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Ale

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Everything posted by Ale

  1. Haha! Seems lil Caleb is growing up fast! Loving the 'Rocky' soundtrack BTW :laugh:
  2. I don't think money is very important to him. If I'm not wrong he cut his salary to make 'Seven Pounds'. He cares a lot about his image though, and he should change that if he really wants to show the world what a great actor he is. He definitely should take this opportunity.
  3. Interesting read.. Exclusive: director Francis Lawrence on what went wrong with I Am Legend "One of the big downfalls for me, with that movie, personally, was with the visual effects" - director Francis Lawrence on I Am Legend" A fascinating yet flawed movie, I Am Legend was ultimately let down by some uneven visual effects. We spoke to director Francis Lawrence about just what went wrong... Published on May 4, 2011 There are many great things about Francis Lawrence's 2007 adaptation of Richard Matheson's sci-fi horror novel, I Am Legend. The extraordinary overgrown New York landscape. Will Smith's lonely, haunted performance. Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich's economical script which, for the first hour at least, is entirely convincing. While the movie diverges greatly from Matheson's 1954 novel (as did the two previous adaptations, The Last Man On Earth and The Omega Man), the premise is the same. Following the outbreak of a virus, much of humanity has mutated into an aggressive race of nocturnal monsters, leaving lone, immune protagonist, Robert Neville (Smith), to defend himself in a sprawling, dangerous city. And yet, having managed to build the film's world so effectively (and its overgrown, deserted New York is surely one of the most memorable post-apocalyptic landscapes of recent years), I Am Legend then loses considerable momentum when the Dark Seekers are brought out in full view. Brought fitfully to life using CGI, the Dark Seekers, a horde of rabid, slavering humanoids that hunt in packs, looked too artificial to inspire the fear the movie needed. The distracting appearance of the Dark Seekers is doubly perplexing when compared to the quality of the filmmaking and effects work elsewhere. A couple of iffy lions aside, CG has been used brilliantly to create the illusion of an empty New York City, and the movie's beautifully shot throughout. A few weeks ago, we saw some make-up test shots that revealed that I Am Legend was originally going to be shot with old-fashioned actors and latex, and from the footage that appeared online, the results looked to be far more effective than the ones seen in the final film. So, with director Francis Lawrence in the UK to promote his latest movie, the romantic drama Water For Elephants (which is in cinemas now), I couldn't resist the chance to bring up the topic of I Am Legend, and ask him about what occurred behind the scenes. It turned out, in fact, that Lawrence was happy to speak quite openly about I Am Legend, and it was his experience on that film, he said, that prompted him to choose a less effects-heavy movie like Water For Elephants for his next project. "I really wanted to do a movie that I could approach in a more organic way," Lawrence said. "I was really disappointed by that part of the process on I Am Legend." Lawrence then spoke quite candidly about the rush to complete the effects shots for the film‘s final third, a factor that would certainly explain the variable quality of the CGI, as well as the movie's rushed, muddled conclusion, which was reshot after negative comments from test audiences. "Having done a movie with so many visual effects shots, and then coming to the end, where you have the plug pulled because you have a deadline, and you have to deliver the last reel, and you know there's a hundred shots in the movie you're not satisfied with, was a real disappointment to me." I then brought up the subject of the make-up effects footage mentioned earlier. Lawrence hadn't seen it, but my mention of it prompted him to describe what happened