and “tasteless” by even considering such a move. The company responded to the criticism by stressing the plan was at the experimental stage and may not become permanent, saying in a stamen, “We’re always experimenting with new ways to help members use Netflix. This test makes it possible to vary the speed at which people watch shows on their mobiles. As with any test, it may not become a permanent feature.” —Sandro Monetti
H O L LY W O O D OUTRAGED BY NEW NETFLIX PL AN 8
Paul
The MOST UNUSUAL Acceptance Speech Ever
L AT E S T N E W S
Hollywood icon Jane Fonda accepted her latest award while being arrested! The veteran actress and activist was unable to receive her career ac hievement honor at the British Academy Britannia Awards as she was taken into custody earlier that day during an environmental protest. But as she was led away in zip-tie c u f f s b y p o l i c e i n Wa s h i n g t o n D C , she took the opportunity to look into a nearby camera and deliver her speech.
F o n d a , 81 , s a i d , ” T h a n k y o u B A F T A f o r t he S tanley Kubr ic k award f or excellence in film. I’m sorr y I’m not there, I’m ver y honored.” It was the third time in three weeks she had been arrested as part of a pledge to wage a campaign of civil disobedience to bring more awareness to the climate change crisis. To s e e w h i c h s t a r s D I D m a ke i t t o t h e Britannia Awards stage, see our repor t on t he ceremony towards t he bac k of t his issue.
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CHANGING NAMES
The name of the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars has been changed. Starting with the February 2020 ceremony, it will be known instead as Best International Feature Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the switch to stress the universal and inclusive nature of cinema and because the word “foreign” is an alienating term to some. It means that Mexican family drama Roma, which triumphed nearly a year ago, goes down in history as the last movie to win the best foreign language film Oscar. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the huge desire to win the category – this time there are 92 countries battling it out for the trophy. Among the movies aiming to win the category under its new title is Spanish hope Pain and Glory starring Antonio Banderas, who is pictured on this page with Hollywood International Filmmaker Magazine editor-inchief Sandro Monetti.
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Hollywood International Film Exchange, Capstone Group News Release
O ur l atest rele as e is pu ls e-p ounding ac t ion t hr i l ler, The C our ier. Shot in L ondon, t he mov ie st ars Olga Kur y len ko and Gar y Oldman. It fol lows a fema le motorc ycle cour ier w ho le ar ns t he l atest p ackage she’s c ar r y ing is a b omb. That dis cover y prop els her into a quest to prote c t t he life of a w it ness w hos e test imony cou ld br ing dow n a notor ious cr ime lord. The C our ier was rele as e d in t he US and Europ e in l ate Novemb er 2019.
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Cannes 2019Capstone Launches Sales on Glenn Close & Mila Kunis Film C apstone l aunche d inter nat iona l s a les on R o dr igo Garci a's drama st ar r ing Glenn C los e & Mi l a Kunis
C ANNES 2019 We made a big spl ash at C annes, s el ling t he Mel Gibs on and Emi le Hirs ch t hr i l ler 'Force of Nature,' pro duce d by Emmett/Furl a/O asis Fi lms!
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HiFEX at BAF TA Tea Party
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British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles® cordially invites you to the
Honoring
J AC KI E C H AN Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment
S T EVE C O O G AN Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy Presented by Jaguar Land Rover
J AN E F O N DA Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film Presented by Cunard
J O RDAN P EELE John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing
P H O EB E WALLER- B RI DG E Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year
Additional honoree to be announced.
