Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
How the ‘Contagion’ virus was born
By Peter Christian Hall The opinions expressed are his own.
The most riveting player in Contagion, the star-laden thriller about a global pandemic, is a virus — the so-called MEV-1 paramyxovirus that an American businesswoman spreads from Hong Kong to Minneapolis in the movie’s opening sequence. The bug that emerged from years of brainstorming by top scientific and creative minds has itself become an overnight superstar.
Contagion’s proprietary serial killer — the offspring of related viral strains from a bat and a pig — started out its scripted life as a souped-up avian influenza. “Flu seemed the worst-case pandemic to talk about,” says Laurie Garrett, an emerging-disease expert and bestselling author (The Coming Plague and Betrayal of Trust) who in 2008 began working closely with screenwriter Scott Z. Burns on at least 30 script drafts.
“A tremendous amount of work went into coming up with a very detailed scenario about how all the elements around the world would respond if we had a truly virulent 1918-type flu.” The Great Pandemic that accompanied World War I infected more than half a billion people and killed well over 50 million, most of them aged 16 to 40.
When nature surprised Garrett and Burns with the 2009 swine flu pandemic, they quickly realized Novel H1N1 wasn’t going to be virulent enough to hold the public’s interest in “a flu movie.”
Garrett, who had covered the 2003 SARS epidemic in China, urged Burns to refocus on so-called zoonotic viruses that cross directly between people and animals, as the bubonic plague and West Nile Virus did and which SARS is believed to have done. Microbial crossovers can occur when people disrupt a natural environment and come into close contact with animals that carry viruses to which humans have no immunity.
“Scott and I talked a lot about bats and the deeply profound stress on local bat populations,” says Garrett. “They are the great pollinators. Fruit bats are so stressed by the combination of apparent rising temperatures in the upper canopy of the rain forest and human encroachment that they are increasingly going into human areas in search of food. They’re starving, basically–and passing ancient viruses, via either their saliva [when they feed] or their urine.” Viral crossover can take place when their fluids come into contact with food being consumed by pigs or humans.
“Ides of March” stars play politics, or not, at TIFF
Politics may make for good films, but don’t expect the stars of “The Ides of March” to run for office any time soon.
George Clooney, who directs and stars as governor Mike Morris in the political drama, has already said he isn’t interested in a real-life political career.
As for Ryan Gosling, who plays the central role of press attache Stephen Myers in the film about the U.S. Democratic primary race, when asked at the TIFF press conference on Friday if he would ever consider throwing his hat in the political ring, his answer was a blunt “No”.
Not even a little joke.
This from the man who earlier compared Clooney’s directing style to watching the birth of a unicorn. Perhaps working on a film about the dirty side of politics has made a cynic of the Canadian actor.
In “The Ides of March,” Gosling’s character becomes embroiled in a high-stakes game of sex and power in a critical look at the reality behind political rhetoric. Clooney said the film is not meant to be a commentary on the state of politics in the United States, but rather a look at human morality.
As for whether the morally ambivalent characters who dot the film could exist in the political sphere north of the border, Gosling said Canadians are just “too nice.”
UDPATE – Sheen’s “Torpedo” is a dud. What will he shoot now?
He’s no Conan O’Brien, Charlie Sheen.
But he did stage a comeback in Chicago.
Update — Following his Detroit bomb, Charlie Sheen did what any respectable entertainer would do. He lived by the credo “the show must go on, ” and revamped his “Violent Torpedo of Truth” with a talk show format. Fans evidently liked it.
What Happened in Detroit? We covered here: Fans of the man with self-diagnosed “tiger’s blood” came to Detroit to cheer their hero in his one-man redemption show “My Violent Torpedo of Truth: Defeat is Not An Option”. They wanted him to prove his “Adonis DNA” and take on the corporate entertainment titans who fired him. They wanted to see if he had kicked his drugs and drinks-fueled lifestyle at his in-home rehab clinic he calls “The Sober Valley Lodge.” They wanted comedy, perhaps a few songs. They wanted the real story behind Sheen’s Hollywood veil.
