Finding Neverland

[SHAFTR]

I came into this film with little expecatations.  The trailer didn't grab me but the buzz was good.  I think the Oscar talk is justified, this is a very solid film.  All of the acting is amazing, from Depp and Winslett to Christie and Hoffman to the children.  I liked how the film's fantasy scenes were very simple and not full of CGI, this fits the content of the film very well.  The movie's pacing is right on and I had no problems iwth the score.  The film had score when needed and was silent when needed.  It was very well written and probably one of the most charming films I've seen in a long time.  I also found myself tearing up during parts of Finding Neverland, so it's obviously effective.

****1/2 out of 5 stars.  So far one of the years 5 best for me.

[Find Your Magali]

Factually inaccurate...

Shamelessly manipulative tearjerker....

I really enjoyed it. Three stars. Hope it gets a couple nominations.

Best line: "Twenty-five orphans. Now my nightmare is complete."

----

p.s. --- Did anyone else have some serious deja vu regarding this film and "Shadowlands"?

[MacGuffin]

A DVD Wonderland
How does someone like Marc Forster, the director of Finding Neverland and Monster’s Ball, rate and evaluate actor performances on DVD? Columnist Ian Spelling has the answers. Source: FilmStew.com

After showing early promise with the films Loungers and Everything Put Together, filmmaker Marc Forster has come into his own with Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland. The former of course brought Halle Berry the Best Actress Oscar, while the latter is being much discussed this film awards season as a major contender for Best Director, Actor and perhaps even Best Picture.

Already, Forster, Depp and the film have been nominated for Golden Globes, with the German-born 35-year-old filmmaker having developed a reputation as an ‘actor’s director.’ With the Globes and Oscar nominations set to take place on January 16th and 25th respectively, we thought it would be interesting to find out how someone like Forster approaches the acting craft when watching it on DVD.

On the eve of the holidays, and in the midst of grappling with post-production on the Naomi Watts-Ewan McGregor thriller Stay and pre-production on the Will Ferrell comedy Stranger Than Fiction, Forster took some to answer this month’s Collector’s Corner questions, which were somewhat modified in honor of the ongoing film awards season.

Q: Just out of curiosity, what was the first DVD - or Laserdisc - that you purchased?

A: Blade Runner. Today, I own about 75 DVDs.

Q: What are your three favorite actor performances of the moment on DVD, and why?

A: Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire; Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves; and Peter Sellers in Being There. Watching Watson’s performance in Lars von Trier’s film, I feel like I am a ghost in someone else's life. And Peter Sellers captures the infinite complexity within the simplicity of a performance.

Q: As a director, do you find yourself using DVD chapter selection and/or rewind capabilities to re-watch certain actor scenes?

A: No, I’ve never used those features to re-watch actor scenes. When I do use the rewind capabilities, it’s mainly for technical research.

Q: Do you prefer Academy voters to watch your films on DVD or the big screen? And do you think certain films or performances tend to stand out more on the DVD medium vs. the big screen?

A: In general, I prefer people to watch my films on the big screen because I believe the collective experience of watching a film with an audience is a very different one than watching a film in solitude. But yes, some films do play better on DVD than in a theater.

Q: How involved were you in the production of the Monster’s Ball DVD? And do you have a favorite extra feature on that?

A: I was involved. And my favorite extra is Billy Bob [Thornton] doing an imitation of Karl [Childers] from Sling Blade.

Q: What do you envision at this point for the Finding Neverland DVD and/or extras?

A: I've already done the commentary and I'm still figuring out the rest. I usually don't think too much about the DVD when I start a film. I just try to use my energy to make the best film possible.

Q: Johnny Depp is of course one of the actors of the moment. If you were to point to some onscreen highlights, what would they be? And who does he remind you of as an actor?

A: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Ed Wood are great performances, as are Donnie Brasco and Edward Scissorhands. He doesn't remind me of anyone in particular; I think he has his own unique style and flavor.

Q: How do you feel personally about deleted scenes and alternate endings being included on DVD? And do you find the DVD culture has changed the allowances for shooting extra stuff on a film set?

A: I've never shot any extra stuff on a film set for the DVD because I never had the luxury to do so. If I would have the time and money perhaps I would, but I really don't care for alternate endings or deleted scenes. I'm really only interested in the director's final vision.

Q: Your next film, Stay, co-stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Did you ever watch that Watts audition scene in Mulholland Drive? And what about Ewan McGregor in Young Adam, a movie we here at FilmStew feel was greatly overlooked in USA?

A: I got goose bumps when I watched that scene in Mulholland Drive. It's one of those brilliant moments captured on film. And I feel the same as you about Young Adam. I thought Ewan's performance was brilliant and unfortunately the whole film was completely overlooked here.

