TheMovieStory

Jumper is a 2008 science fiction film from 20th Century Fox and New Regency Productions based on the 1992 science fiction novel of the same name by Steven Gould. The film is directed by Doug Liman and stars Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Rachel Bilson, Jamie Bell, Max Thieriot, AnnaSophia Robb, and Diane Lane. The film follows a person capable of teleporting to any location as he is chased by a secret group intent on killing him.

The script went through a rewrite prior to filming and the roles for the main characters were changed during production. Jumper was filmed in 20 cities in 14 countries between 2006 and 2007. The film was released on February 14, 2008 and a soundtrack was released on February 19. The film held the first position in its opening weekend with $27.3 million, despite mostly negative reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 16% approval rating and 35/100 on Metacritic. Several novels were developed as tie-ins to the film along with a video game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and Wii consoles, named Jumper: Griffin’s Story. The DVD was released on June 10, 2008, and both Christensen and Liman have spoken of one or more sequels.

Plot

15-year-old David Rice gives his crush, Millie, a snow globe, knowing her dreams of traveling someday. A bully, Mark, throws the globe onto the ice near a river. While trying to retrieve it, David falls through the ice and is pulled away by the current. He suddenly finds himself in the local library with drenched clothes. He discovers he can “Jump”, or teleport, disappearing from one place and instantly appearing in another. Unhappy with his life, he runs away and is believed dead by his father (his mother left when he was five).

Eight years later, an adult David (Hayden Christensen) has settled into a life of adventure, spending his days jumping around various continents, doing various sports, and living lavishly using money stolen from banks. After a day of jumping, he is ambushed in his home by Roland Cox (Samuel L. Jackson). Cox tries to trap him with electrical cables, which prevent him from being able to jump. David escapes and returns home to Ann Arbor seeking Millie (Rachel Bilson). He is attacked by Mark and purposely teleports them into a bank vault to get rid of Mark. He leaves him there and returns to Millie, inviting her to travel to Rome. Roland later discovers Mark in police custody and learns David’s identity.

David and Millie visit the Colosseum only to find it closed. David uses his abilities to unlock a door from the inside, telling a skeptical Millie the door was already unlocked. While opening another door, he discovers another Jumper, Griffin (Jamie Bell). Griffin warns him that “Paladins” are coming—religious fanatics who have been tracking down and killing Jumpers from “the beginning.” Several Paladins show up and attack them. Griffin kills one and teleports, taking the body with him. David tries to leave with Millie, but is detained by Italian police and questioned about the death. While waiting for a magistrate to arrive, David’s mother Mary (Diane Lane) appears, gives him the keys to his handcuffs, and tells him he has very little time to leave. David tries to follow her, but she hurries away while he struggles against an Italian policeman. David tells Millie the police let him go and they leave together. Millie, now very suspicious, demands the truth. David declines and puts her on a plane home.

David jumps to Griffin’s lair, asking where to find Roland. Griffin explains that Paladins will kill not only the Jumper, but everyone they love. He has been trying to kill Roland for years, as the Paladins killed his parents when he was a child and have tried to kill him several times. David teleports to his father, finds him bleeding and teleports him to a hospital. He returns to Griffin and convinces him to go with him to the airport to greet Millie. Upon arriving, they realize her flight landed an hour ago. Griffin returns to his lair to get weapons while David searches for Millie. He breaks into her apartment, angering Millie, who tells him to leave. David sees Roland arriving and shows her what he can do. He teleports her back to Griffin’s lair. An irate Griffin explains the Paladins will follow using a machine to keep the wormhole open. The Paladins arrive to the lair, while hiding, David discovers photos of his mother with death threats written by Griffin, as he moves closer, he gets tied to the ceiling. They fight within Griffin’s lair. Griffin attacks the Paladins with a flamethrower and teleports a doubledecker bus to hurl at Roland. Roland is chased back through the portal, but snatches Millie back to her apartment with a cable.

Griffin decides to take a bomb to Millie’s apartment and kill everyone. David refuses, wanting to save Millie. They fight through several locations, and David traps Griffin with power lines. Griffin warns that if he faces the Paladins alone he will be outnumbered. He goes anyway and is quickly trapped by Roland’s electric cables. David cannot escape as he is tied to the apartment (and as Griffin had explained earlier, a Jumper will be killed if he tries to teleport too much weight). David separates the apartment from the rest of the building and teleports it into a river. He then teleports it to the library where he had first jumped as a teen. He teleports a barely conscious Roland to a cave near the top of a cliff and abandons him there, saying “I told you I’m different; could’ve dropped you with the sharks.”

