tarsem singh

Started by cowboykurtis, November 03, 2003, 06:43:24 PM

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Jeremy Blackman

Compare the casting of Snow White between this (good) and Once Upon A Time (not so good):






MacGuffin

'Immortals' Helmer Tarsem Singh Boards 'Killing On Carnival Row'
BY MIKE FLEMING | Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Tarsem Singh, whose latest film Immortals just opened and who follows with the Julia Roberts-starrer Snow White film Mirror, Mirror, has become attached to Killing On Carnival Row. That is a script by Travis Beacham that producers Arnold and Anne Kopelson originally set up six years ago. It was a hot spec and the very first sale for Beacham, whose subsequent credits include Clash of the Titans, Pacific Rim, the Disney remake Black Hole, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Fox.

The Kopelsons, who originally set it at New Line, have gotten close to making the film with Guillermo Del Toro and Neil Jordan, but they feel that Singh will put them over the top. Arnold Kopelson said he's in talks with a studio he wouldn't reveal but expects to begin production on the noir-style fantasy thriller next June in New Orleans. He's starting to cast. The script takes place in the future in a city called the Burgue, which looks a lot like 18th Century London. It is inhabited by humans and other creatures, and a serial killer is on the loose.

"I am thrilled that Tarsem will direct Carnival Row, which we've been developing over the past six years," Kopelson told me. "His extraordinary visual sense and use of light and color can be compared to that of the great 16th Century Italian painter Michelangelo Caravaggio." Singh has been circling several films, including Nautica with Escape Artists, and Marco Polo with James Stern and Gianni Nunnari. Singh is repped by CAA.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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polkablues

My house, my rules, my coffee

MacGuffin

Tarsem Singh Taking A Look At Sprawling Contemporary War Movie 'Eye In The Sky'; Film Features 62 Parts
Source: Playlist

To follow the spectacles of "Immortals" and "Mirror Mirror," director Tarsem Singh has previously said he'd like to try something non-visual -- such as a talking-heads movie in the vein of "My Dinner with Andre." But before he gets to tackle anything that simple (at least as far as visual feasts go), Singh has his eye on "something in-between" a talker and a stunner that he hopes to do, should the deal go through -- a sprawling, Steven Soderbergh-like hyperlink film inspired by "Traffic," "Contagion" and "Syriana" called "Eye in the Sky."

The thriller, which was scripted by Guy Hibbert, had Olivier Hirschbiegel ("Downfall") set to direct as of last fall. Singh told The Playlist during a chat about "Mirror Mirror" that he hopes to know within the week whether he might replace Hirshbiegel on the project.

"It's about a drone attack, and what it means to the people playing with their thumbs in Nevada, what it means to the people saying, 'Go ahead and strike,' what it means to other politicians at war in Europe, and what it means to the people on the ground where it happens [in East Africa]," Singh said. "There are people who become collateral damage around the globe in a lot of ways. It's a really contemporary, emotional piece."

In all, Singh estimates there are 62 parts, which is what makes it tricky for him, he said, because usually it would take "Soderbergh's clout" to assemble an all-star cast. "I have what it takes to make something happen," he allowed, "but it's not like it's just one or two parts that are very big. This is more like an event film."

Echoing a complaint heard from many visionary directors, Singh said it was very difficult to make medium-level films in the studio system. "I would like to make this kind of film, but unless it's a very big movie or a very small movie, it's tough," he said. "There doesn't seem to be a problem doing a $120 million movie, or a $2 million dollar movie, but that middle area is wiped out, especially if you don't want to use the same five actors everyone wants to work with."

As for other projects he's attached to, such as "Killing on Carnival Row," Singh said that one wouldn't likely start until the summer. So even if "Eye In The Sky" does land in his lap, it still won't be arriving right away.

"Mirror Mirror" hits theaters March 30th. We'll have more from our chat with Tarsem soon.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Pubrick

Quote from: MacGuffin on March 19, 2012, 06:07:30 PM
a sprawling, Steven Soderbergh-like hyperlink film inspired by "Traffic," "Contagion" and "Syriana" called "Eye in the Sky."

