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Tag: Ridley Scott

  • Matt Damon Says ‘Martian’ Director Ridley Scott Deserves Oscar Nod Before He Does

    Matt Damon, star of the critically acclaimed film The Martian, says director Ridley Scott deserves an Oscar nomination for his work on the film before he does.

    Many consider Damon a frontrunner for a best actor Oscar nomination for his work in The Martian, but the Oscar-winning actor says there are others more deserving of an Oscar nod.

    “Honest to God, there are other performances I would give it to,” Damon said on Wednesday’s Today show when asked about the possibility of winning a best actor Oscar for The Martian.

    Damon seems more concerned that Ridley Scott, acclaimed for his work on such films as Alien and Gladiator, has yet to win an Academy Award.

    “I’m much more interested in the director race this year,” Damon said, noting that he thought Scott had received an Oscar when Gladiator won best picture but he didn’t because he wasn’t a producer on the film.

    “Our awards are all diminished until he wins one,” Damon graciously said of Scott.

    Ridley Scott joined Damon on the Today show interview and said he is also hoping to finally win an Oscar. He noted that he knows exactly what he’ll tell the coveted trophy if he does succeed in finally winning.

    “If I ever get it I’ll say, ‘Where have you been?’” laughed Scott.

  • Ridley Scott Filmed Slammed for ‘Racist’ Casting; Rupert Murdoch Tweets Odd Defense

    Ridley Scott’s latest film, Exodus: Gods and Kings, is being attacked for having an all-white cast. Some believe that this is way out of bounds since the film is largely set in Egypt.

    Exodus, which stars Christian Bale as Moses, was directed by Ridley Scott and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Ridley Scott told Variety that his cast is white for a simple reason: money.

    “I can’t mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such,” Scott explained. “I’m just not going to get it financed. So the question doesn’t even come up.”

    As Variety points out about the very white casting, “the same could be said of The Passion of the Christ, Noah, The Ten Commandments and virtually any other big-budget Bible movies.”

    But Rupert Murdoch, who owns 20th Century Fox, was not going to let this one go by quietly. He had been seeing comments on Twitter about the all-white cast.

    So Murdoch took to Twitter to defend his investment.

    As expected, his odd defense did not sit well.

    So Murdoch hit back again.

    But his detractors got the last laugh.

  • Christian Bale Says Moses Was “Schizophrenic” and “Barbaric”

    Christian Bale was Batman. Even though Batman is a hero, everyone knows he has some serious issues. The Dark Knight series did not dodge those, but played them for all they were worth.

    Now Christian Bale is Moses in the Ridley Scott-produced film Exodus: Gods and Kings. And according to Christianity Today, Bale sees some really troubling stuff in that “character” as well.

    “I think the man was likely schizophrenic and was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life,” Bale said about Moses.

    That’s some serious analysis from a man who famously played a psychopathic killer. But maybe he was just talking about non-fiction characters.

    Bale said that he did some serious research on Moses before doing Exodus. He called his religious background and knowledge prior to landing the part “below Sunday school.” He read biographical books, but also the Torah and the Koran.

    Another word Bale uses to describe Moses is “mercurial.”

    “He was a very troubled, tumultuous man and mercurial,” Bale said after a trailer screening for Exodus. “But the biggest surprise was the nature of God. He was equally very mercurial”

    “Mercurial” can be defined as: subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.

    Some Christians have been excited at the crop of films from big studios, with big celebrity names attached, that are Bible-based or at least have their stories rooted in Bible characters. The recent Russell Crowe film Noah disappointed some, who felt that it did not treat the Biblical topic with enough reverence.

    The Nicolas Cage-led Left Behind film has one character exclaiming, “The God my mother talked about would never do something like this!”

    But the big moviemakers aren’t taking all this that seriously. When Ridley Scott was asked about how his new Exodus might parallel recent Middle East tensions he said, “People can do that if they want to be really negative or just sit down and enjoy the f***ing movie. It’s a movie!”