His show bombed. Read The Hollywood Reporter Review.
At Detroit’s Fox Theater, they got a water-sipping actor at a loss for how to perform live, riffing incoherent lines that must have played well with his entourage but failed to win fans. They got Sheen’s ramblings of how the TV star could lead them to all to personal salvation against the corporate “evil trolls.” His attempt to sound like a philosopher poet with verse such as “The kidnapped fingers of tiny child lose fast the grip of Thorian hammer” stirred only boredom in an audience that had come for a good time.
Why, it’s working for him so far is it not? Can’t deny the attention he is getting and in Hollywood that’s all that matters.
Did Gervais go too far at Globes?
The day after the Golden Globes, and, in Britain at least, there is as much media chatter about show host Ricky Gervais and his no-holds-barred approach as there is about Colin Firth’s acting award for his portrayal of the stammering King George VI in “The King’s Speech”.
Normally the reaction on this side of the pond to major U.S. movie award shows is to champion the victorious Brits, or otherwise bemoan their failure. This year would have been no exception — joy for Firth, otherwise disappointment for the film about the British monarchy — were it not for Gervais and his less-than-gentle jokes that took aim at, among others, Charlie Sheen, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp of “The Tourist”, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Cher, the actresses in Sex and the City, prominent Scientologists and Hugh Hefner.
The Gawker website’s reaction summed up its jaw-dropping bluntness: “Holy wow. Ricky Gervais … just opened the show with one of the most unrelentingly harsh and uncomfortable monologues in awards history.”
Some of the stars there on the night felt the need to hit back — Robert Downey Jr., the butt of one of Gervais’ less-than-flattering jibes, suggested that the host’s words were “hugely mean-spirited, with mildly sinister undertones”. The LA Times called the event a “snarkfest” and wrote of the “corrosive tone” Gervais set. Reflecting how taken aback some viewers were with his repartee, there was even online speculation that he had been sacked mid-show when he failed to appear for nearly an hour.
The BBC has just quoted a statement from Gervais saying: ”I did every single introduction I was meant to. There just happened to be a long gap. The atmosphere backstage and at the after show was great.”
Entertainment Weekly came out on Gervais’ side, commenting: “Oh Ricky, you’ll never work in this town again, and we love you for it”. And The Hollywood Reporter also speculated that the British comedian may have just hosted his last major awards ceremony in the United States: “‘I warned them.’ Returning Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais did indeed let it be known that he wasn’t going to hold back in skewering Hollywood’s most famous celebrities. And, in what will undoubtedly be his last hosting gig for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (and, who knows, maybe any Stateside awards) he didn’t disappoint.”
Did Gervais go too far? Was he merely voicing what the wide public thinks and says? Should such thoughts and words be kept private, rather than aired on an awards show viewed by millions of people around the world? Are celebrities paid enough to deserve the odd bout of public humiliation?
hes talented but this was too mean spirited too cheap. the gags werent even veiled or subtle or double entendres. I note he always picks easy targets, christians, disabled and laid back americans. try this act on other religions or against his own people in england and the monachy. the fact jerry seinfeld mocked the oyal wedding proved once and for all the english cannot take the joke back. that makes them hypocrites and less funny.
Helena Bonham Carter, queen of Halloween frights
This item is both good, and perhaps not so good, for director Tim Burton. His long-term companion, Helena Bonham Carter, has had the distinct honor (some might say dubious distinction) of making it on a list — twice — of top movie-themed Halloween costumes. The first time, she is a queen (good) and the second, a witch (not so good, although given Burton’s taste in characters — Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd — he might think it’s cool).
Online movie ticket seller Fandango.com polled some 2,200 people on its website, asking them about the upcoming ghoulish holiday where people dress like goblins or werewolves and play tricks or get treats. Fifty-five percent said they would dress up and of those, 58 percent said they’d pick a movie-themed costume.
Among women, the top costume was Alice from Burton’s version of the classic “Alice in Wonderland” and at No. 2 was the Red Queen, also from that movie and portrayed by Carter. The actress’ role as witch Bellatrix Lestrange in the “Harry Potter” movies was No. 5. (pictured above left). Sandwiched in-between were Barbie from “Toy Story 3″ in the No. 3 position and Hit-Girl from the action adventure “Kick-Ass” at No. 4.
