I can't wait for Altman's new dramatic musical, which stars Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, and James Franco. Quite the odd cast for starters. Altman's answer to "Nashville" almost 30 years later? Let's hope.
Quote from: CinephileI can't wait for Altman's new dramatic musical, which stars Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, and James Franco. Quite the odd cast for starters. Altman's answer to "Nashville" almost 30 years later? Let's hope.
What do you mean by "answer" ?
Fuckin' Altman! :yabbse-wink:
Oh, that sounds cool. I've been wanting to see my good friend (and humble narr-ay-tor...as the genius himself pronounces it) Alex again for a loooooooooong time. I've also been wanting Altman to make another awesome movie after the imo horrible...Gosford Park and Dr T & The Woman.
Is it coming out this year by any chance? I wouldn't mind another movie to look forward to...I never do. I need a hell of a lot more to look forward to over the summer, there is shit coming out during my favorite season this year.
did you guys know he shot his new picture on 24p? they were shooting it here in chicago -- i knew some of the people working on it. they said altman was the man. it sounds like he has a unique way of working --- as you all know, he shoots with multiple cameras. he has a microphone system in all the camera operators ears, he'll tell them to zoom or pan based on this multiple monitor set up that he uses. do you guys know if he works like this with the camera operators on all his film? it sounds like they werent using rehearsed camera moves at all, it was just all improved depending on what altman saw as the actors moved through the scene. wish i could have seen him run the set.
Quote from: cowboykurtisdid you guys know he shot his new picture on 24p? they were shooting it here in chicago -- i knew some of the people working on it. they said altman was the man. it sounds like he has a unique way of working --- as you all know, he shoots with multiple cameras. he has a microphone system in all the camera operators ears, he'll tell them to zoom or pan based on this multiple monitor set up that he uses. do you guys know if he works like this with the camera operators on all his film? it sounds like they werent using rehearsed camera moves at all, it was just all improved depending on what altman saw as the actors moved through the scene. wish i could have seen him run the set.
That's fucking cool. I'd love to direct something like that.
The microphone thing is an Altman trademark, he's been doin it for a long time. Nice to see neve campell return from the cave she's been hiding in the past 4 years.
i think gosford park maybe altman's best film yet.
I knew about the multiple microphones, but not the multiple cameras -- that's awesome! What a fantastic way to direct. And yes, Gosford Park is his best film since Short Cuts, by far.
i didn't mean multiple microphones as in audio tracks. i meant he has microphones in the camera operators' ears to sepak with them and direct them for camera movement as the scene plays out.
ahh, i see. i wasn't aware of that.
What I love about Altman with his attitude towards people talking at once is that he's been doing it since he started making movies. In the mid to late 60's.. he made a Warner Bros. (I think) film.. and it was one of the Warners, if I do recall, who bitched and complained about how the film wouldn't sell because "everybodys talking at one time!!!" I love how he's always had that mindset to have everyone talking.. a big community of people together. You can see it done so well in "MASH" that you just have to laugh your ass off.. when you know Altman wants to do it and he knows some executives HATE it.. the scenes look like blatant slaps in the face... mainly when everyone introduces each other.
and DS, I was raising the question that maybe its going to be Altman making the next big "Nashville".. 'answer' as in.. I can't think of a greater film thats succeeded "Nashville".. as it relates to what he was trying to achieve with his great filmmaking with drama/music. Maybe Altman will try to top himself. Perhaps he'll have Campbell write songs since she can write them as it is.
Quote from: cbrad4dahh, i see. i wasn't aware of that.
Neither was I. That set must be a bitch to handle with those huge casts he has. That's probably why he does such long takes.
That 'long takes' comment reminds me of something that really pisses me off about the average person: their low attention span.
People who can't watch an Allen, Altman, Kubrick, PTA, Scorsese, etc. movie revert to films like "Armageddon".. and thats unfortunate.