F R I DAY , OC T OB E R 25, 2019 THE B EVER LY HILTO N 9876 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California 5:45 PM VIP Reception | General Reception 7:30 PM Dinner | Award Presentations After-Party Immediately Following Black Tie
O FFIC IAL B R O ADC AST P AR TNER
R ESER VATIO NS AND INFO R MATIO N: MTA Events 818-814-6670 | britannias@mtaevents.com bafta.org
P R ESENTED B Y
@BAFTALA #BRITANNIAS
HiFEX at 2019 Britannia Aeards
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HiFE X at Brit ish C onsulat e Event , B AF TA G ar den Par t y
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IFSM 2019
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BIG SCREEN ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Ta l e n t d i s c o v e re d a n d n u r t u re d b y B i g S c re e n h a s s c o re d a b i g w i n a t a H o l l y w o o d Aw a rd s c e re m o n y. M y B l o o d , a t h r i l l e r a b o u t a n exo rc i s t r i d d i n g a y o u n g g i r l o f a d e m o n , w a s a m o n g t h e h o n o re e s a t t h e E m e rg i n g C i n e m a t o g r a p h e r Aw a rd s i n Lo s Angeles. T h e f i l m w a s b ro u g h t t o t h e s c re e n b y r i s i n g s t a r s l o n g c h a m p i o n e d b y t h e c o m p a n y, i n c l u d i n g w r i t e r- d i re c t o r b ro t h e r s B e n a n d J u l i e n D e k a a n d c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r G e o f f G e o rg e . T h e y f i r s t w o r k e d t o g e t h e r o n a n o t h e r B i g S c re e n m o v i e , 2 0 1 3 ’s Mosquito-Man. “ I t ’s v e r y exc i t i n g t o s e e y o u n g t a l e n t d e v e l o p e d w i t h i n o u r c o m p a n y b e i n g re w a rd e d f o r t h e i r a b i l i t y a n d a r t i s t r y,” s a i d B i g S c re e n C h i e f E xe c u t i v e Kimberley Kates.
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S h e p ro d u c e d M y B l o o d , w h i c h w a s p r a i s e d f o r i t s u s e o f l i g h t i n g , l e n s e s a n d c a m e r a s , w i t h a n o t h e r B i g S c re e n exe c u t i v e , M i c h a e l M a n a s s e r i . R e c o g n i t i o n a t t h e ECA s , b a c ke d b y T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Cinematographers Guild, is a huge boost for the whole c o m p a n y. “ B e i n g re c o g n i ze d w i t h a n ECA i s t r u l y t h e b e s t s t a m p o f a p p ro v a l a y o u n g D P c a n a s k f o r,” s a i d a w a rd w i n n e r G e o f f G e o rg e, w h o h e a p e d p ra i s e o n t h e D e k a b ro t h e r s . “ T h e y a re i n c re d i b l e v i s i o n a r i e s w h o c o n s t r u c t e d a w h o l e u n i v e r s e f o r t h e f i l m .” My Blood is part of a dynamic and diverse slate of re c e n t p ro j e c t s f ro m B i g S c re e n w h i c h i s a l s o d e v e l o p i n g Christmas movie The Key to Christmas and female pilots d r a m a s e r i e s Av e n g e r F i e l d .
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BAFTA Garden Party
BAFTA BAF TA T V Tea Party
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British Reception
LA
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B AT T L E O F T H E BLOCKBUSTERS The year ahead is full of hugely anticipated films and here is our selections of the ten biggest movies coming to multiplexes in 2020.
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THE VOYAGE OF DR. DOLITTLE – January
TOP GUN : MAVERICK–June
Robert Downey Jr as a doctor who can talk to all animals in their own language.
Tom Cruise feels the need for speed again as he races across the sky.
MULAN–March
TENET–July
Disney’s live action remake of the animated classic about a female Chinese warrior.
Christopher Nolan’s new espionage film is his most ambitious yet – and most expensive with a $225 million budget.
NO TIME TO DIE–April
THE ETERNALS–November
Daniel Craig is back for one last mis sion as James Bond as 007 faces off against Rami Malek’s villain.
Marvel’s next big franchise sees Angelina Jolie leading a group of god-like immortals
FAST AND FURIOUS 9–May
COMING 2 AMERICA–December
Each of these movies ups the stakes so look for even more epic action from Vin Diesel and co.
Eddie Murphy returns in the long-awaited sequel to one of his most beloved comedies
BLACK WIDOW–May
WEST SIDE STORY–December
Sc arlet t Johnans son’s Avenger s charac ter get s her own spin-of f movie at last.
Steven Spielberg directs the remake of this classic musical.