Hmm, sounds a bit derivative.
under the paving stones.

MacGuffin

'Mirror Mirror' Director Tarsem Calls 'Eye In the Sky' the Antidote to 'Crap' He's Been Given in the Past
The director of "The Fall" and "Immortals" says he wants his follow-up to the Snow White adaptation to be a more grounded, plot-driven film, made in the style of Michael Haneke or Roman Polanski.
Source: THR

Tarsem Singh, director of the Snow White adaptation Mirror Mirror, told The Hollywood Reporter that his intended follow-up, the wartime thriller Eye in the Sky, is meant to be a departure after tackling projects that have emphasized visual rather than narrative considerations. "I had just been looking specifically for material that wasn't on paper, that was not written well," Tarsem said Tuesday. "I wanted that because I want to be able to put enough of my DNA in it and I am very aware that I'm putting the cart ahead of the donkey. But now I'd like to do non-visual films, and I'd like to go reflect on people."

Despite his insistence that Eye in the Sky will mark a significant departure from the look of his previous work, Tarsem said that he's not going to adopt the gritty, handheld style that many moviegoers associate with true-life or ripped-from-the-headlines stories. "I think enough people know my DNA and how I shoot," he said. "As much as I love some of the Paul Greengrass films, it's not going to be Law and Order shaky-cam stuff. I'd rather go much more [Michael] Haneke, I'd rather go much more [Roman] Polanski; it's not going to be something where you shoot tons of footage of and have the editor direct it for you."

"I think everybody's terms of reality for the last decade and a half have just been a shaky camera because they're so used to holding these things in their hand," he observed. "And that every time you do that to camera people are much more transported into it being like a real event. But hopefully that will die one day."

When asked if he might employ cinematographers such as Darius Khondji, who worked with Haneke on the director's Funny Games remake, of Jeff Cronenweth, who has collaborated frequently with David Fincher, Tarsem said he refuses to make himself beholden to a particular aesthetic, instead preferring to focus on what's on the page. "I just think now if you're going to a cameraman to tell you what you want the film to feel like, I think you already lost the battle, especially if you come from the visual background I do," he said. "I think I'm very specially [attuned] to what it needs to look like, so I'd say it doesn't look very shaky, but it isn't going to be so image-oriented. It's going to be much more story and character-driven, and I just thought for something like that, that had better shine on paper."

Tarsem's previous efforts include The Cell, The Fall and Immortals – three films hailed for their visual style but frequently criticized for weak storytelling. He admitted that he actively sought less complex material in the past so that he could imprint his influence upon it. "I told the guys involved at CAA that it's going to get difficult for them, because from now, guess what? I would like to read responsible scripts," he recalled. "People were like, 'wait a minute? You mean we've given you crap?' and I said yes. And I was okay with that because I was very much into trying work it along as we were going. But when the money is little and it's a contemporary event and I didn't have any visuals to fall back on, it had better rock on paper."

The filmmaker said that Eye in the Sky appealed to him because it looked at the process of waging war both from a strategic and visceral perspective. "I kind of had an idea that I'd like to do a war film that just had the two perspectives, that were like, one side is so [disconnected], just drop these little things, and downstairs it's a completely different world, you know -- so how do you come to terms with this? And then this came along. And I wouldn't say how timely it is, but it is profound and really, really moving." That said, he revealed that the demands of the film in terms of casting and production costs place it in a strata that Hollywood seems to shy away from these days.

"It's much tougher to make something like that because the whole middle section is just wiped out -- it's Mission: Impossible or it's Paranormal Activity," he said. "It's $110 million or it's $2 million. And the middle section, if you want to make a smarter film, is much, much, much, much more difficult. [But] it isn't [a project where] once you get that actor it happens. It's an ensemble. So when you go for something like that, it's going to be even more difficult to get made."

Meanwhile, Tarsem has been attached to several other projects which he says he'd like to make, but they're either in early stages of development, or being delayed so that he can focus on getting Eye in the Sky into production. "I love Samurai Jack," he said when asked about adapting the animated property. "Cow and Chicken and Powerpuff Girls, I just love Cartoon Network because of my nieces and nephews. And I just think that thing is so [Akira] Kurosawa-influenced that I would like to do something like that but that's in very preliminary conversations."