David visits his mother and is stunned when a girl, his half-sister, Sophie (Kristen Stewart), answers the door. Mary tells David she has known he was a Jumper since he was five, when Jumpers make their first Jump. She is a Paladin, and she only had two choices at the time: kill David or leave. She allows him to leave, saying she is giving him a “head start.” He leaves to meet with Millie outside. He asks her where she wants to go. Millie tells him to surprise her and the couple then teleports to an unknown location.

Cast

• Hayden Christensen as David Rice: A young man who discovers the ability to “Jump”, or teleport.
  • Max Thieriot as teenage David Rice
• Rachel Bilson as Millie Harris: David’s childhood friend and crush, who later becomes his girlfriend.
  • AnnaSophia Robb as teenage Millie Harris
• Samuel L. Jackson as Roland Cox: The leader of the Paladins whose goal is to kill Jumpers.
• Jamie Bell as Griffin: A renegade jumper who tracks down and eliminates Paladins.
• Michael Rooker as William Rice: David’s father.
• Diane Lane as Mary Rice: David’s mother who separated from her son when he was five years old.
• Teddy Dunn as Mark Kobold: David’s childhood bully.
  • Jesse James as teenage Mark Kobold
• Kristen Stewart as Sophie (cameo)

Production

Script and storyboards

In November 2005, New Regency Productions hired director Doug Liman to helm the film adaptation of the science fiction novel Jumper by Steven Gould. Screenwriter Jim Uhls was hired to rewrite an adapted screenplay by David S. Goyer.[2] However, Liman desired another rewrite and Simon Kinberg assisted in completing the script.[2] Liman spoke on using the novel for developing the script: “This is 100% Steven Gould’s story, it’s just reinvented as a movie.”[3] In an interview with Steven Gould, he revealed that he approved of the deviations from the novel.[3] Before filming was to begin, the studio announced plans to develop a trilogy based on the novel’s premise.[4]

While other films tend to use only one storyboard artist, Jumper required six artists who each worked on an individual action sequence. The artists were given specific instruction on the rules of the teleportation used in the film, to ensure accuracy in the storyboarding. One artist reflected on the instructions: “I was just thinking, ‘How would a guy that can teleport fight?’ So you were really pushing yourself to try to think of inventive, cool, spectacular ways that you could use this jumping talent that these characters have.”[5]

Casting

In April 2006, actors Tom Sturridge, Teresa Palmer, and Jamie Bell were cast for Jumper with Sturridge in the lead role.[6] The following July, actor Samuel L. Jackson was cast into Jumper as an NSA agent, with producer Simon Kinberg rewriting the original screenplay draft by Goyer. Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Rome, Toronto, and New York.[7] Production was stopped in June 2006 after producer Tom Rothman told Liman “The lead is 18. Wouldn’t the movie be better if he was 25? You have a huge movie here and adults won’t go and see an 18-year-old. They’ll consider it a children’s movie. You could make a bigger movie than that.”[8] Liman agreed on casting older actors for furthering the romantic aspect of the film.[9] In August, actor Hayden Christensen replaced Sturridge in the lead role as David just two weeks before the beginning of shooting, as the studio “became concerned about not having a more prominent actor in their trio of young stars.”[10] Rapper Eminem was also considered for the role.[11] After Christensen was recast for the lead role, Liman replaced Palmer with Rachel Bilson.[8]

Filming

In September 2006, Jumper was filmed at various locations in Peterborough, Ontario and principal photography began in Toronto in October.[2][12][13] In December 2006, Liman negotiated with the Rome Film Commission for rare access to film for three days in the Colosseum. The scene in the Colosseum was originally written for the Pantheon, at which exterior shots were also filmed. The crew was required to keep equipment off the ground by using harnesses and had to rely on natural light for filming.[14] Filming took place for 45 minutes in the morning and in the evening so as not to disturb the public touring the amphitheater throughout the day.[15] In order to maximize the short period for filming, four steadicams were set up to ensure time was not wasted in reloading the camera.[8] A visual effects supervisor explained how visual effects were needed for various aspects after filming: “There were three kinds of shots: there were shots where they were able to get most of what they needed in the Coliseum itself; and then there were shots on a set that needed extensions beyond the limits of the set; and then there were shots where we needed to create the Coliseum basically from scratch.”[16]