Q: Finally, when it comes to Will Ferrell, the star of your comedy Stranger Than Fiction, what DVDs and/or moments stick in your mind with regards to him as a performer?

A: I would say the scene in Old School, when Frank 'The Tank' shoots himself with the tranquilizer dart at the child's birthday party, is pretty classic. Also, on the SNL Best of Will Ferrell Vol. 1 DVD, there is a bonus feature that is of an appearance he did on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He does the entire interview as Robert Goulet and even sings "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things." It always makes me laugh.

[MacGuffin]

Buena Vista has announced Miramax's Finding Neverland for March 22nd (SRP $29.99 in separate full frame and anamorphic widescreen versions). Extras will include audio commentary with director Marc Foster, producer Richard Gladstein and writer David Magee, deleted scenes with optional commentary, and 3 featurettes (The Magic of Finding Neverland, Creating Neverland and On the Red Carpet).

[Gold Trumpet]

I enjoyed it, but yes, the film had a stench of calculation I couldn't get over. Actually, I was quite impressed with it. I hadn't seen a film in so long that was better able to draw me into a story of blatant sentimentality with as good pacing in story, acting and even filmmaking. It brought me to reanalyze my thoughts on Depp and basically find little fault with what the film was trying to do. As it has been a week since I've seen the film I realize it was just enjoyment over respectful quality. I almost wanted the film to be more in my head with how much I enjoyed myself.

[foray]

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Of course it shamelessly tells you to cry in some scenes, but it does it really well. The most emotionally moving part for me was when Wendy (onstage) lets go of Peter's hand and immediately the camera swings around the theatre. I would watch this film all over again just for that one moment.

foray

[MacGuffin]

'Fiction' fact: Latifah, Thompson
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson are joining "Stranger Than Fiction," director Marc Forster's follow-up film to "Finding Neverland." Lindsay Doran is producing under her Three Strange Angels banner. Will Ferrell already has been cast as an obsessive/compulsive IRS auditor who begins to hear a voice that turns out to be an author who is writing a novel in which Ferrell is the ill-fated protagonist. The auditor heeds the narrator's advice and turns his life around. Thompson is in final negotiations to play the author suffering from writer's block, and Latifah is in final negotiations to play a book-company employee whose job is to unblock writers. Maggie Gyllenhaal signed on this week to play Ferrell's unlikely love interest, a baker with anarchist leanings.

[Two Lane Blacktop]

'Fiction' fact: Latifah, Thompson
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Lindsay Doran is producing under her Three Strange Angels banner.

Holy crap.  I first read that as "Lindsay Lohan" producing a film, and my head exploded.  

(Good thing I can touch-type.)

2LB

[MacGuffin]

Holy crap.  I first read that as "Lindsay Lohan" producing a film, and my head exploded.

For your splitting headache:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414002/fullcredits

[cine]

I first read that as "Lindsay Lohan" producing a film, and my head exploded.

Whoa, same here..

[ono]

Holy crap.  I first read that as "Lindsay Lohan" producing a film, and my head exploded.

For your splitting headache:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414002/fullcredits

(The) Fashionistas is also the title of a porno my friend loves.  Haha, no really it's my friend.  I have a friend who loves porn.  Don't believe me?  Well, I do!  Still don't believe me?  Fuck this, I'm going home.

...

I forgot my ball.

Now I'm going home.

Oh and one more thing.

This also reminds me of when some actress or another -- forget who -- started a production company but had to change the name 'cause it was also related to porno too.

[MacGuffin]

This also reminds me of when some actress or another -- forget who -- started a production company but had to change the name 'cause it was also related to porno too.

Garner's Porn Faux-Pas
17 November 2004 (WENN)
Actress Jennifer Garner had to change the name of her new production company Vandalia Films, after discovering it shared its name with a hardcore porn manufacturer. The Daredevil actress chose the moniker because it was the original name of her home state West Virginia - and even had all her stationary made up before checking. She says, "It was a disaster. Their stuff is disgusting. I can't believe it wasn't checked out in advance. That name is on my credit cards. It's on my business cards. It's on my assistant's business cards. I'm embarrassed."

[SiliasRuby]

Saw this tonight, it was beautiful and elegant. Although there was this couple in the back of the teatre who were talking to each other, the guy talked on the phone. and I swear I thought he was giving oral pleasure to her during part of the film....So, beautiful film, but I should have gone to a another showing.

[Find Your Magali]

I think if you had killed that noisy couple, no court in America would have convicted you.

Talky people suck.

[MacGuffin]

Buena Vista has announced Miramax's Finding Neverland for March 22nd (SRP $29.99 in separate full frame and anamorphic widescreen versions). Extras will include audio commentary with director Marc Foster, producer Richard Gladstein and writer David Magee, deleted scenes with optional commentary, and 3 featurettes (The Magic of Finding Neverland, Creating Neverland and On the Red Carpet).

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