The long walk to the big screen

A blue character from Avatar

As it was reported by Peter Jackson last week, the next Hobbit movie has been renamed to ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ we decided to look back at some other films whose development has been ‘difficult’ to say the least.

1. Alien vs Predator

The movie poster for Alien vs Predator featuring two monsters on a white background.

Image via ExplosionsAreRad.wordpress.com

Released in 2004 after more than a decade of different scripts, changes to the cast, false starts, orphaned tie-ins, several series of video games and even promotions of the movie.

2. Dallas Buyers Club

Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey sitting on a bench in a still from the film Dallas Buyers Club.

Image via slate.com

The screenplay for the oscar winning film was written 1992 by Craig Borten. It took 10 different versions of the script to finally persuade a production company to pick it up. It was then unable to secure financial backing, going through three different directors before Jean-Marc Vallée signed up and eventually released it in 2013.

3. Frozen

Elsa a princess from the movie 'frozen' creates ice and poses in front of a blue background.

Image via Disney.com

Originally planned to be a biography film of the author Hans Christian Anderson (Yawn!!) before it was green lit by Disney to become an adaptation of the ‘Snow Queen’. The film then went into development hell twice, the second time in 2010 due to the difficulty of making the story of the Snow Queen work. It wasn’t until Disney bought in Jennifer Lee, writer of Wreck-It Ralph, as co-director, who decided to make the Snow Queen character of Elsa into one of the film’s protagonists. 

4. Gangs Of New York

A gang, lead by actor Daniel Day Lewis in the movie 'Gangs of New York'

Image via IMDB

Martin Scorsese first started trying to get Gangs of New York made in 1978. He finally did so in 2002.

5. The Hobbit Trilogy

Bilbo the Hobbit walking out of his front door as sun streams in to his house.

Image via Business Insider

The Hobbit went through development hell, before finally being green lit.The film then suffered additional problems involving creative control and the studio’s refusal to allow filming to take place in New Zealand, where the preceding film series The Lord of the Rings had been shot. This was a deal-breaker for director Guillermo del Toro, who left the project. Peter Jackson retook control of the project and split it into three films, the first of which was released in December 2012.

6. Inglorious Basterds

Christoph Waltz playing Colonel Landa in the film Inglorious Basterds

Image via Wikipedia

Quentin Tarantino announced his plans to shoot a World War II movie titled Inglourious Basterds shortly after the 1997 release of Jackie Brown. As of 2007, he was still working on the script. The film began shooting in late 2008 and was released in August 2009. Inglourious Basterds was Tarantino’s most commercially successful film until his spaghetti western homage Django Unchained was released three years later.

7. Iron Man

Iron Man holding out his arm towards the camera.

Image via Marvel

The film had been in development since 1990 at Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema, until the rights were reacquired by Marvel Studios in 2006. The project was Marvel’s first self-financed film, being distributed by Paramount Pictures. The script was originally written by multiple writers and the film and attached to direct were several directors, including Joss Whedon, Quentin Tarantino and Nick Cassavetes. Originally, actor Tom Cruise was in talks to play the role of Tony Stark, before the role went to Robert Downey Jr. after Jon Favreau was finally hired as director.

8. Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

The words 'Star Wars' with a gold outline on a black background

Image via screenrant.com

The Star Wars sequel trilogy remained in development hell beginning in 1983 since the concept was born in 1975. Even though the prequel trilogy was created with the films released in 1999, 2002 and 2005, the sequel trilogy was changed and denied for several years. The trilogy was brought back in 2012 after Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm, starting with Star Wars Episode VII, which is scheduled for a 2015 release.

9. Avatar

A blue character from Avatar

Image via hollywood reporter.com

James Cameron has previously stated that his idea for the story of Avatar was ready before he even began filming Titanic in 1996 but that the technology needed to make the film simply didn’t exist. Production company Fox eventually backed out of the film in 2006 due to budgetary reasons, it wasn’t until Ingenious Media offered to back more than half of the $237 million needed for the film that Fox returned to the project which went on to become the highest grossing film of all time.

10. The Lord Of The Rings

Peter Jackson holding an Oscar statuette at the Academy Awards

Image via nj.com

There is something about either Peter Jackson or J.R.R Tolkien and movies that simply does not work. Throughout all six of the films that Jackson has been responsible for bringing to the big screen there have been major problems throughout the entire production. The rights to a live action adaptation of The Lord of the Rings were sold to United Artists shortly before J.R.R Tolkien’s death in 1973; it wasn’t until 1994 that Peter Jackson was given approval to begin shooting. The first film was not released until 2001.

Is Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit too much?

Gandalf walking through a dark cave with his staff lit in front of him.
Gandalf and Radagast talking next to a tree.

Image via: http://apnatimepass.com/

I would most definitely describe myself as a fan of the works of Tolkien. There isn’t a published novel, poem or essay of his that I haven’t read, and I am a true believer of the opinion of the Sunday Times, in that “ the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and those who are going to read them”.

Back in 1997, Peter Jackson began work on The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of three attempts to convert the epic high fantasy novel of J. R. R. Tolkien into film. I loved these films, but I wish that there had been more. Three films (and yes, I have seen the extended versions) simply wasn’t enough. So much potential was missed out on. The entire chapter In the House of Tom Bombadil was missed, The Council of Elrond made too simple. So when it was announced that The Hobbit was to be given the “Jackson” treatment, I was over the moon. But did he go too far?