Hayek & Franco in Robert Altman's Ultraviolet
Variety says that Robert Altman (The Company) will dissect the back-stabbing New York art scene in his next movie Ultraviolet, which will star Salma Hayek and James Franco.
The $16 million pic will be Hayek's first role since her Oscar-nominated turn in Frida. It's set to shoot in September, financed by London-based Capitol Films.
The film, scripted by Jeffrey Lewis, was in development at Focus Features, but Focus is no longer involved with the project.
Quote from: CinephileThat 'long takes' comment reminds me of something that really pisses me off about the average person: their low attention span.
People who can't watch an Allen, Altman, Kubrick, PTA, Scorsese, etc. movie revert to films like "Armageddon".. and thats unfortunate.
Hear, hear!
Even though many of the cinephiles around here don't seem to care for Todd Haynes's brilliant masterpiece
Safe, the reasons given for not liking it so much were at least somewhat lucid. Not the standard, "It was too 'slow'. Why did it have to be so 'slow?'" I can't stand that.
Quote from: MacGuffinHayek & Franco in Robert Altman's Ultraviolet
Variety says that Robert Altman (The Company) will dissect the back-stabbing New York art scene in his next movie Ultraviolet.
Sounds delicious.
Quote from: godardianQuote from: MacGuffinHayek & Franco in Robert Altman's Ultraviolet
Variety says that Robert Altman (The Company) will dissect the back-stabbing New York art scene in his next movie Ultraviolet.
Sounds delicious.
Yeah it does...the title is so cool. And Salma Hayek is gorgeous, it'll be cool to see her in a robert altman film.
i saw a sneek screening for THE COMPANY in chicago last night -- im not going to say anything about it, accpet i really really liked it... in a way a throw back to nashville.
Altman is 78 years old, and he's got The Company out later this year, and he's shooting Ultraviolet this fall. And he hasn't mellowed with age -- Gosford Park is his best film since Short Cuts. His output is amazing -- 8 films in the past 10 years. There are a few dogs, like Ready to Wear and Gingerbread Man, but his batting average is pretty good. The Company sounds like vintage Altman.
Quote from: soixanteAltman is 78 years old, and he's got The Company out later this year, and he's shooting Ultraviolet this fall. And he hasn't mellowed with age -- Gosford Park is his best film since Short Cuts. His output is amazing -- 8 films in the past 10 years. There are a few dogs, like Ready to Wear and Gingerbread Man, but his batting average is pretty good. The Company sounds like vintage Altman.
totally.
Quote from: cbrad4dQuote from: soixanteAltman is 78 years old, and he's got The Company out later this year, and he's shooting Ultraviolet this fall. And he hasn't mellowed with age -- Gosford Park is his best film since Short Cuts. His output is amazing -- 8 films in the past 10 years. There are a few dogs, like Ready to Wear and Gingerbread Man, but his batting average is pretty good. The Company sounds like vintage Altman.
totally.
Well, hopefully. I don't like Gosford Park much, Short Cuts is the last thing by Altman that I really really loved...I hated Dr. T too. This and Ultraviolet really do sound intriguing though, more so than Gosford Park or Dr. T ever did.
Yeah i'm not much into [safe] myself.
Anybody getting the feeling that Altman is fucking immortal? I mean he's 78 years of age and he just doesn't stop making movies. I doubt it's stressful for him anyhow since he so masterfully and effortlessly makes them.. but its like the man is absolutely healthy... its just going to be horror if he suddenly passes away or something.. Just at this age making great films non stop.. like its too good to be true. Okay, I have a pulse. I'm good.
-Cinephile
Quote from: EL__SCORCHOYeah i'm not much into [safe] myself.
*gasp!* Vulgarian! :wink:
Let's hope he lives until at least 100 or 105 or something. Like George Burns or Bob Hope or something. Shit, another twenty, twenty-five years of Altman movies? Hey, I can live with that. :)
New Altman Film to Premiere in Toronto
TORONTO (AP) - Robert Altman's new film, "The Company,'' will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Organizers announced the first 25 films to be shown during the Sept. 4-13 festival and said Tuesday the turnout was expected to be normal despite the SARS outbreak in Canada's largest city.