For men, the top costume was “Iron Man” (who is played by Robert Downey, Jr.), followed by the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) in “Alice” and the Kick-Ass character in “Kick-Ass” (Aaron Johnson) rounding out the top 3. Bloodthirsty Jigsaw of the “Saw” movies and the menacing Machete from the film of the same name completed the No. 4 and No. 5 positions.
Where group themes were concerned, the Mad Hatter and Alice from “Alice” topped the list in a tie with Ken & Barbie from “Toy Story 3,” and Shrek and Princess Fiona from “Shrek Forever After” were in the No. 3 position. Suprisingly, given the film’s popularity, the blue Navi’i people of “Avatar” fame were down the list at No. 6, but they did beat out the cast of characters in the “Harry Potter” movies. And in another sign that the popularity of “Harry Potter” is wearing thin on movie audiences, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg was No. 9 on the list favorite male costumes, just knocking off No. 10, Harry Potter.
Happy Halloween.
Daytime therapist, nighttime filmmaker captures Soviet life
He’s a physiotherapist by day and a filmmaker by nights, weekends and everything in between. Semyon Pinkhasov has captured facets of Soviet life that rarely get shared beyond Russia’s borders, even after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
(For story, click on http://r.reuters.com/qac34m)
The self-taught, self-financed, award-winning amateur documentary filmmaker has seen his films shown worldwide at festivals and on Russian and English-language television channels. Focused on the arts and the sport of fencing (U.S. Olympic Team Coach in 1984), he tells stories about Grigory Fried, who has run a music appreciation club in Moscow for 45 years without taking a kopeck; Tikhon Khrennikov, the first and last secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers; and Boris Efimov, perhaps Stalin’s favorite cartoonist.
One film about German fencing legend Helene Meyer, whose half-Jewish heritage provided Adolf Hitler with political cover to stage the 1936 Olympics, won for best screenplay at the 2009 International Festival of Sports Films in Moscow. But what drives someone with no background in film, journalism or the arts to dive into movie making? Roll the video:
Photo: Documentary Filmmaker Semyon Pinkhasov is shown in his Manhattan apartment on June 21, 2010. REUTERS/Daniel Bases
Can Cannes live with low U.S. turnout?
So, Cannes 2010 is about to get underway and the usual bout of soul-searching, navel-gazing and nail-biting is occupying minds in the Mediterranean resort.
No one knows whether it will be a strong year or not until the end, of course, so the main focus for a lot of critics and journalists in the runup to Wednesday’s opening (with Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood”) has been the lack of U.S. titles in the main competition lineup and also in sidebar events. Doug Liman’s political “Fair Game”, based on the true story of outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, is the country’s sole representative out of 19 competition movies. That said, Oliver Stone and Woody Allen are both in town with films, and they don’t come much bigger or more respected.
What the lack of U.S. films may translate into, of course, is a lack of A-list stars. Expected to be on the red carpet over the coming 12 days are Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mick Jagger, Tim Burton, Javier Bardem, Antonio Banderas and Kate Beckinsale. Many more will also show up with so many related and unrelated events being held in the area — music awards, charity dinners, concerts and the Grand Prix in Monaco. But the consensus appears to be that this will be a relatively star-light Cannes.
That news is good and bad. On the plus side it allows journalists to focus more on the movies themselves, which, after all, is what Cannes is all about. On the downside, it means less buzz and less interest from the world outside the frenzied, stress-fuelled Cannes bubble.
Critics are generally well disposed to the selection this year, so let’s hope that Cannes 2010 lives up to expectations.
“Avatar”, “Precious”, Clooney, Cruz? Who should get movie awards?
The Hollywood awards season is shaping up nicely after a week of critics awards and nominations for top movies and performances from the Golden Globes organizers and the Screen Actors Guild.
