Category Archives: Genres

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Location, location, location

A house with a round door built into the side of a hill on the set of The Lord of the Rings

From the picturesque landscape of New Zealand that we affectionately know as ‘Middle Earth’ to the harsh environment in Iceland that forms the planet that is explored by the crew of Prometheus, find out how the perfect filming locations are chosen.

While special effects and computer generated images (CGI) can create worlds and landscapes that go beyond your imagination as seen in Avatar, directors often choose to film in location often in harsh environments.

A long table set with plates cutlery and glasses on a sound stage at Leavesden Studios.

The Great Hall in Harry Potter was all filmed on a sound stage at Leavesden Studios.

Sound stages such as Pinewood Studios offers filmmakers impressive backlots that allow for a variety of scenes to be filmed on either sound stages or in front of a green screen, they are often too artificial and lack the visual spectacle that the English landscape of a Hawaiian beach can offer.

Location Works is Europe’s largest locations company and have scouted the perfect location for hundreds of both film and TV productions including, Philomena, Jupiter Ascending and W.E.

But choosing the perfect location isn’t as simple as selecting a grand country house or an impressive mountain range in Italy.

So what is involved in being a location manager? According to Location Works, ‘Anything and everything that it takes to make a location shoot go smoothly. It’s a job that can require many talents and great patience. There’s no such thing as the “typical” job’.

A location manager takes the clients brief, whether it be a big-budget feature film or a modest photo shoot in London, they find the perfect location to suit all their needs. this means that the location has to work perfectly not just from a visual perspective but also logistically.

In some more harsh terrain the problem of safety and accessibility is something that needs to be thought about. After all, there is no point in finding the ‘perfect’ landscape if it is impossible to get a camera there to film any shots.

For example for the 2013 release, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, most of the filming was done in Atlanta, Georgia. The reason behind this was due to the tax breaks the state offers to film makers in that area and less with the natural landscape in the surrounding area.

Sam Claflin diving into the ocean while filming a scene with Jennifer Lawrence in Hawaii for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Filming the scenes for the ‘Arena’ in Hawaii, stars Jennifer Lawrence and Sam Claflin of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

The film then moved to Hawaii, with a much smaller crew, due to budgetary reasons, to film on location instead of in Georgia where they were using mainly back lots and sets.

So what Atlanta offered the filmmakers in a practical sense was something that while very useful, could not be matched by Hawaii’s golden beaches and lush jungles.

Whether it be a luxurious Spanish villa located in London for an independent movie or an active volcano, it is the job of the location manager to find that perfect location to be the perfect backdrop to the biggest cinematic moments.

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Godzilla, a retrospective

Image shows the movie monster Godzilla fighting famous ape, King Kong
Image shows the movie monster Godzilla fighting famous ape, King Kong

Image via: nukethefridge.com

Godzilla has been a part of film for many years, terrorising cities and fighting Kaiju since 1954. The king of monsters is set to be a part of the big screen again with this years remake but, how did Godzilla actually come to be who he is today?

Godzilla (the English translation of Gojira) is the creation of Japenese film director, Ishiro Honda. Inspired by early clay animation dinosaur films such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Godzilla was created as a cross between an iguana and a dinosaur. Thankfully, there was no such dinosaur as Godzilla, that we know of.

The first film, Godzilla, started the introduction of the ‘big monster’ film franchise, something that films such as Cloverfield owe themselves to. This film introduced Japanese audiences to the threat of a monster created as a result of atomic testing. Godzilla stresses that atomic testing may result in Kaiju such as the monster itself, lets hope not.

The subsequent sequels delivered on the success of the first film introducing new monsters and threats such as Mothra, a ruddy great big moth of death. These sequels largely saw Godzilla as a hero of the world (Japan in particular) fighting off monsters that threatened humanity.

Typically, the later the franchise went, the weirder and more surreal the Godzilla movies became. The most recent iterations saw the introduction of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla’s mechanised counterpart.The concepts and ideas of these later films are still no match for the Western introduction in 1998.

Godzilla (1998) was directed by Rolan Ememrich, famous for is action packed disaster films. The remake was criticised by fans and critics alike describing the movie as being nothing buit action, with very little story. Godzilla won accolades such as Worst Picture, Worst Remake and Worst Director at the Golden Raspberry Awards that year. It looked like the films just didn’t translate well to Western audiences.

