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The Past: Event Horizon

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Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Sam Niel, Lawrence Fishburne

Trivia:

• The space suits worn by the actors weighed 65 pounds (30 kilograms) each. Laurence Fishburne nicknamed his “Doris.”
• The Event Horizon was modeled on Notre Dame cathedral. Its interior is filled with cruciform shapes.
• The model of the Event Horizon includes a complete “X-Wing” from Star Wars as part of an antenna array. The model is visible on the lower portion of the Event Horizon during the first flyby by the Lewis & Clark.
• Director Paul W.S. Anderson was forced to cut over 20 minutes of violent scenes so the film could reach the R-rating.
• When the Lewis and Clark first docks with the Event Horizon, the number of the main airlock is briefly visible: 13.
• Cameo: [During the opening dream sequence] a book floats past the camera, featuring a picture of the director and his name.
• The Event Horizon was named after the theoretical boundary surrounding a black hole, within which gravitational attraction is so great that nothing, not even radiation, can escape because the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light
• This movie was produced entirely within the UK, even the special effects.
• Paul W.S. Anderson had originally hired British band Orbital to compose the music for the film because he had wanted to work with them since his directorial debut Mortal Kombat (1995) which had featured their music. Paramount executives balked at the idea of hiring unknowns to write music for a big budget film, Anderson then thought of Michael Kamen and the idea of “marrying” their sounds (orchestral and techno) together resulted in the film’s final soundtrack.
• Philip Eisner wrote the movie after a family tragedy. He had recently entered a multi-picture writing agreement, and in an effort to force himself to get back to work he pitched the idea of “The Shining in space” to the studio, who were very receptive. Unfortunately he had no detailed treatment yet, and the subject matter blended with his emotional state to inspire a prolonged bout of writer’s block. The studio executive who had originally brought him on board, now a personal friend, helped keep Eisner on track, and the eventual first draft which was enthusiastically received.
• Post-production was cut from 6 weeks to 4 weeks after Paul W.S. Anderson promised to deliver the film in time for release in August 1997.
• According to the DVD documentary, the first cut of the film had a longer “Visions from Hell” sequence, more blood, and a different, though similar, ending. The test audience didn’t like it, so it was re-cut with an alternate ending involving what director Paul W.S. Anderson called “The Burning Man Sequence.” The second test audience didn’t like that version, and the film was edited again. The final cut is a less-intense hybrid of both test screenings, with significantly less gore.
• Production designer Joseph Bennett had to find a crew in Britain that could build and finish the sets in 4 weeks, before shooting began.
• Andrew Kevin Walker wrote an uncredited draft of the script. Some of it ended up on screen, and one sequence was cut from the theatrical cut. A small sample of it appears on the Special Collector’s Edition, when Laurence Fishburne’s crew is introduced for the first time on another rescue mission. In the DVD commentary, director Paul W.S. Anderson said he regretted deleted the scene, but it didn’t help the film’s pace.
• Director Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt planned to put together a director’s cut for some time, but most of the footage was lost or destroyed after post-production. A few of those scenes, which appear on the Special Collector’s Edition DVD, survived only in videotape form, sometimes without dialog or sound effects. The DVD also includes storyboards of a space walk sequence that was abandoned for budget reasons, and the alternate ending, with commentary by Paul W.S. Anderson.
• According to the DVD commentary, sequences deleted from the “Visions of Hell” include orgies and sadomasochism killing the Event Horizon’s original crew.
• One of the members of the original Event Horizon crew was British director Gary Sinyor, who directed The Bachelor (1999) starring Chris O’Donnell and Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger.
• Everyone’s space suit has their country’s flag. During production, Australia was considering changing its flag. Sam Neill’s character is Australian, and his spacesuit’s flag has the Aboriginal flag in place of the Union Jack.
• Dr. Weir shares his name with a historical figure, Johann Weyer, also known as Wier or Wierus. He was a Dutch physician, occultist, and demonologist.
• The hundreds of apparent metal bolts that line the corridors of the Event Horizon are actually power transistors in a TO-3 or similar package. This can be best seen when Miller rests his head against the wall when hearing Corrick’s voice.
• The rotational shot of the space station over earth took nearly a third of the film’s budget.
• The FBFX created costumes of John Mollo’s original space suit designs included many practical features such as an integrated filter blower system in the bottom of the portable life support system (backpack) into the helmet to keep the visor clear and the actor cool, thousands of LEDs that pulsated rhythmically to indicate life support functionality (with a secret ‘panic mode’ switch to quicken the pace when the plot required it!) and industrial magnets embedded in the soles of the boots to add to the realism of scenes featuring active magnetic boots.
• The working title was “The Stars My Destination”.
• When Doctor Weir opens the blinds in his room during the opening sequence of the film, a whooshing sound effect can be heard. This sound effect is taken from the video game Doom, heard when the player opens a door.
• In keeping with the naturalistic science fiction tone of the film, the costumes were based on present day flight suits.
• Paul W.S. Anderson was offered the movie on the strength of the box office success of his previous film, Mortal Kombat (1995). It meant he had to turn down the opportunity to direct X-Men (2000).
• Paul W.S. Anderson’s initial cut of the film ran to 130 minutes and was quite graphically violent, so much so that both test audiences and the studio baulked at the finished product. Paramount ordered him to cut the film by 30 minutes and tone down some of the violence, a decision he now regrets.
• Some of the lost footage includes a great deal more of the Bosch-influenced Hell sequences and of the orgiastic video log that was found in the Event Horizon. This was shot by both director Paul W.S. Anderson and Vadim Jean, mainly on weekends.
• Paramount eschewed the overused special effects houses ILM and DreamWorks in favor of smaller studios to keep costs down. Instead they opted for Mass Illusion Cinesite (Europe) and the Computer Film Company in London.
• The first person signed to the film was director of photography Adrian Biddle.
• For his final scenes, Sam Neill could come to the studio at 3am so that he could spend 7-8 hours in make-up, having a full prosthetic suit fitted.
• Joely Richardson’s character was originally written for a man.
• Paramount didn’t officially greenlight the film until 10 weeks before production was due to begin. This meant that the production design was unnecessarily rushed and was the reason why many leading production designers turned the film down.
• From greenlight to completion, the film took 10 months, an unusually short amount of time for such a complex, special effects driven film.
• Having just done a PG-13 movie, Mortal Kombat (1995), Paul W.S. Anderson was very keen to do something more adult and gruesome. This was why he turned down the chance to direct X-Men (2000).
• Writer Philip Eisner visited the set while the space suit sequences were being filmed. The suits were so heavy that the actors risked back injuries, prompting Laurence Fishburne to stop between takes, point at Eisner, and shout mock-angrily: “You! You Eisner! You did this to me!”.
• The script originally described the Gateway machine as a smooth and featureless black orb suspended in midair between large, rotating mechanical arms. It also was said to contain a stable black hole within it at all times (which the ship used as a power source), as opposed to briefly creating a temporary one.
• Jeremy Irons and Amy Brenneman were originally set to star in the film.
• The scene where Laurence Fishburne finds Jason Isaacs hanging in the air with his chest cut open originally ran much longer, with Isaacs’ guts hanging out of him, and some of them laying on the table. Paul W.S. Anderson used a mylar mirror on an operating table to simulate the effect, with Issacs actually hanging on wires. This can be seen in the DVD’s Making of Event Horizon documentary.
• For Jason Isaacs’ death scene, the plan was originally for his entrails to be still attached to him as he hung over them. Isaacs was then supposed to raise his head, showing that he was still alive, prompting Laurence Fishburne’s character to shoot him in the head, to put him out of his misery.
• All of the characters who die are the ones who are immediately present in the scene where the crew starts to talk about the hallucinations.