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The Oscars are facing one of the biggest crisis situations in their long history–a problem of relevance. The disconnect between the likely best picture contenders and the films that actually pack movie theaters seems wider than ever. And the numbers prove it… Disney films were responsible were around 40 percent of all ticket sales in 2019 but none of them were likely best picture contenders. The other Hollywood studios have largely given up on the kind of quality fare that wins Oscars as they instead battle to find blockbusters of their own. Meanwhile business for independent films–from which most Oscar nominees are drawn–was down about 45 percent year on year. That leaves streamer Netflix as the company with the most Oscar chances–even though America’s largest theatre chains refuse to play streamable movies considering them TV films and the Netflix pictures that do see the inside of cinemas generally only stay there a couple of weeks. Netflix received 10 nominations and three Oscars for Roma last year and will be hoping to break through to the best picture prize this time with contenders including Marriage Story and The Irishman. The entertainment world is changing fast–but one thing that stays the same is many movies are in the mix for Oscars. There are a wide range of contenders to take best picture on February 9, 2020–Judy, Joker, JoJo Rabbit, Ford v Ferrari, The Two Popes and Harriet but still no frontrunner. Yet with Avengers: Endgame and other blockbusters so far ahead at the box office, are the Oscars still relevant? —Sandro Monetti
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Hollywood’s Major Studios:
What’s Gone Wrong The year 2019 was a relatively miserable one for mainstream Hollywood Studios with a string of flops hurting the balance sheet. At a time when the cinema industry faces intense competition from streaming platforms, many high-risk bets failed to pay off. Here’s a look at some of the projects which failed to meet expectations. Biggest Flops From Major Studios in 2019. 20th Century FOX: In the year Disney
absorbed the studio, Fox went down with with a whimper.
Flop Movie：X Man- Dark Phoenix Budget：$200M Gross(World)：$252M Loss Estimate：$100M or over Flop Movie：AD Astra Budget：$100M Gross(World)：$127M Loss Estimate：$50M or over Flop Movie：Tolkien Budget：$20M Gross(World)：$7.8M Loss Estimate：$20M or over
Paramount: The struggling studio bet big
and lost big, more caution and common sense needed
Flop Movie：GEMINI MAN Budget：$138M Gross(World)：$172M Loss Estimate：$100M
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Flop Movie：TERMINATOR: Dark Fate Budget：$185M Gross(World)：$250M Loss Estimate：$100M SONY: Failed to find the one big mega-hit which would kickstart the studio Flop Movie：MIB International Budget：$110M Gross(World)：$254M Loss Estimate：$ a little Flop Movie：ANGRY BIRD 2 Budget：$65M Gross(World)：$145M Loss Estimate：$ a little
UNIVERSAL：Only one flop for the second placed studio which is learning lessons but remains far behind Disney
Flop Movie：Welcome to Marwen Budget：$50M Gross(World)：$13M Loss Estimate：$40M
DISNEY：Top of the pile making big movie from blockbuster hits and in other areas of the business too
Flop Movie：DUMBO Budget：$170M Gross(World)：$353M Loss Estimate：$ a little
Warner Bros：Formerly a leader, Warners seems reduced to supporting player status now.
Flop Movie：The Goldfinch (Co-production with Amazon) Budget：$45M Gross(World)：$9.7M Loss Estimate：$45M Flop Movie：The Kitchen (Co-production) Budget：$38M Gross(World)：$16M Loss Estimate：$30M
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The traditional power player studios remain, suc h as Paramount, Wa r n e r B r o s a n d e v e n S o n y P i c t u r e s , w h i c h w a s e s t a b l i s h e d by acquir ing Columbia, Tr iSatr and MGM.
These companies
occupy large areas, wit h countless huge studios, shooting bases and multiple of fice buildings, as well as related auxiliar y work areas. But while in the past these were great advantages in helping them control Hollywood, in this new digital era of the film industr y suc h factors have become a huge burden, and the daily basic expenses are also huge. This also makes it dif ficult for major studios to take a step for ward in terms of reform. With the rapid development of hi-technology and the continuous updating of film production models, those huge studios and shooting bases become less and less important and advantageous. Based on the increasing operating costs of the studios, the risks will become higher as movie production costs rise. It is the easier for second level studios, like Lionsgate for example, to keep up with the times. To overcome t hese obst acles, f irst of all, it is necessar y t o greatly reduce the studios' operating costs, and change little used facilities to other uses, such as tourist attractions, hotels, rest aurants, e tc., or sell t hem. Secondl y, reduce t he cost of film production, and use high-tech methods as much as possible and following a second level film production company or even independent filmmakers’ production model. Third, also more i m p o r t a n t l y, b u i l d u p m u l t i - f u n c t i o n a l i z e f i l m p ro d u c t s , m u l t i channel distribution and income, and enter the new era of film. Fo r a c i n e m a ' s a r t wo r k , t h e f i l m m u s t b e a c o m m o d i t y, a n d i t s multi-channel distribution and derivative products can achieve m u l t i - d i r e c t i o n a l p r o f i t a b i l i t y. D i s n e y ' s s u c c e s s h a s i t a l l . T h a t ’ s t h e e x a m p l e t o f o l l o w. Ref erences: IMDB, Box Of f ice Mojo and Mtime.com Jimmy Jiang Sandro Monetti
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TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT
