Elysium – A Sci-fi Film not so Fictional Afterall
By Gunner Glam
Coming this weekend from the director of District 9 (2009) comes Elysium, an action-packed thriller starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.
Elysium is an American science fiction action film written, co-produced and directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was released on August 9, 2013 in both conventional and IMAX Digital theaters. Elysium is a co-production of Media Rights Capital and TriStar Pictures.
In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on Elysium, a Stanford torus high-tech space station governed by President Patel (Faran Tahir), in a utopian setting which includes access to private medical machines that offer instant cures, while everyone else lives below on the overpopulated, disease ridden, ruined, “Third World slum” Earth has become. Those who maintain Elysium will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens’ lifestyle, even destroying ships that attempt to get there. After an industrial accident exposes him to a fatal dose of radiation, 36-year-old factory-worker and ex-con Max DeCosta (Matt Damon) has only five days to get from Los Angeles to Elysium in order to be cured. Max straps into a powerful exoskeleton and attempts to kidnap a rich businessman (William Fichtner) in order to steal his identity and hijack his way into Elysium. This pits him against Elysium’s Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her violent secret police forces, led by Agent Kruger (Sharlto Copley).
The film takes place on both a ravaged Earth and the luxurious space habitat called Elysium. It will explore political and sociological themes such as immigration, health care and class issues. When asked whether the film reveals how he sees Earth turning out in 140 years, director Blomkamp responded “No, no, no. This isn’t science fiction. This is today. This is now.”
Elysium re-unites Blomkamp with some of his District 9 crew, such as editor Julian Clarke, production designer Philip Ivey, cinematographer Trent Opaloch, and actor Sharlto Copley playing one of the film’s villains.
In January 2011, independent studio Media Rights Capital met with major studios to present Elysium, and Blomkamp shared art designs of his proposed science fiction film. The art designs won over the executives at Sony Pictures, who bought the film after making a more attractive offer than the other studios.
With a budget of $90 million, production began in July 2011. The film’s Earth-bound scenes were shot in a dump in the poor Iztapalapa district on the outskirts of Mexico City, while the scenes for the space city Elysium were shot in Vancouver and the wealthy Huixquilucan-Interlomas suburbs of Mexico City. Matt Damon shaved his head for the role of Max, and also worked out four hours a day with personal trainer Dr. Sae-ung.
The main role was offered to rapper Eminem, but he wanted the film to be shot in Detroit. That was not an option for the two studios, so Blomkamp moved on to Damon as his next choice.
The futuristic designs were executed by Philip Ivey after long periods of researching and studying older science fiction films. Ivey has continuously cited Syd Mead as a substantial influence for the film. Complicated visual effects were handled by Industrial Light and Magic and Image Engine, the latter of which collaborated on District 9. Re-shoots took place through October 2012.
The film’s “organic” music score was composed by newcomer Ryan Amon and recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Go check it out!
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2013 Academy Award Winners
By Gunner Glam
Here are the Winners for the 85th Oscar Ceremony. Enjoy! =)
Best Motion Picture: Argo
Achievement in Directing: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Adapted Screenplay: Argo, Chris Terrio
Original Screenplay: Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Original Score: Life of Pi, Mychael Danna
Original Song: “Skyfall,” Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth; Skyfall
Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
Best Animated Short Film: Paperman
Achievement in Cinematography: Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda
Achievement in Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Achievement in Costume Design: Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran
Achievement in Makeup & Hairstyling: Les Misérables
Best Live-Action Short Film: Curfew
Best Documentary Short Subject: Inocente
Best Documentary Feature: Searching for a Sugar Man
Best Foreign-Language Film: Amour (Austria)
Achievement in Sound Mixing: Les Misérables
Achievement in Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty & Skyfall
Achievement in Film Editing: Argo
Achievement in Production Direction: Lincoln
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
By Gunner Glam
Studio Brow thought we would share with you the biggest motion picture release of the holiday season, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
A fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson, it is the first of a three-part film adaptation of the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, to be followed by The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again, due for theatrical release in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Set sixty years before The Lord of the Rings, the story is about the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is hired by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on a quest across Middle-earth to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. The film premiered in New Zealand on 28 November 2012 and was released on 14 December 2012 at over 4,000 theaters.
The film is written by Peter Jackson and his longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro, who originally was chosen to direct the film before leaving the project in 2010.
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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2
By Gunner Glam
In theaters now, Studio Brow wants to share some info on the fourth and final Twilight film, Breaking Dawn – Part 2.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn – Part 2) is a 2012 romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer.
The second part of a two-part film forms the fifth and final installment in the series The Twilight Saga, the film is the conclusion of the 2011 film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, reprise their roles, along with Mackenzie Foy portraying Bella and Edward’s child, Renesmee.
