Episode 1 5
This Week in Movies #15 with CG Supervisor HP Duiker
Sundays at 8pm PDT
Hosts
Guest
CG Supervisor HP Duiker
Introduction
Farrell introduced her co-host, Roger Erik Tinch. She said she has a new crush on the character Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation” (played by actor Nick Offerman).
Trailer Talk
Tinch thinks this “hard R” action/revenge movie looks badass. Farrell did a set visit while they were filming a chase scene in the film. She thinks Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is an incredibly nice, gracious, engaging celebrity. He was even nice to the crew!
Tinch also praised “The Rundown,” a movie he loves with The Rock. He thinks he has the career Vin Diesel should have had.
Farrell’s looking forward to this drama about singer-songwriters in love, and wants it to be known that Gwyneth Paltrow can really sing. She really likes the theme song from the movie. She finds her voice a mix between Taylor Swift and Sheryl Crow.
Tinch thinks it looks Lifetime Channel-y or “Mrs. Crazy Heart.”
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In Theaters
This was made by a filmmaking collective in Australia called Blue Tongue Films.
This movie’s about a criminal family that takes in a nephew when his mother dies of an overdose.
Tinch loved the film and thinks the brilliance of it is how the narrative is scattered, making you constantly feel plunged into the midst of the action trying to get your bearings. He found a lot of the performances really creepy and effective, giving you a sense of menace that’s vague and non-specific.
He feels like it’s a story that could have been corny but that’s been rendered very realistically and gritty.
Farrell called it a “fantastic family film.” She liked how the story was all-encompassing, a rare sports movie that’s also full of life, humor, strong characters and even a feminist message. She also appreciated the John Malkovich performance, which provides some welcome comic relief.
She also appreciated how Randall Wallace, who previously had directed “We Were Soldiers,” moved so seamlessly from making a war film into a horse movie.
She did find the Diane Lane performance distracting, particularly the blond wig that she wears.
The film did have some weaknesses. She hated the husband character, played by Dylan Walsh, and she felt like the race scenes lacked some tension and were too obviously dominated by Secreteriat. She also thought that the movie was very heavy-handed politically.
Farrell saw this as well. She thinks that the film is a lot better than the trailer and that Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel have real chemistry. She said that the film made her sort of tear up, because she was so attached to the characters.
Hollywood Headlines
“Blue Valentine” gets an NC-17
The Sundance drama about the dissolution of a couple’s five-year marriage has been hit with an NC-17 rating for a graphic sex scene with stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The Weinstein Company is debating whether or not to release the film as-is without a rating.
Oliver Stone’s son directing “Secret Stone”
Director Oliver Stone’s son Sean is set to direct “SecretStone,” about a potentially haunted mental institution. Oliver and Sean will both appear in the film.
Zack Snyder chosen to make “Superman” movie
Lon and Tinch had both sort of been pulling for Duncan Jones to get the gig, but “Watchmen” helmer Zack Snyder won the rights to direct the new “Superman” film being produced by Christopher Nolan.
Tony Gilroy, screenwriter of the first three installments of the “Bourne” trilogy, has been tapped to return for a fourth movie as both writer and director. (He has also helmed the films “Duplicity” and “Michael Clayton.”) The film, tentatively titled “The Bourne Legacy,” will focus on the Bourne universe beyond the central Jason Bourne character and may kick off a franchise of films set in the world of Jason Bourne but potentially without the involvement of star Matt Damon.
The Secret in Their Eyes to get a remake
The Oscar-winning Spanish-language thriller from 2009 may get a Hollywood remake written and directed by “Breach” helmer Billy Ray.
George Miller’s long-awaited fourth installment in the “Mad Max” series – “Fury Road” – has been delayed and will not begin shooting until 2012. Weather has been blamed for the film’s lagging schedule, which leaves many Australian crew members panicked that an ongoing financial crisis in the nation could postpone the movie indefinitely.
VOD Review: “Monsters”
Roger described the film as similar to “District 9.” He liked that the movie remains about the core relationship between the two main characters and doesn’t get carried away by the effects or the larger mythology.
He did feel like you don’t see enough of the Monsters themselves, and it gets a bit frustrating, but it pays off at the end. He didn’t want to say more without spoiling things.
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Interview with HP Duiker
Duiker is a CG Superviser and visual effects artist. His films include “2012″ and “Speed Racer.”
- Where did you get your start?
The first movie he worked on was the “Matrix” trilogy. That was a 3 year project for him.
- Is it true that there’s an underground bunker where the sequel effects work was done?
Most of the work was done on a former naval base.
- What is your job like now vs. when you first got started?
At first, he was building the tools and technology to allow for editing special effects. Now he’s moving towards producing the shots and taking a larger view.
- When you work on movies that are eventually panned in theaters, is that disappointing for you?
After the first few, he learned to separate the quality of his work from the quality of the overall movie.
He thinks special effects have become a way to cover up lapses in character and narrative in certain films. Still, he takes pride in the work he has done.
- Are you often surprised when you see the finished film?
Much of the time, you see concept art, but you’re also working on just one particular sequence. So he has no idea what the finished film will be like in many cases.
- How long did “Speed Racer” take to do?
From the visual effects side, 9 months to a year.
- Did you communicate a lot with the Wachowskis? Do they give you feedback?
The people working on the movie work crazy hours and rush to get everything done, so they’re thankful for all the hard work. The pressure can get intense and it’s nice that the directors do recognize it.
- How many women are on the team? Do women do this job?
It depends. Different segments of the industry have different gender balances. If you generalize, it’s mostly male.
- Chat Room Question: Did he see Jessica Alba nude when they were doing motion capture on “Fantastic Four”?
He focused on Johnny Storm on that movie, not Invisible Woman.
- Do you go to the sets?
He was on set for “Catwoman.” He also got to see Halle Berry in her Catwoman costume.
- Did Catwoman’s director, Pitof, have a lot of input into the effects?
For them, it was straight-forward: make a digital version of Halle Berry. If it looked like Halle Berry, they did their job. The super-fast paced editing was Pitof’s focus in the film. HP doesn’t feel like it works that well.
- What was the CG budget on a movie like “2012″?
He guesses it’s between $100-$150 million, ballpark. There were 1200-1400 effects shots in the movie.
Closing
Thanks for joining us on This Week in Movies!