So far , the movies with the biggest momentum behind them seem to be “Up in the Air”, with George Clooney, harrowing urban tale “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”, Quentin Tarantino’s summer box office hit war fantasy “Inglourious Basterds”, the much-talked about sci-fi epic “Avatar”, glittering musical “Nine”, Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” and British coming of age movie “An Education”.
Clooney, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, Colin Firth, newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, Emily Blunt, Helen Mirren and Jeff Bridges are among the names that keep popping up for acting honors. But which of them are most likely to be in the running for the most coveted honors — the Oscars — when those nominations are announced in February?
Only a few weeks ago, Bullock’s performance in “The Blind Side” looked to be too mainstream for audiences tastes, but after nominations for both Golden Globes and SAG Awards this week, she looks like a lock on a best actress nomination. Blogger Anne Thompson on IndieWire calls her “the big news of the week. … it’s a classic case of a comic actress going serious in a drama.”
Movie critics get a look at the upcoming movies weeks ahead of ordinary folk. And some of the movies have not yet been released or are in only a handful of theaters in big cities like New York and Los Angeles.
So after all the chat this week, which movies are you most looking forward to seeing — “Nine”, “Avatar”, the Meryl Streep/Alec Baldwin comedy “It’s Complicated”, “Up in the Air”?
Who cares! This business of entertainers getting
kudos for their work;while,people who really contribute to the betterment of human kind are not known,except by their peers(read they do not have the exposure to such a vast audience)!!
Early UK reviews suggest Twilight sequel lacks bite
The Daily Mail calls the eagerly anticipated second instalment in the Twilight franchise “disastrous” and “one long pain in the neck“, and gives it just one star out of five compared with four stars for the first film. The Daily Mirror is kinder, saying the movie “effortlessly sweeps you along in a swirl of intoxicating passion.” It goes on to say the film, which hits US and UK theatres on Friday, works better as a love story than as a supernatural adventure.Whoever you believe in the coming days, when the already speeding Twilight hype machine goes into overdrive, critics’ opinions are likely to have little impact on how the film fares at the ticket booths. The Twilight franchise based on the hugely popular novels by U.S. author Stephenie Meyer is being touted as the next Harry Potter, i.e. billions of box office bucks in the next few days.As in the original, British actor Robert Pattinson plays Edward, the brooding bloodsucker who befriends Bella, played by Kristen Stewart. And Taylor Lautner is set to become the next heartthrob for his portrayal of American werewolf Jacob Black.Catherine Hardwicke’s original Twilight movie made $384 million at the global box office. Few would bet against the sequel beating that tally, no matter what the critics think.
I would say a movie can be reviewed by anyone who has seen it. There may be others who never read the books but thought the movie could be interesting.
Box office gets “Wild” as adults groove with kids’ tale
Director Spike Jonze’s movie adaptation “Where the Wild Things Are” proved naysayers wrong this past weekend with a strong opening at U.S. box offices, making $32.5 million. The film brought Jonze’s hipster ethic to a popular 1963 children’s book, and managed to attract both adults and kids.
Of course, other movies have done that before, including this year’s Disney/Pixar film “Up.” But the doubters were particularly vocal about “Where the Wild Things Are” because early in the production process there were questions about whether the film was too scary for young kids and not scary enough for adults. You can read about some of it here, but none of those past concerns seemed to matter over the weekend.
Other movies that opened this past weekend included the thriller “Law Abiding Citizen,” about an average guy who takes the law into his own hands. The horror movie “Paranormal Activity,” which cost $15,000 to make and has been widened out each week to more theaters, also did well, and has made $33.7 million since it opened in limited release on Sept. 25.
We talked to movie fans this weekend to get their opinions on the latest releases. You can see the video by clicking below.
(video by Marc Price)
The movie is great. The soundtrack is perfect. Anyone who went expecting some vanilla, Disney-flavored formula kid movie was understandably disappointed. But if you go to see the full range of emotions of childhood and to see a movie that is true to the book while still creating an art all its own, you’ll be pleased.
Clearly the best fiction reflects our reality directly – thanks to Hall for insight here. I now look forward to the film. I am scared already. And I am intrigued by the title of Halls forthcoming book.