when shooting began on I Am Legend in 2006. "I wanted to do it with real people in the beginning," Lawrence said. "We actually cast this huge group of people, like, 50 dancers and parkour guys. And we shaved their heads and they worked with movement coaches and we created this behaviour for everybody. And we built these suits, this guy called Christien Tinsley built them. "We actually started to shoot with them. Second unit started first, and we were doing stuff with them running across Washington Square Park towards the house, and I was really worried about it, because they needed to be fast, and we were going to have to augment them and duplicate them. They had to be aggressive, and I just wasn't convinced it was going to work. "When I saw the dailies, I broke out into a cold sweat. They were very pale, and covered in this chalky powder to protect their skin, which was a really interesting concept, but it looked like a bunch of mime artists running across Washington Square Park. It didn't work at all." It was then that the decision was made to realise the Dark Seekers using computer graphics, a process that wouldn't be without pitfalls of its own. "And one night, we shut that all down and decided we were going to go for CG. We basically postponed anything we were going to shoot with creatures until much later. We went to a whole other design process. We used the same actors, but now they were in these speed skater suits with dots, and it was all performance capture, which would be translated to these things." Sadly, the final rush to complete the film resulted in the variable effects work in the final cut. Had the production been granted another few months to work on the CG, Lawrence argues, I Am Legend may have been a very different looking film. "It was better than doing the live versions at that time, because it didn't work, but we needed six more months on the post end to get all the visual effects right," Lawrence said. "Because there were some close-ups that were stunning, and then you get some shots that I never got right, and it just ****ing blows it. It just kills it. And it's just, like, one of the big downfalls for me, with that movie, personally, was with the visual effects." Dodgy effects weren't, of course, the sole problem with I Am Legend, and here, too, Lawrence was refreshingly candid about the film's shortcomings. "If you want to go even deeper into it, part of the problem was, if you look at the movie, the most effective part of the film is the scene where he [Will Smith's character] goes into the dark building, because you never see [Dark Seekers]. "And the truth is, if you go all the way back to the great creature movies like Alien, the best thing is, you never see them. As soon as you get into the back third of the movie, and there's this huge horde of creatures you've already seen that aren't scary any more. "I think that's also one of the mistakes. They should have just been hidden. They should have been much more hidden in shadows, and barely getting a sense of movement. It would have been much more viscerally scary." I Am Legend was a flawed yet brave attempt to get a singularly downbeat novel made within a studio system. And while six more months of post production may still not have resulted in a perfect movie, we can't help wondering what I Am Legend would have looked like had that extension been granted. http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/874292/exclusive_director_francis_lawrence_on_what_went_wrong_with_i_am_legend.html
  4. I had never seen this video. Love it. 'Pursuit Of Happyness' was a great movie IMO.
  5. Will's dad and Tony Smith are the authors of a book called 'The Waymor'. You can find info about it on the site: http://www.thewaymor.com/ which includes videos and interviews with him like this one!
  6. Got it, thanks gosia!
  7. If Will says yes I think Tarantino should run naked on the beach with you. :laugh: I don't think we should expose people to such disturbing images...I mean there's sharing your joy with the world and then there's simply torture;)