  • Matt Damon Says He and Ben Affleck ‘Owe Everything’ to Robin Williams

    Matt Damon says he and his Good Will Hunting partner, Ben Affleck, owe “everything” to Robin Williams.

    The Saving Private Ryan star talked to Yahoo Global News anchor Katie Couric about the debt he and his childhood friend owe the late actor after he helped them get their first project off the ground.

    “Ben and I owe everything to him,” he said of Williams. “He said yes to our movie and he got it made. I could never thank him enough. I look around at the life I have and how blessed I feel and so much of it started with him.”

    Williams, 63, died in August by suicide after struggling for years with addiction and depression. After his death, his wife, Susan Schneider, revealed the actor had also been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease not long before he took his own life. Damon told Couric the news of Williams’ death “shocked” him and led to a serious bout of regret for not keeping in better touch with the Oscar-winning actor.

    “I think [Williams’ death] affected everybody in the country, actually,” said the 43-year-old Boston native. “We all felt like we knew him and that he was a part of our lives… I think everyone who wasn’t there with him at the end feels bad that they didn’t see it coming.”

    “I hope that it can start a conversation in the country about depression and just how serious it is, and what an exceptionally powerful disease that it is,” he continued. “I hope I become better at checking in with my friends. I hope that we, as a country, get better at checking in with each other.”

    Damon is also known for his work in The Bourne Identity and The Departed. His next appearance will be in Ridley Scott‘s The Martian.

  • Ridley Scott Talks About “Brutal” McCarthy Film

    Ridley Scott is a veteran filmmaker; as the director of “Hannibal” and “Gladiator”, he knows brutality. So when even he admits that a script invoked a sense of dread in him, you know the finished product is going to be tense.

    Scott talked about that tension in his new film, “The Counselor”, which stars Michael Fassbender as a lawyer who gets involved in a drug deal, and says the movie works slow, silent fingers of stress into your brain before you even know what’s happening.

    “There’s a deep sense of stress that starts about halfway through, and you can’t put your finger on why. When you’re reading the script, it’s like there’s a series of cogs in a very clever clock. The cogs start to engage and — a good word is dread. And the dread sets in, and it stays there,” he said.

    Of course, the script was done by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote “The Road” and “No Country For Old Men”; going into it, you know you’re in for a hell of a ride. Scott says that McCarthy is so talented that he makes what he does look easy, when that is far from the case.

    “It’s relentless. I think he writes the truth. Because life is like that most of the time in some shape or form, whether it’s illness or the end of the world. Cormac’s a writer’s writer. You read his writing and think, I can do that, and then you sit down and try. And you try, dude,” Scott says.

    The film is already getting good reviews; Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praises McCarthy on a brilliant screenplay and Scott on his beautiful execution, saying:

    “From all the ellipses, as well as the eccentric, mesmerizing poetry of his dialogue, Mr. McCarthy appears to have never read a screenwriting manual in his life. (That’s a compliment; this is his first produced film script.) Although there’s a fairly blunt, near-archetypal aspect to the main characters — their expensive homes, sports cars and designer clothes speak the language of money fluently — the plot remains deliberately unobvious for a long time…Mr. Scott manages all these swiftly spinning parts with impeccable control and a lucid visual style. The story may be initially elusive, but there’s a clarity, solidity and stillness (the camera moves but doesn’t tremble) to his images that augment the narrative’s gravity and inexorable momentum. The beauty of the landscapes is about all that feels coherent in an often unrecognizable, unsettling world.”

    “The Counselor” also stars Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, and Penelope Cruz.

    Image: Wikimedia Commons

  • Prometheus: New Making-Of Video Arrives Online

    Clamoring for more footage from director Ridley Scott’s upcoming sci-fi blockbuster “Prometheus”? If so, then the recently-released making-of featurette is probably something you’ll want to watch this morning. In addition to interviews with the acclaimed filmmaker and his impressive cast, the clip also features some brand new footage to obsess over. And Scott can remained as tight-lipped as he wants about the project — this is a prequel to the director’s sci-fi horror masterpiece “Alien”. My excitement level is inches away from exploding through the proverbial roof. Expect to see me in the theater on opening day.