There is a new hope however, in the form of yet another remake. Next month sees the release of Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards of Monsters fame. Looking to cater for Japenese audiences, sticking to the original roots of the monster, the film looks set do very well at the box office. Do you think this is a new era for Godzilla? See for yourself with the trailer below.

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The Death of Brandon Lee: One of Films Most Tragic Moments

March 31st 1993 will forever remain one of the saddest days in modern film history. 52 days into a 60 day shoot, Brandon Lee, son of the late martial arts expert Bruce Lee, was tragically shot and killed during the filming of the supernatural action film, The Crow.

As did his father (Enter the Dragon 1973), Lee never lived to see the release of his most successful work. However, also like his father, mystery and suspicion surrounding the actor’s death will forever immortalise Brandon Lee in movie folklore.

Young Brandon Lee with father Bruce. image via es.wikipedia.org

Young Brandon Lee with father Bruce.
image via es.wikipedia.org

On April 1st 1993, the Los Angeles Times reported “Actor Brandon Lee, the 28-year-old son of the late Kung Fu star Bruce Lee, was killed Wednesday after a small explosive charge used to simulate gunfire went off inside a grocery bag during filming on a movie set in Wilmington, N.C.”

However, the article later states that “it is still unclear whether the projectile came from the gun or the grocery bag or both. “When the other actor fired a shot, the explosive charge went off inside the bag,” said Wilmington police Officer Michael Overton. “After that, we don’t know what happened.”

Although admitting the case was still under investigation, Wilmington Police announced that they were treating the incident as an accident, yet many fans suspected foul play. After suspicion surrounding the cause of Bruce’s death from an apparent reaction to painkillers in 1973, many were sceptical about the causality of Brandon’s fatal last scene.

The unfinished 1973 martial arts film Game of Death, starring Bruce Lee, provides even more spooky coincidences that further fuelled the fire of many conspiracy theorists, as Lee’s character is shot in similar circumstances to his real life son, although he does return to take revenge.

So how did this tragic event really occur? In the scene, Lee is supposed to have been shot by thugs as he walks into his apartment to find his girlfriend being raped. It is believed that due to increasing time restraints, the decision was made to use dummy cartridges in the prop weaponry, which appear functional, yet contain no gun-powder.

The empties would be made from real cartridges, a responsibility handed to effects technician Bruce Merlin. To do this, Merlin, assisted by prop master Daniel Kuttner, would dismantle the live cartridges by removing the bullets, emptying all contained gun-powder, detonating the primer (a device for igniting the powder charge in a modern cartridge of centerfire ammunition) and then re-assembling the cartridge.

During preparation, Merlin and Kuttner tested the gun that would be used in scene by using a cartridge containing only a primer and a bullet with no gun-powder, which caused the bullet to become lodged into the forcing cone of the gun. When it came to shooting the scene, the live bullet remained in the barrel, which was then propelled out by the explosion from a blank cartridge, fatally injuring Lee in the process, as the cameras rolled.

Lee was pronounced dead at 1.04pm. After being buried next to his father in Washington, footage capturing Lee’s death was destroyed before ever being developed. Released in 1994, The Crow became a box office smash and is now regarded as a cult classic.

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5 of the coolest fictional weapons in film

The image shows Billy Murray, Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd with their roles in the film, Ghostbusters.

Since cinema first began, filmmakers have been crafting new and intriguing weapons. Even though these weapons aren’t real, we sure wish they could be. Cinema has played host to some fantastic fictional weaponry over the years and I believe that these 5 are the best of the bunch (in no particular order).

1. Identity disc, Tron (1982)

Image shows a character from the movie Tron, holding an identity disc.

Image via: blushots.weebly.com

Whilst it may look like a silly, glowing Frisbee to the untrained eye, the identity disc first featured in the 1982 sc-fi film, Tron holds a lot of power. Used to store all data that individual programs and users possess, the identity disc is mainly used as a deadly throwing weapon, de-rezzing any program in its path. On a side note, if you lose your disc, it’ll be end of the line for you.

2. Death Star, Star Wars (1977)

Image shows a large circular space station, the Death Star from the film, Star Wars

Image via: blogs.esa.int

The largest weapon on this list, the Death Star was (spoiler) the biggest weapon of the imperial fleet. With the power to completely decimate any planet it pointed at thanks to the massive green laser on board, the Rebels knew they had to take it out. Completely flawless in design apart from one tiny little detail, a tiny exhaust port that could potentially blow the whole thing up. “That’s no moon, it’s a space station!”