The Hobbit has always been intended as a children’s book. A little hard to read for today’s youngest readers perhaps, but nonetheless written for them. At just shy of 300 pages long, it is the perfect length to tell the tale of one Hobbit and his journey. Let’s not forget the true tale of the hobbit – don’t worry yourself with details of Elf/Dwarf love triangles – is Bilbo’s adventure to reclaim The Lonely Mountain, during which he discovers his inner courage. So when I learned that it was to become three films, a nine hour epic, I had one question. Why?

Bilbo stood on a mountain path.

Image via: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/

Now we have something entirely different. We have the original idea of Tolkien, which was to write a book called The Hobbit and have it entirely about said Hobbit. But Peter Jackson wanted more. He wanted a prequel to his Lord of the Rings, which is never a good idea in writing movies (ahem, Star Wars episodes 1-3).

Because of this, we now have multiple plot lines that feel splintered from the main effort – Gandalf’s fight against the Necromancer being a particularly unforgivable example. Here we have a fight that isn’t really built up to that doesn’t make sense if you haven’t seen The Lord of the Rings. This entire scene relies on cheap-feeling film clichés – Gandalf is awesome and Sauron is super evil, let’s make them fight in the ultimate showdown of light vs. dark. How unsubtle. Here’s a fantastic representation of the troll scene. Here’s Radagast playing with a hedgehog.

There were some additions that worked though. In the scene where Bilbo attacks the baby spider, then realises he did it because of the Ring, he is mortified. It is a perfectly-wordless moment where it shows more of the character. The interrogation scene between Tranduil and Thorin was another great moment. This was extended from the same scene in the book, however it gives the character of Thranduil more exposure and this sets up a very important character for the next film.

So, Peter. Yes I love The Lord of the Rings. Yes I love both of your Hobbit film, and yes I will love the next. But Tolkien kept the story of Sauron out of The Hobbit because it belongs in a different book. And yes it is a prelude to The Lord of the Rings, but it is very much its own story, its own entity, and it deserves that treatment.

Celebrating niche awards

Pictured is Jennifer Westfeldt receiving an award.

Left is a black and gold award with a square glass top containing a 3D styalised gold soundwave. Right are several CDFA awards, silver statuettes of a female figure. Left are the World Soundtrack Awards and Right are the statuettes given at the Costume Designers Guild Awards

Following on from Tis’ the season: A look at Film Awards, we’ve compiled a few lesser known awards, the Costume Designers Guild Awards, The World Soundtrack Awards and the Visual Effects Awards. Three entirely different yet equally interesting celebrations.

The Costume Designers Guild Awards have honoured costume designers in film since 1999.

The guild which was founded in 1953 represents costume designers, assistant costume designers and costume illustrators. Today the CDG includes around 750 costume designers, stylists and illustrators, many of which are based in LA.

The trophy for the CDG Awards is a sterling silver statuette created by costume designer, David Le Vay and manufactured by Italian jewellery designer Bvlgari. The beautiful and intricate design takes the form of an abstract female figure standing 37 centimetres tall and each one takes around 50 hours to make.

Until 2012, an annual ‘hall of fame’ award was presented, celebrating career achievement. One of the first winners in 1999 was Edith Head, the costume designer who sparked inspiration for Edna Mode the fictional eccentric fashion designer and superhero costume creator from The Incredibles.

The 16th Costume Designers Guild Awards will be held on February 22nd this year. Nominations include Suzy Benzinger for Blue Jasmine, Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor and Bob Buck, for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug and Catherine Martin for The Great Gatsby.

The 12th annual Visual Effects Awards will be held this year. The ceremony honours outstanding visual effects from throughout the past year and the artists behind them.

With more than 2,800 members in over 32 countries, the Visual Effects Society represents a wide breadth of visual effects experts including artists, technologists and model makers. The VES Awards have been held since 2003 when they celebrated achievement in 2002. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won eight awards in the first ceremony, including Best Visual Effects in a Driven Motion Picture.

This year’s Visual Effects Awards will be held on February 12th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Nominations are yet to be announced but we predict that Gravity, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug and Star Trek into Darkness will do well.

Moving on to something quite different; the World Soundtrack Awards celebrate music in film. Partnered with the Film Festival Ghent, the awards have been celebrated alongside the festival since 2001.  The ceremony is held annually held each October in Belgium and awards include; Best Original Song Written for a Film, Best Original Soundtrack of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The event often includes a performance from the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra which has strong ties with the Film Fest Ghent, regularly partnering for recordings and concerts. Dirk Brossé, the conductor of the BPO, composed the Emmy nominated score for BBC drama Parade’s End.

The statuette for the World Soundtrack Awards is based on a sine wave – a sound wave represented on a computer screen. The wave is cut down to one single stylised undulation, and is then looped five times creating the shape of a crown. In the glass top of the statuette the wave floats ‘as it is not subject to gravity’ and the base is black referencing Bakelite, an early plastic commonly used for radios.

The 2013 World Soundtrack Awards have already taken place. Skyfall was awarded the accolade of Best Original Song, and Life of Pi won both Best Original Film Score of the Year and Film Composer of the Year. The 2014 Awards will take place in October this year.

Events, offers & releases 09/12/13

In the distance the ruins of a mountainside town can be seen, shrouded in smoke.
In the distance the ruins of a mountainside town can be seen, shrouded in smoke.

Image via www.reelcinemas.co.uk

The biggest announcement this week is the eagerly anticipated blockbuster, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which is released this Friday. In the second installment of the trilogy, Bilbo, Gandalf and the Dwarves continue on their adventure to the misty mountain to reclaim Erebor from the dragon, Smaug.

If you’re struggling to find ideas for Christmas presents, why not treat someone you love to a cinema voucher. There are several brilliant films coming out over the next few months and a cinema gift card is a thoughtful present especially if you can visit the cinema together.