  8. AWESOME! Great news! Will just can't turn this down, it's Tarantino! Ahh man, I wish this is true..
  9. Happy Birthday again AJ! And thanks for wishing me a happy birthday in advance!
  10. Cool. Thanks for sharing Brakes!
  11. Hope you have a wonderful day, girl! And thanks for all the work you do here on the site, we really appreciate it!
  12. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith attends the 16th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books - Day 1 at USC on April 30, 2011 http://www.gettyimages.es/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&language=es&assetType=image&ebd=2011-04-27&p=jada+pinkett
  13. Jada Pinkett Smith: J-Lo gives great advice Jada Pinkett Smith says Jennifer Lopez offers useful tips when she visits the set of Hawthorne. Jada stars in the US medical drama, which also features Jennifer’s husband Marc Anthony, and the pair get along swimmingly. Jada has revealed Jennifer, who has twins Emme and Max with Marc, often comes to visit her husband on the set. She is always happy to offer feedback on the show, as well as offering delicious food to the cast members. “I love Marc Anthony, we enjoy working together so much. He’s an exceptional artist,” gushed Jada in an interview with a British magazine. “Yes she does - Mama comes to the set [laughs]! She tells us what storylines are working and what ones aren’t. I love having her around, although she’s always trying to get me fat.” Jada admits Jennifer may not always make all the gourmet treats she dishes out herself. Although Jada is sure Jennifer is a whizz in the kitchen, she joked that the singer-and-actress also has some highly skilled employees. “She is a good cook. Well, her cooks are good cooks,” she laughed. http://www.musicrooms.net/showbiz/32040-jada-pinkett-smith-j-lo-gives-great-advice.html
  14. Exclusive: Willow Smith Shows Her Moves & Flies High Above the Crowd (VIDEO) Is there anything Willow Smith can’t do? Celebuzz is proud to premiere this exclusive video of the 10-year-old diva, which shows the starlet prepping for her performance at the Kids’ Choice Awards last month. In case you had any doubts for some ridiculous reason, the video is pretty fantastic. From her awesome dance moves to the sweet sounds of “21st Century Girl” playing in the background, Willow’s limitless energy is absolutely captured in this exclusive clip. Check out the video of the hard-working Willow for yourself! http://www.celebuzz.com/2011-05-04/exclusive-willow-smith-shows-her-moves-flies-high-above-the-crowd-video/
  15. Willow Smith - ASK:REPLY Willow answers your questions from Facebook and Twitter on this edition of ASK:REPLY.
  16. And more! http://solariasun.com/4137/men-in-black-3-location/ http://www.fadedyouthblog.com/230243/will-smiths-son-is-bringing-home-the-big-bucks
  17. Well, I personally loved 'I Am Legend''s story, so I wouldn't have minded seeing a prequel. On the other hand, it wasn't necessary, really. So I guess they've taken a good decision.
  18. F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Black Eyed Peas Concert - Willow Smith 'Whip My Hair' '21st Century Girl'
  19. More pix from the set here! http://amusingthezillion.com/2011/05/02/men-in-black-3-set-transforms-coney-island-boardwalk/
  20. Men In Black III Brings Coney Island Back To the '60s Last year there was a casting call for Men In Black III, where a call out specified "people that are less than 4’10 and more than 6’5 in height to play aliens. Men and women to play late 1960s New Yorkers." Another last month noted they were still looking for "1969 New Yorkers (hippies, beatnik poets, 60s celebrity look-a-likes, bikers, models, etc)" and explained "most scenes take place in 1969 and men and women must be willing to get a hair cut and to work around smoke." This week the production is shooting on Surf Avenue in Coney Island, and a ton of extras—including Lola Star—have been called in for a boardwalk scene. Star has been transmitting photos from the "past" via Twitter all day, and you can check out a few above. Apparently Smith was about to film a chase scene down the boardwalk just before one of them was taken. http://gothamist.com/2011/05/02/men_in_black_iii_bring_coney_island.php#photo-1
  21. New web site for Will Smith movie fans has a great selection of his movies in DVD, Blu-Ray, and other formats. Online PR News – 02-May-2011 –Clinton Township, Michigan – This new web site has an extensive list of Will Smith movies and television works, spanning his year career. There are single movies, special collections and boxed sets. Most are in DVD format, some in downloadable format and others in Blu-Ray. The top portion of the main web page has the list of movies with clickable titles so the user can quickly jump to the information about a film or television show. There are also strategically placed ‘Back to Top’ clickable links for the user to return to the menu at the top of the page. The new web site also includes an extensive filmography covering both film and television. Sorted by year, each entry in the filmography has the title of the work and year of release. Some entries have additional information, such as the role and any important notes. At the end of the filmography, there are a few movies in production and in pre-production. Additionally, there is information about the box office gross earnings for his films. Like the filmography, this is organized by year and for each title, has the film's budget, U.S. gross, and worldwide gross, from 1992 thru 2008. To see a list of all the movies available at Will Smith Movies List, visit the specialty site: http://www.willsmithmovieslist.com/ Source: http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/134693-1304372949-will-smith-movies-list-announces-new-website-for-will-smith-fans.html
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