Part 2 was released on November 16, 2012, and was released by Lionsgate in the United States, in consequence of the merger between Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment.
The story line is as follows:
After being brought back from near-death by Edward after childbirth, Bella begins her new life as a vampire and mother to their daughter, Renesmee. But when Irina, a member of the Denali coven, misidentifies Renesmee as a immortal child, a human infant who has been bitten and transformed into a vampire, to the Volturi, they set out to battle and destroy the Cullens for their betrayal.
In a final attempt to survive, the Cullens begin to gather foreign Vampire clans and nomads to stand and witness against the Volturi, including the Denali, the Amazonian, the Egyptian, the Irish and Romanian Covens, with European and American nomads. With their allies, the Cullens and the Wolf Pack stand to prove their innocence to the Volturi once and for all.
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The Hollywood “Packs”
By Gunner Glam
From time to time, there are a series of movies made which feature reoccurring actors, writers and directors who collaborate to provide different experiences for viewers.
Studio Brow wants to share some of the most famous “packs” in Hollywood:
The Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart’s death, that called itself “the summit” or “the clan,” featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on stage and in films in the early-1960s, including the movie Ocean’s 11. Sinatra, Martin and Davis were regarded as the group’s lead members.
The Brat Pack
The Brat Pack is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. First mentioned in a 1985 New York magazine article, it is now usually described as the cast members of two specific films released in 1985 – The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire – although sometimes other actors are included. The “core” members are Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy.
The Frat Pack
The “Frat Pack” is a nickname given to a group of male Hollywood comedy actors who have appeared together in many of the highest grossing comedy movies since the late 1990s. The group usually includes Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Steve Carell.
The Judd-Ap Pack
Judd Apatow’s shows and films often feature the same actors including Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, James Franco, Martin Starr, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann (Apatow’s wife), Gerry Bednob, Will Ferrell, Jane Lynch, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Mo Collins, Carla Gallo, Jay Baruchel, Stormy Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and David Krumholtz.
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2013: A Year of Comics in Film
By Gunner Glam
Studio Brow loves to treat our friends, and keep everyone informed about what’s hot in the world.
In the last 10 years there have been ongoing franchises which bring Hollywood in billions of dollars in revenue from Harry Potter to Transformers.
One solid base for creative and strong-following movie franchises is comic book adaptations.
2012’s The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, is currently ranked number three worldwide of the highest grossing films.
One major role in this achievement was that marketing for the film began with a post-credit scene of 2008’s Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk and continued with various parts of Iron Man 2 in 2010 and Thor and Captain America in 2011.
For 2013, it looks to be one of the biggest years for comic book films as there are eight slated for release between the spring and fall.
Kicking off the 2013 summer movie season is Iron Man 3 on May 3. In the third addition to the series, Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is a full-on Tony Stark-centric movie, very much inspired by the first half of the original Iron Man. He’s stripped of everything, he’s backed up against a wall and he has to use his intelligence to get out of it. He can’t call Thor (Chris Hemsworth), he can’t call Cap (Chris Evans), he can’t call Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and he can’t look for the Helicarrier in the sky. Looks to be a full-on action thrill ride.
June 14 brings Superman: The Man Of Steel, where the lead role will for the first time be played by a non-American. Harry Caville, a British actor, plays Clark Kent, a journalist in his twenties who was adopted as a child by Martha and Jonathan Kent after he was transported to Earth from the dying planet Krypton. Raised with the values of his adoptive parents, he feels alienated because of his unique super abilities and struggles to find his place in life. When the world is attacked, he becomes the hero Superman to protect its people.
June 28 is Kick-Ass 2. Universal bought the rights to a film adaptation of the comic in May 2012 and plans to produce it. Jeff Wadlow was confirmed to direct. The comic book was adapted by Matthew Vaughn, Jeff Wadlow and John Romita Jr. The proposed title for the upcoming film is Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall. Aaron Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz were reportedly in negotiations to reprise their roles as Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, respectively. Mintz-Plasse also confirmed his involvement in the sequel. Yancy Butler will return as Red Mist’s mother Angie D’Amico. Lyndsy Fonseca will return in a limited role. Morris Chestnut will replace Omari Hardwick as Hit-Girl’s guardian Marcus Williams.
R.I.P.D will be released on July 19. In this film, a recently slain young cop joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest In Peace Department and tries to find the man who murdered him. The film is set to be directed by Robert Schwentke, based on the comic book of the same name by Peter M. Lenkov and published by Dark Horse Entertainment. The film will star Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as Nick Walker and Roy Pulsipher, respectively. Filming for R.I.P.D. was completed on January 28, 2012.
The Wolverine is the sixth installment in the X-Men film series and a stand-alone sequel to the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (starring Hugh Jackman as the titular character). The film, to be released July 26, is expected to take place in Japan, borrowing elements from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s 1982 limited series, which was set in the same location.