"Nobody is scratching their heads saying, 'We're really worried about sending films or talent to Toronto,''' festival director Piers Handling said. "If I had a sense that people were not sending their films to Toronto because of this particular issue, I'd certainly be on the phone absolutely wanting to clarify that.''
Handling announced the first 25 films to be screened - about 10 percent of the total planned - including festival opener, "The Barbarian Invasions'' by Denys Arcand, and Lars von Trier's "Dogville.''
Arcand's film, his fifth festival entry and third opener, won him the screenwriting award at the Cannes festival, with Marie-Josee Croze receiving the best-actress award. It follows up on his 1986 film, "The Decline of the American Empire.''
Altman's "The Company,'' about the world of ballet, stars and is co-produced by Neve Campbell.
"He continues to astound with his invention,'' Handling said of Altman. "He's constantly challenged our notions of what conventional narrative cinema is.''
Von Trier's "Dogville,'' starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall and James Caan, will have its North American premiere.
Quote from: CinephileThat 'long takes' comment reminds me of something that really pisses me off about the average person: their low attention span.
People who can't watch an Allen, Altman, Kubrick, PTA, Scorsese, etc. movie revert to films like "Armageddon".. and thats unfortunate.
Amen.
Nashville was Altman at his best, I think. Short Cuts is a close second...
It seems like I'm the only one in the world who hates Nashville with a passion. First time I watched it, 20 minutes in I was searching for a sledgehammer to destroy the tape. I came back to it a week or two ago, and got an hour twenty into the DVD version, but it was just as bad. Shut the thing off and haven't finished it yet. That movie grates on my every nerve and I haven't once been able to discern what's so great about it. Altman hit on something with The Player, even though it was mean-spirited. But all the rest of his movies are sorely lacking heart, unlike PTA.
The reason I was so enthusiastic about him making another movie in a previous post is I'm just thirsting for anything of quality. When an alleged "auteur" like him is up to something, you always expect good. But Gosford Park wasn't good either, so for now, it's only Short Cuts and The Player that have moderately interested me. The Company and Ultraviolet sound great. I still think Altman is too cynical, though.
Nashville is a gem.
Maybe it's the music that puts you off...
I admit, the music is a BIG part of why I don't like it. Like fuckin' nails on a blackboard or something. But the bigger problem I had with it was the idiotic patriotism pervading the picture. Nauseating, really. And the characters. Ugh. Every single one of them was an abomination of a human being. Lily Tomlin's character was the only one I sort of liked. She had the deaf kids, IIRC. But of course, she's having an affair! These aren't real people. They're soap opera characters.
Heh, maybe I should watch with the volume muted and the subtitles on. When I read Kael ranting and raving about this movie, I knew I was missing something. But maybe Kael and Ebert and the rest of them are off. I am in the minority, though. I realize this. And I am 28 years out of touch with the time, but still ... It's just people wading through their cesspools of "country" life, something I can't relate to. Magnolia was full of people who, for each one of them, save Stanley and Jim, you had a reason to dislike them, but PTA pulled it off and redeemed most of them, and made a three-hour analysis of their lives watchable. PTA is the anti-Altman.
If you saw patriotism in this film... I dunno...
it's about as ironic as you can get when dealing with patriotism. I get the feeling Altman thinks it's just a naive and hollow emotion.
Do you know what happens in the end? I don't wanna spoil it for you, but if you do know, think about what happens, and then apply the lyrics to the title song: You may say I ain't free, but it don't worry me.
It's a nation of blind lambs being led to the slaughter (or being unwittingly turned into butchers) by the old red, white, and blue. Cynical, yes... but definitely not patriotic. While I have pretty little sympathy for Altman's politics, I do enjoy his observations about the emptiness of human life in the modern age.