    In case you’re behind on the times, here’s a quick synopsis:

    Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which 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.

    “Prometheus”, which stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Wilson, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, and Patrick Wilson, takes to the stars on June 8th. If you haven’t already started planning your entire summer around its release, then you should probably get that taken care of as soon as possible.

  • Russian Prometheus Trailer is Dubbed, Still Awesome

    The 2012 summer movie line-up is shaping up to be one of the best in years. The potential blockbuster train features big name movie after big name movie. Standing tall among The Avengers, Spider-Man, and Batman is Ridley Scott’s latest Alien-prequel-that’s-not-an-Alien-prequel creation, Prometheus. The teaser content that’s hit the grid has been incredibly promising, and this latest offering is no different.

    Even if it is dubbed in Russian.

    Speaking of dubbing, after the atrociously-awesome dubs of the Kung Fu Theater movies, perhaps you’d expect the Russian version to use subtitles. To that, however, our comrades said “nyet,” and the result is still pretty great. As pointed out by Twitch (via Topless Robot), there’s some new material in the Russian trailer, which only helps amp up the excitement level surrounding this movie.

    In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the teaser poster, which is pretty damn cool in its own right:

    (image)

    Recently, there was some chatter about the movie’s rating, to which Scott said, ‘Essentially, it’s kinda R,” which doesn’t mean a PG-13 rating is out of the question. With that in mind, those of you anticipating a “Director’s Cut” edition release when the DVD drops, you might be disappointed:

    (image)@ThePlaylist
    ThePlaylist    Ridley Scott Says Theatrical Version Of ‘Prometheus’ Will Be His Director’s Cut, Will Run About 2 Hours http://t.co/to2lB6Qw via @indiewire(image) 7 hours ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Prometheus Trailer Looks A Lot Like Alien

    Prometheus is one of those few movies that I plan on seeing day one. I love Ridley Scott and I love Alien. Good thing the new Prometheus trailer sets up the movie to be exactly like Alien.

    Speaking of the trailer though, it has a few things worth looking out for. You should be able to notice a lot of architecture that was present in the first Alien movie. There’s a point near the middle where the team is inside of a room which seems to be full of small totems. It’s teased out that these are actually eggs.

    We don’t actually get to really see the threat that is in this movie, but it doesn’t look like a Xenomorph. There are, however, a few things that look very Alien-ish. There’s a quick cutaway in the trailer that seems to show a man struggling with something on his face. Is it a facehugger or perhaps an early form of the species? We don’t know, but it’s obvious that Scott is going for an Alien vibe with this film and that’s totally fine by me.

    Check out the trailer below and tell us what you think. Can you spot any other things in the trailer that remind you of Alien?

  • Prometheus Full Trailer Teaser Released Online

    In true “Xzibit Yo Dawg” meme fashion, a new teaser trailer, for the upcoming full trailer, of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus has just been released. It should be noted that the full trailer is due to be released later this week.

    Don’t even bother asking yourself why a teaser for a trailer is necessary, as it will only do more harm than good. Don’t get me wrong, I like teaser trailers for movies… but this is a teaser trailer for the full trailer. It just seems very unnecessary.

    If you’re unfamiliar with Prometheus, here is the official synopsis:

    Ridley Scott, director of ‘Alien’ and ‘Blade Runner,’ returns to the genre he helped define. With ‘Prometheus’, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which 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.

    What did you think of the teaser of the trailer? Does this new Hollywood trend annoy you? Let us know in the comment area below.

  • Prometheus Trailer Releases, Looks Alien-ish

    Ok, so this isn’t the prequel to Alien, we know that. After watching the trailer, you can’t help but think of the classic series. Ridley Scott has a stellar cast attached to the project: Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, and Idris Elba

    Here’s the official synopsis for the movie from the Apple trailer page, and the video is below. Enjoy.

    Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which 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.