It’s never a pleasant thing to report on the death of anyone but today the film world weeps as the news of Tony Scott’s departure spreads across the web. Brother of Ridley, half of their Scott Free Production company and director of some of the most beloved and iconic films in the last few decades, Scott has reportedly taken his own life at 68. The maverick director took us to the Danger Zone, showed us what True Romance is and put us in the shoes of a Beverly Hills (well Detroit really) Cop in addition to helming multiple pulse-pounding films for Jerry Bruckheimer. What is perhaps a little more difficult to swallow is the reason behind…
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Awesome WETA 'Prometheus' Intro VFX Breakdown
If you’ve seen Sir Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, whether or not you’re on board with the ambiguous/not entirely satisfying (or thought out) plot, you no doubt have marveled at how astoundingly beautiful his return to sci-fi looked. Well, Academy Award-winning visual effects house WETA Digital crafted the scene using a combination of cutting-edge tech and practical techniques. This video below shows they pulled off the effects. It’s short but worth a look. Enjoy!! In the film’s opening sequence, a lone humanoid figure crosses a cliff top, disrobes and drinks from a small container. Within moments, his body begins to break apart with horrifying force. The dissolving Engineer pitches forward into a waterfall, his genetic material seeding what…
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G-S-T Review…Prometheus
Prometheus, industrious and monstrously ambitious, deserves to be seen divorced from hype and hubris. Admittedly, that’s scarcely a small feat. Few films released in 2012 carry with them the massive weight of expectations which Prometheus bears on its shoulders. That’s just how things go for any production intent on serving as the precursor to cinematic iconography; in the case of Prometheus, that’s Alien, Ridley Scott’s 1979 science fiction/horror masterpiece. How does even a master like Scott top one of his best works more than thirty years after the fact? Put simply, he doesn’t have to, pedigree or not. His film only need exist on its individual merits, and happily Prometheus, a beautiful and thoughtful and flawed creation story, very…
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“The CineMagic 8-Ball” – In Theaters 6/08/12
When so many movies are released each weekend and trailers often seem better than the movie itself, what should one do? In this precarious situation, we consult the The CineMagic 8-Ball (TM) to help us see through the nebulous marketing haze. Doing so just might save us all a disheartening trip to the cinema and spare us unnecessarily springing for $7 popcorn. See what the 8-Ball says about this week’s releases… ——————————————————————————————————————————————- PROMETHEUS A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. Ridley…
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Sweet Trailer…'Prometheus'
We don’t usually post on the weekend but as this is a trailer for one of G-S-T’s three most anticipated films of 2012 (and from SIR Ridley Scott no less) we are happy to bend the rules just a little. For your viewing pleasure, behold, the first FULL trailer for the quasi-Alien prequel Prometheus… When it was first reported that Ridely would be returning to this universe it provoked both cheers and jitters from fans the world over. Most everyone on the planet would undoubtedly love to see the series righted after the recent disappointing and insulting installments. However, going back to the beginning is always worrisome because there’s a chance that, even with Ridely on board,…
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Ohhh, Look…'Prometheus' Viral – Guy Pearce As Peter Weyland For TED Talk 2023
To promote Promotheus, Ridley Scott’s prequel/not-a-prequel to 1979’s Alien, comes this really neat introduction and apparent tie-in video (thanks to /Film for the heads up). What you’ll see below is the reveal of Guy Pearce’s character in the upcoming film who, in the words of Sir Ridley, is pretty much the only true link between these two films. The video shows Peter Weyland of the Weyland Corp. That’s right, half of the famous Weyland-Yutani corporate entity. Does the Nostromo ring any bells?? See, told you it was neat…but I’ll let the video do the rest of the explaining. Enjoy!! Check out more of the viral talk at the official TED2023 page. Also, if you…
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Sweet (Promo) Trailer…'Japan In A Day'
Nearly a year ago a devastating earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan on March 11th 2011. In memory of the disaster, Fuji Television, in cooperation with Ridley and Tony Scott’s production company Scott Free London, will be producing Japan In A Day, a follow-up to the documentary A Life In A Day. Similar in structure, this will be a 24-hour self-portrait of Japan filmed by the public using any recording device. Additionally 200 cameras will be donated by Fuji for the documentary and will go to people in those areas most affected by the events. Once the footage has been submitted, Fuji TV will select the best material to comprise the feature which…
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Sweet (Teaser) Trailer…'Prometheus'
For the last three days we’ve been teased about the forthcoming teaser to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. The so-called prequel to his first iconic sci-fi film Alien this takes place long before the Nostromo crew first touched down on LV-426. From the looks of it we can expect to learn a little more about the Space Jockey mythology fans have been waiting for and of course intense Scott-style action. If you look up epic in the dictionary you’ll see just two words; Ridley and Scott. The man was born to create larger than life adventures and is truly one of the very best directors of all time. So enough padding his…
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Gerard Butler To Lead Ridley Scott's Fact-Based Mercenary Thriller
Ridley Scott has signed on to direct and produce the story of Simon Mann, a former British army officer who, in 2004, attempted to stage a coup against the president of Equatorial Guinea. This film would be financed and shot by the Scott Free production label Ridley started with his brother Tony. Though Scott and Butler’s schedules are tied up with their respective projects for quite sometime the two might be a while before they even get started but it’s still an interesting collaboration. Thanks to Collider for the tip…
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Off the Netflix Queue…'Cracks'
There’s that old saying that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree“…and in the Scott family it seems that anyone sharing lineage with Sir Ridley is destined for greatness. Enter one Jordan Scott, daughter to Mr. Gladiator himself, who in her feature length directorial debut shows us she’s going places. Creating something original in Hollywood is tough enough but harder still is adapting someone else’s material. But from just the first 10 minutes or so this film, from 2009, shows us Scott has a solid career ahead of her that is coming up fast.
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To All You 'Gladiator' Blu Ray Owners…
Hello World Marc Here: While I’m not much on A/V tech news this is movie related (and regarding one of my all time favorite films) so it behooves me to tell you all as no doubt it affects some of you cinephiles out there. Anyone who rushed out in 2009 and snatched up Paramount’s Sapphire Series Blu Ray edition of Gladiator may not have been at all happy with the transfer. Not only did the edge enhancement and digital video noise reduction create a sub-par transfer, the disc itself features tons of technical glitches. Bad day for those first in line huh? So while Paramount finally released a fixed copy…
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G-S-T Top 10 – Favorite EPIC Films (Part I)
I’ll say right off that this list probably won’t contain many of the films that you’d expect to see when I put EPIC in the title. When I come up with a Quick 5 or a Top 10, I usually try to choose films that are either off the beaten path or ones that just don’t get enough attention. Hey, it’s what I do. So before we start, let’s just take a look at this blurb which helps define and identify the makings of an epic. I think this is important as most people (mainly the ones I know) think an epic is simply a “sword and sandal” film. As written below,…