Production photos:
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Salma Hayek and James Franco in Altman's Paint
Source: Production Weekly
Salma Hayek and James Franco will star in director Robert Altman's Paint, written by Jeffrey Lewis from a story by Lewis and Altman.
The thriller, set among the denizens of the New York art scene, centers on a murdered painter and his younger fellow-artist brother, played by Franco. Hayek will play a documentary filmmaker drawn into the brothers' private world while working on a project about the late painter.
Filming will take place in New York from February to May. Franco next appears in Altman's The Company, opposite Neve Campbell. Hayek just started filming Brett Ratner's After the Sunset, in which she stars with Pierce Brosnan and Woody Harrelson.
At first, I thought this thread was for "Robert Altman's Three's Company."
And I hadn't even been drinking....
So I guess the title Ultraviolet is out. I liked that better than Paint. Oh well.
trailer is up at apple...
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/the_company.html
First up is the Robert Altman-directed dance pic The Company on June 1st, starring Scream's Neve Campbell and Malcolm McDowell. Columbia will give this the special edition treatment, complete with an anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, plus an audio commentary with Altman and Campbell, "The Making-of 'The Company'" and "The Passion of Dance" featurettes, extended dance sequences (with play all function) and trailers. Retail be $26.95 worth of taps.
Quote from: themodernage02"The Passion of Dance"
Is that the controversial featurette where Altman beats and tortures Neve Campbell for 2 hours?
I've never even heard of this. :oops:
Quote from: Chest RockwellI've never even heard of this. :oops:
yeah for all the altman fans on this board you'd think there might've been ONE post between me posting the trailer and the dvd annoucement.
Quote from: hacksparrowQuote from: themodernage02"The Passion of Dance"
Is that the controversial featurette where Altman beats and tortures Neve Campbell for 2 hours?
it's why dvd special features are "unrated"
Know why there weren't any posts between the trailer and the DVD announcement? CRAPPY distribution. My town is just NOW (as of Friday-ish, I think) getting The Company. I may see it this weekend if it's still gonna be there, otherwise I'll have to go faster. Really is a shame, though.
It also hasn't really inspired those that DID see it to talk much. I don't know; it wasn't bad, but I sorta liked Nicholas Hytner's 'Center Stage' a whole lot more.
am I the only person here that loved this movie? :cry:
I didn't get to see it either. :(
The Company finally showed up at a theater near me. I enjoyed it. It is on the level of stuff like Cookie's Fortune and Dr. T and the Women, not as good as Gosford Park or Short Cuts, but certainly better than Gingerbread Man and Ready to Wear.
I think Ebert's review nailed it -- The Company is as much about filmmaking as it is about dancing.
Director Robert Altman's "Company, The" will be released on DVD from Columbia / Tristar on June 1st.
Disc specs:
Extended Dance Sequences
The Passion Of Dance and The Making Of The Company Featurettes
Audio Commentary With Director Robert Altman and Actress Neve Campbell
Play All Dance Sequences Featurette
Extended Dance Sequences
Bonus Trailers
Not to repeat myself or anything, but it's still in theatres, I haven't had a chance to see it, and they're talking DVD. How about a Short Cuts DVD instead? Chop chop!
So ... I finally saw The Company. Anyone else? No? Yeah, thought so.
It was, well, felt, like a documentary to me in a way. Altman's films have been described as jazz. This film is like a dance set to jazz or something. It just flows from one thing to the next more than any film of his I can think of. Very little plot, very little dialogue, and that means that all the dialogue there is important. Great set design and choreography, which is a must for a film like this. A good film to check out for Altman fans or ballet fans. Others may be bored, though I feel sorry for you if you are 'cause there are just so many memorable visual scenes here. Can't wait for Ultraviolet, er, I mean Paint.
it was okay, but i didn't remember that i had ever watched it until 2 minutes ago