3. Proton Pack, Ghostbusters (1984)

The image shows Billy Murray, Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd with their roles in the film, Ghostbusters.

Image via: hollywood.com

“Don’t cross the streams!” The proton pack, designed by tech expert, Dr. Egon Spengler is designed to lasso ghosts via a proton stream. The device itself however, is rather bulky and requires a rather large batter pack to be taken with you at all times. The proton pack must also be used with caution, crossing the streams may result in some rather unwanted consequences.

4. M41A Pulse Rifle, Aliens (1986)

Image shows protagonist Ellen Ripley brandishes a Pulse Rifle in the movie Aliens.

Image via: lightspeedgaming.blogspot.co.uk

The introduction of the space marines in this Alien sequel brought with it an array of pretty badass weaponry. Most notable of which, is the M41A Pulse Rifle. Protagonist Ellen Ripley brandishes one of these at the end of the film, taking out the queen,
“I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is an M41A pulse rifle. Ten millimeter with an over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher.” – Corporal Hicks

5. Lightsaber, Star Wars (1977)

Image shows a red glowing lightsaber from the movie Star Wars

Image via: Leviathyn.com

Nothing is more iconic than the weapon of choice of both the Jedi and the Sith in the Star Wars franchise. The distinct hum of the elegant lightsaber is something that everyone is familiar with, and is certainly the most famous of all fictional weapons.
“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.” – Ben Kenobi

 

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Searching for Sugarman: The Story of Sixto Rodriguez

 

Many of us would like to believe in destiny. Many of us wander our way through life, satisfied in the knowledge that our path may already be laid out ahead of us. Others jump from dream to dream, waiting for fate to find them. Yet, no matter the journey, all of us yearn to reach the same destination, our fate, our happily ever after. Your dreams may become reality, or they could forever remain unreachable, a work of fiction.

Directed by Malik Bendejoull, Searching for Sugarman is a documentary film detailing the fascinating life of 1970’s musician Sixto Rodriguez. “Who”, I hear you ask? Well, the unfortunate truth is that if this is the first time you’re reading about Rodriguez, the likelihood is you, like many others, have never heard of him.

video via studiocanaluk

Rodriguez lived his life on the mean streets of 1960/70’s Detroit. He is described as being a drifter, a lost soul, and not much more than a homeless man, who would spend his days doing odd jobs and playing music around the city. Those who had contact with Rodriguez maintain his mysterious, prophet like image. He was a good man, who kept himself to himself, and until the release of Searching for Sugarman in 2012, those who had heard of Rodriguez had very little to add to that information.

After becoming somewhat of a local mystery, Rodriguez released Cold Fact in 1970, followed by Coming from Reality a year later. Both albums dramatically flopped in the US and Sixto was swiftly dropped from his label. Thought to have become depressed, he later committed suicide, allegedly shooting himself in the head during a performance in a local Detroit bar, though this information cannot be confirmed.

Compared by his management to Bob Dylan, in terms of song writing ability, the tragedy of Sixto Rodriguez represents how life has a funny way of putting you on a path to destiny.

South Africa was a dangerous place in the 1970’s. With apartheid in full swing, the troubled country was a cultural boycott. A behind closed doors situation, damaged by violence and racial tensions, with some events described as resembling the holocaust. Nobody is quite sure how the first copy of Cold Fact found itself in the country, but that album would change life in South Africa forever.

By 1975, Cold Fact was a platinum selling album in the country. Rodriguez’s music inspired musicians across the country to stand up and take action against their government. “Anti-Establishment” was not even a recognized word in South Africa before it appeared on a Rodriguez record. Cold Fact and Coming from Reality taught the South African people, of all races and creeds, that it was fine to be angry at the government.

Elvis; the Beatles; Bob Dylan; Cat Stevens, you name it, Rodriguez was bigger.  Bendejoull’s Oscar winning masterpiece is an absolute must watch for fans of film, music and life. This is not a review, nor a recommendation. It is a command. If you’ve ever had a dream, this documentary is for you, and one is assured, the best is yet to come.

See the Studio Canal UK trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKXewWDh1og