VIRTUAL REALITY —ACTUAL PROFITS? Moviemakers have long been looking for ways to monetize virtual reality and now the search might be over. Universal Studios has been testing out the world’s first in-car VR entertainment experience at its Hollywood theme park. The Bride of Frankenstein Holoride—featuring one of the studio’s classic horror characters—sees visitors to Universal’s Hollywood theme park being driven in a fleet of Ford Explorers while wearing Oculus Rift headsets and enjoying a scary VR experience. It’s seen as the first step towards a future where passengers on car journeys—especially young ones—will fight the boredom by putting on VR headsets and enjoying games, films and experiences. Such a future would offer money making opportunities for film studios and content creators which is why Universal has been keen to experiment with the idea. Holoride, the company behind the experience, worked with the studio to create an immersive entertainment where passengers are riding down a foggy country lane as bodyguards to the Bride and have to shoot at ghosts who swoop in to attack as the road twists and the vehicle swerves. The hope is that every car that is VR enabled in future will become an outlet for commercialization, especially as a new canvas for content creation. —Sandro Monetti
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The long awaited and much delayed Avatar 2 is finally set for release in 2021 and looks set to mark a new frontier in movie technology. Just as the smash hit original, which came out way back in 2009, reimagined the possibilities of filmmaking, so the sequel is set to do the same thanks to a series of new inventions. Among the technological highlights: performance capture scenes have been shot under water—something never done before in film histor y The system took 18 months to develop but director James Cameron is delighted with it, saying, “We're getting really good data, beautiful character motion and great facial performance capture. We've basically cracked the code.” As he found with another of his mega-hit films, Titanic, water scenes are not easy to pull off but when done right the results can be spectacular. In other firsts, Avatar 2 is being shot at a higher frame rate than the standard 24 frames per second and filmed on virtual cameras of such quality that Cameron won’t need additional visual effects to make the images photo real. The visionar y moviemaker had hoped to make Avatar 2 the first film show in “glasses free 3D” but now admits the technology won’t be ready in time. However with Avatar 3, 4 and 5 also planned, the franchise should eventually benefit from that development.
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TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT
The stor yline is set 12 years after the original and sees lead characters Jake Sully and Neytiri—again played by Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana—traveling across Pandora and exploring its oceans when a sudden human invasion changes ever ything. New cast members include Kate Winslet, Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh. Cameron is not worried that the long gap between the first and second films would harm the movie’s box office chances, pointing out that there were long gaps for the second part of his other franchise films—and neither Terminator 2 nor Aliens seemed to suffer. —Sandro Monetti
OF TECHNOLOGY
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It’s being called one of the greatest production design achievements in cinema history – building a life-size replica of the Vatican’s iconic, symbolic and historic Sistine Chapel on a sound stage in just a few weeks for new movie The Two Popes. The person in charge of the enormous project was production designer Mark Tildesley whose local team built the spectacular creation in just ten weeks at Cinecitta Studios in Rome. “It was a personal mission for the team who were very passionate about building the set and took such pride in building something so deeply in their history,” he said. Tildesley (right) also used Italian painters skilled in recreating classical paintings to create copies of the Renaissance art on the walls then put them on a wallpaper like layer of plastic film and, in a system similar to children’s tattoos, laid the piece over the plaster walls to create the dramatic and realistic results. When work was complete the moviemakers brought in real Sistine Chapel guides and they were shocked how authentic it was and confirmed it passed muster. The finished version was actually three centimeters bigger than the real thing making it technically the largest Sistine Chapel on the planet. The film, starring Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict and Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis, has won widespread acclaim for its performances, script and direction and especially for its production design. —Sandro Monetti
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C a n a c o m p l e t e b a n o n c e l l p h o n e s i n m o v i e t h e a t re s b e far away? R e g u l a t i o n s o n t h e i s s u e m a y b e f o r t h c o m i n g a s m o re a n d m o re c i n e m a s a d o p t a ze ro - t o l e r a n c e p o l i c y. A n y o n e w h o h a s b e e n t o a f i l m re c e n t l y c a n s e e t h a t p re s c re e n i n g a n n o u n c e m e n t s a s k i n g t h e a u d i e n c e t o s t a y o f f t h e i r p h o n e s d u r i n g t h e m o v i e a re n o t w o r k i n g . As the distraction caused by the devices continues to d i s r u p t t h e m o v i e g o i n g ex p e r i e n c e , t h e a t re o w n e r s f e a r a u d i e n c e s a re b e i n g d r i v e n a w a y. I n s t e a d o f l o s i n g m o re c u s t o m e r s t o h o m e v i e w i n g , s o m e v e n u e s a re t a k i n g a c t i o n b y t a k i n g a w a y c e l l p h o n e s b e f o re s c re e n i n g s . T h e a d d i t i o n a l r i s k o f p i r a c y h a s s e e n a p h o n e b a n s t a r t t o g e t s o m e s u p p o r t f ro m s t u d i o s . N e w Yo r k c i n e m a s h a v e b e e n l e a d i n g t h e f i g h t a ga i n s t p h o n e s , w h i c h i s p e r h a p s n o t s u r p r i s i n g a s B ro a d w a y t h e a t re s i n t h e c i t y h a v e h a d t h i s p ro b l e m f o r y e a r s . I t i s n o w i l l e ga l t o u s e a p h o n e i n a B ro a d w a y t h e a t re – b u t t h e p ro b l e m i s t h e re g u l a t i o n s a re n e v e r e n f o rc e d a n d t h e p ro s p e c t o f a $ 5 0 f i n e d o e s n o t d e t e r t h e t ex t e r s .