In terms of Travis Beacham's Killing on Carnival Row, another project to which he's been linked in the past, Tarsem said, "I would love to make it happen, but I was very conscious that my next film cannot be a big visual piece if I can help it. I would like to do a small film right now before I do that, and that requires quite a lot of prep, that particular film. [But] if everything comes together and you find a date for it, then yes it will happen. I do like the script a lot, and I hope it comes together."

After grossing more than $216 million worldwide, Relativity is no doubt eyeing the possibility of a sequel for Immortals. But Tarsem indicated that he felt like he accomplished everything he wanted to with the first film, even though he admitted that he likes working on studio films like that one and Mirror Mirror. "If I think I haven't said enough in [the first film] I'd go back, but doing films for me was so much more easier now, apart from The Fall, which was such a personal tale that I had to make, that it was difficult," he said. "But making studio films has been such an easy process for me. Everybody keeps thinking that 'you're doing one film every six, seven years, now you're doing one every like year', and the thing is, I shoot more than 300 days a year, they just happen to be in studios or commercials that you don't probably know are mine."

"I just love that process of actually filming, so I will end up doing a lot more films," he continued. "And the studios are kind of like what Churchill said about democracy -- it's a really evil system, but it's the best one we have, so I really embrace that. And they're really smart people making these choices, and it takes a lot of money to make the kind of films that now reach a bigger audience. But I would like to do more movies, and if they're bigger ones, I'd like to do them at studios."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Tarsem, Ryan Reynolds In 'Selfless' Talks
Source: Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Tarsem and Ryan Reynolds are in talks to team on Selfless, the co-production between Endgame Entertainment and FilmDistrict. Based on a script by Carriers scribes Alex and David Pastor, the thriller focuses on a wealthy older man who discovers he's dying and pays to have his mind transplanted into a younger man's body. Turns out that body is a cadaver whose previous inhabitant was murdered. Soon, he's hunted by killers as he tries to get to the bottom of who took him out in the first place.

Tarsem most recently helmed Immortals and Mirror, Mirror, and this sounds like the kind of heady subject the visualist does well. Reynolds, coming off Safe House, grounds the film with a sympathetic protagonist. Both are repped by CAA, and Tarsem is lawyered by Linda Lichter and Reynolds by David Weber. Endgame chief James D. Stern and FilmDistrict's Peter Schlessel will produce alongside Ram Bergman. They teamed on Looper, a similarly quirky premise.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Tarsem Singh to Direct Action-Thriller 'The Panopticon' for Good Universe (Exclusive)
Source: Total Film

Director Tarsem Singh ("Immortals") is set to bring his distinct visual style to Good Universe's "The Panopticon," an original action-thriller featuring sci-fi elements written by Craig Rosenberg ("After the Sunset"), TheWrap has learned.

Story follows a seemingly ordinary man who receives a mysterious package containing a pre-recorded message from himself, warning that the world is about to end and only he can save it. He must race against the clock to piece together the puzzle before time runs out for mankind.

Andrew Lazar ("Get Smart") will produce, while Good Universe co-founders Nathan Kahane and Joe Drake will executive produce. Nicole Brown will oversee the project on behalf of Good Universe, which acquired rights to "The Panopticon" from GK Films.

Dan Freedman negotiated the deals for Good Universe, which is also handling international sales.

Tarsem, who provides plenty of visual bang for the buck, is coming off back-to-back Relativity movies in "Mirror Mirror" ($166 million worldwide) and "Immortals" ($226 million worldwide), both of which were made for under $100 million. His other feature credits include the critically-acclaimed indie "The Fall" and "The Cell," and he's currently prepping the Ryan Reynolds movie "Selfless" for FilmDistrict.

Tarsem is repped by CAA and attorney Linda Lichter. Rosenberg is repped by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and attorney Craig Emanuel. Lazar is repped by attorneys David Weber and A.J. Brandenstein.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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