2 Guns is based onthe graphic novel written by Steven Grant. Set for release on August 16, the film follows Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington as a Navy SEAL and a DEA agent, respectively, who work together despite not knowing each is undercover. When the duo unknowingly steals millions from the CIA for the mob, they discover double-crossing associates who will do anything to retrieve the money.
On October 4 comes Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, a crime thriller neo-noir film and sequel to the 2005 film Sin City. Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller are set to direct a script co-written by them and William Monahan and based on the second book in the Sin City series by Miller.
Finally, set for a November 8 release date, Thor: The Dark World is American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is intended to be the sequel to 2011’s Thor and the eighth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alan Taylor is set to direct a screenplay by Don Payne and Robert Rodat with Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba and Rene Russo reprising their roles from the first film.
All of the above lead into Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days Of Future Past and Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014.
Ultimately to follow is The Avengers 2 in 2015, where more heroes and villains will be added to the mix between now and then through the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s sequels.
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Why Brows? Part Four
By Gunner Glam
In our latest entry about the significance of eyebrows, we thought we would share the ways eyebrows are there for protection.
Eyebrows are pretty weird when you think about them! They’re two little bands of hair growing right above our eyeballs.
The ancestors of modern people were a lot hairier, but over time, a lot of that hair was lost. Somehow our eyebrows remained. They aren’t just there for decoration.
They play a very important role in keeping moisture out of our eyes. Just like an umbrella keeps our bodies dry from the rain, our hairy eyebrows keep our eyes dry from rain or sweat. Eyebrows, just like eyelashes and eyelids, actually work to protect your eyes.
We also use our exceptionally mobile eyebrows to communicate our emotions. The position of eyebrows emphasizes expressions on the human face thus giving others an accurate picture of the individual’s mood.
Smile comes in many forms, from expressions of merriment or contentment to leers, smirks and even anger. The position of the brow, emphasized by the eyebrows, is what gives us a visual cue to what an individual is really feeling.
Thanks for reading.
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All-Time Famous Beauties
By Gunner Glam
It is said beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Throughout the centuries, people from all over the world perceive “beauty” differently. From ancient Africa, Egypt, Asia, Europe and America, there have been so many versions of what beauty means to society.
Studio Brow wanted to share some of the all-time beauties with our friendly readers.
Cleopatra – Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history as Cleopatra, was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great’s death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis.
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife (chief consort) of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten, or the sun disc. Nefertiti had many titles including Hereditary Princess, Great of Praises, Lady of Grace, Sweet of Love, Lady of The Two Lands, Main King’s Wife, his beloved, Great King’s Wife, his beloved, Lady of all Women and Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer. Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as “Lola-Lola” in The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, brought her international fame and provided her a contract with Paramount Pictures in the US. Hollywood films such as Shanghai Express and Desire capitalized on her glamour and exotic looks, cementing her stardom and making her one of the highest-paid actresses of the era. Dietrich became a US citizen in 1939, and throughout World War II she was a high-profile frontline entertainer. Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, Dietrich spent most of the 1950s to the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth-greatest female star of all time.
Judy Garland was an American actress, singer and vaudevillian. Renowned for her contralto voice, she attained international stardom through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award as well as Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the remake of A Star is Born and for the Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg. She remains the youngest recipient (at 39 years of age) of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in the motion picture industry.
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world’s most famous actresses of all time who was ranked as the third greatest female screen legend in the history of American cinema. Remembered as both a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century, Hepburn redefined glamour with “elfin” features and a gamine waif-like figure that inspired designs by Givenchy and earned her place in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame.
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political-activist, former fashion model and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an actress. After 15 years of retirement, she returned to film in 2005 with Monster in Law, followed by Georgia Rule two years later. She also produced and starred in over 20 exercise videos released between 1982 and 1995 and once again in 2010.
Tyra Banks is an American model and television personality. She first became famous as a model, appearing twice on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and working for Victoria’s Secret as one of their original Angels. Banks is the creator and host of the UPN/The CW reality television show America’s Next Top Model, co-creator of True Beauty, and was the host of her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show. Banks is one of four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly ranked among the world’s most influential people by Time magazine.
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster’s Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2012, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood and has been involved in the production side of several of the films in which she performed. Berry is also a Revlon spokes model.
Lucy Liu is an American actress, singer and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal (1998–2002), and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Payback, Charlie’s Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill and Kung Fu Panda. In 2012, Liu joined the cast of the TNT original series Southland.
Shakira – Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, known by her stage name as Shakira, is a Colombian singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, choreographer and model who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira began performing in school, demonstrating her vocal ability with rock and roll, Latin and Arabic influences with her own original twist on belly dancing. Shakira is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English and Portuguese as well as some Italian, French, Catalan and Arabic.
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