S o s e v e r a l t h e a t re s a n d c i n e m a s t h e re a n d i n o t h e r c i t i e s a re u s i n g t h e s e r v i c e s o f Yo n d r, a c o m p a n y w h i c h m a k e s g l o v e l i ke p o u c h e s w h i c h v e n u e s t a f f c a n l o c k c u s t o m e r s ’ phones in for the duration of the event, disabling their use, and hand them back at the end. T h e u s e o f Yo n d r w a s p i o n e e re d b y c o m e d i a n s D a v e C h a p e l l e a n d Lo u i s C K w h o d i d n ’ t w a n t a n y a u d i e n c e members filming their act and putting their jokes on the i n t e r n e t . T h e b a n d M u m f o rd a n d S o n s h a v e a l s o u s e d t h e pouches at concerts. Fo r t h o s e o f u s i n t h e p re s s w h o s e e a d v a n c e s c re e n i n g s , h a v i n g y o u r p h o n e l o c ke d a w a y f o r t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e m o v i e i s n o w a c o m m o n p l a c e o c c u r re n c e . B u t i t ’s s o m e t h i n g v e r y n e w f o r m o s t m o v i e g o e r s a n d , s o o n e r r a t h e r t h a n l a t e r, t h e m o v i e i n d u s t r y w i l l h a v e t o d e c i d e w h e t h e r re g u l a t i o n s a re c a l l e d f o r – b e i t t o g u a rd a ga i n s t p i r a c y o r l o s t re v e n u e s f ro m d i s a p p e a r i n g audiences, or both. — S a n d ro M o n e t t i
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Hollywood is moving in a more eco-friendly direction by introducing sustainability policies on film sets, agency offices and in studios. Bamboo utensils, solar powered trailers and more mindful consumption are just some of the innovations being adopted. The use of water dispensers rather than plastic bottles on location is another introduction which shows the movie business is getting serious about sustainable production practices. Although industry wide regulations are not yet in place, many are following existing guidelines from the
P r o d u c e r s G u i l d o f A m e r i c a ’s G r e e n P r o d u c t i o n G u i d e , which contains a wide range of services and solutions. S e v e r a l s t u d i o s n o w h a v e t h e i r o w n e c o - e xe c u t i v e s helping spread the word throughout their companies about eco-friendly technologies and programs, such as Wa r n e r B r o s d i r e c t o r o f s u s t a i n a b i l i t y M i k e S l a v i c h a n d Shannon Bart who holds a similar position at Universal. The industry is going green with the goal of long term change in the entertainment community and, given H o l l y w o d ’s i n f l u e n c e , i n t h e w o r l d b e y o n d t o o . —Sandro Monetti
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BAF TA
British Academy Britannia Awards
Exceptional talents who have impacted the global enter tainment industr y were celebrated at the British Academy Britannia Awards in Los Angeles. Among the honorees receiving t ro p h i e s f ro m BA F TA we r e a c t i o n s t a r Jac kie Chan, funnyman Steve Coogan, director Jordan Peele, wr iter-actress P h o e b e Wa l l e r - B r i d g e a n d p r o d u c e r N o r m a l L e a r.
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BAFTA 48
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