Talking Points:

• Coolest Ship Interior EVER!
• Should it have been in 3-D?

What We’ve Learned:

• Bottled Water doesn’t freeze in deep space.
• Just because your experiencing 30G’s of acceleration… doesn’t mean your dishes and other items need to be stowed.. they will stay right where they are.
• Its all math

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Ray: In all reality this movie sucks.. but i still love it. Great Concept, Horrible Execution
Steve: Don’t expect Shakespeare…but the sets are amazing and it has a great cast.
Jeff: I second, Ray

The Present: The Next Three Days

Director: Paul Haggis

Starring: Russel Crowe, Elizabeth Banks

Trivia:

• The Next Three Days is a remake of the 2007 French film Pour Elle (Anything for Her) by Fred Cavayé
• Cavayé explained the plot and motivation for making the film, “We wanted to make a real human story about an ordinary man doing an extraordinary thing because he’s faced with a miscarriage of justice. The film also talks about courage – saying how you show courage depending on the situation. In France, for example, there were good people who did not go into the Resistance against the Germans.”
• In October 2009, Haggis and his staff were filming in the principal photography stage of production in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• The Next Three Days has received generally mixed reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 44% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 59 reviews, with an average score of 5.7/10. The critical consensus is: “Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks give it their all, but their solid performances aren’t quite enough to compensate for The Next Three Days’ uneven pace and implausible plot.”

Talking Points:

• Did anyone root for them to get caught?
• when is breaking the law for a good cause ok?
• Brian Dennehy’s almost wordless performance.
• Pace – was it slow to you or fast?
• How well do you think you know your spouse?

What We Learned:

• Regardless what Mythbusters say.. its completely possible to steal a car with a tennis ball.
• All you need to know about becoming a criminal you can learn from the Internet.
• If you’re going to flee the country, just get on the plane and you’re scott free.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Bloody Brilliant. While some people might not like the pacing, the emotional journey is incredible.
Ray:To me slow moving and methodical.. but if you can stick with it, I think its worth the ride.
Steve: Boring with a capital B! I think I’m awake now.

The Future: Heartless 5-21-2011

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Noel Clarke

Trivia:

• Was released in the UK in 2009
• Shown at Leeds International Film Festival (UK) on Saturday 7th November, 2009 as part of its “Day of the Dead” horror film marathon.
• When Jamie is walking past a bar to take out the garbage, a rock version of the song Jim Sturgess sings, “Heartless”, is playing.

Talking Points:

• Jacobs Ladder anyone?

Summary:

Jamie Morgans life has always been blighted by the large, heart-shaped birthmark on his face. He lives in an urban world dominated by a terrifying gang culture, whose random violence has convinced Jamie that the world is meaningless and ugly. But then Jamie meets someone who tells him the truth. The violence is not random. Its far from chaotic. There is a reason for everything. Once Jamie accepts this the world reveals itself as a thing of great beauty And that’s when his real nightmare starts.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Meh.
Ray: Trailer reminds me of Jacobs Ladder.. Looks interesting.
Steve: Looks interesting, but doesn’t come across like a big screen movie…looks like a straight to DVD release.

Coming Attractions

The Past: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
The Present: Burlesque
The Future: Wrecked

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