After filming in Rome, scenes were filmed in Toronto during December 2006 to January 2007 and wrapped at the Canadian location on January 19. On January 26 in Toronto, 56-year-old David Ritchie, a set dresser, was fatally struck by frozen debris while dismantling an outdoor set in wintry conditions.[2][17] Another worker was injured and was sent to a hospital with serious head and shoulder injuries.[18] After Toronto, the cast and crew traveled to Tokyo to film scenes. One scene required over 30 shoots as the scene could only be filmed in between traffic light changes.[8] As a result of director Liman insisting Christensen perform his own stunts, the actor injured his hand, split open his ear, and developed a hyperdilated pupil that required hospital care while filming various scenes.[9][19]

In February 2007, the next filming site was set up at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sixty students from the nearby Huron High School were cast as extras for the film.[20] Since additional filming was required of the area, twenty other students were used for a day of filming in September.[21] Altogether, filming took place in 20 cities in 14 countries.[22]

In interviews that followed the release of film (as well as some of the featurettes on the DVD), Jamie Bell was critical of the finished product, stating that he felt it had become “sugar coated” and too many people had worked on it in order to make it a money-spinner. He also described his frustration whilst they were shooting the film.[23]

Fool’s Gold is an 2008 adventure/romance film from Warner Bros. Pictures about a married couple who rekindle their romantic life while searching for a lost treasure. The film was directed by Andy Tennant and reunites the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days stars Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. The MPAA rated the film PG-13 for action violence, some sexual material, brief nudity and language.

Plot synopsis

Benjamin “Finn” Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) is a treasure hunter looking for 40 chests of treasure known as the “Queen’s Dowry”, that was lost at sea with the 1715 Treasure Fleet. In his search to find the treasure, his marriage to Tess (Kate Hudson) falls apart. Tess has been working as a steward on a huge yacht owned by multi-millionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland). Finn finds a clue to the location of the treasure and manages to get on Honeycutt’s yacht (”The Precious Gem”) and convince him, his daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) and Tess to join him in searching for the treasure. A local gangster named Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart) and Finn’s mentor Moe Fitch (Ray Winstone) are intent on finding the treasure first.

The Precious Gem and Moe’s vessel compete to find the treasure in The Bahamas. As Finn attempts to secretly take down Moe’s search grid, Finn discovers a sword which is a clue to finding the treasure. Finn and Tess follow the clues to an ancient church and discover a grave containing a diary describing the location of the treasure. Bigg Bunny and his associates, who have been following Finn and Tess, take Tess hostage and assume (incorrectly) that Finn was killed. Bigg Bunny forces Tess to aid him in the search for the treasure in a blowhole, the location revealed in the diary. Tess finds the treasure in a cave beneath the blowhole. Meanwhile, Finn and the Honeycutt enlist the help of Moe in taking the treasure out of Bigg Bunny’s hands. They arrive as Bigg Bunny sends one of his associates to bring him the treasure, and the other to take out Moe as he swim towards Bigg Bunny’s floatplane. The blowhole kills Bigg Bunny’s employee and traps Tess and Finn, while Moe tries to stop Bigg Bunny from taking off. Finn saves Tess only to have Bigg Bunny kidnap her from him again. Gemma gets Finn to Bigg Bunny’s plane on her personal water craft and Finn leaps on the planes pontoon as the plane takes off. As Bigg Bunny attempts to shoot Finn, Tess kicks Bigg Bunny out of the plane and sends him into the ocean. The final Bigg Bunny employee, is taken prisoner by Moe (after he has shot Moe in the leg with a speargun).

Finn and Tess are reunited and save the treasure together. Finn, Tess, Nigel, Gemma, Moe and those who contributed in helping or finding the treasure open a museum displaying all of their finds.

[edit] Cast

• Matthew McConaughey - Ben ‘Finn’ Finnegan
• Kate Hudson - Tess Finnegan
• Donald Sutherland - Nigel Honeycutt
• Alexis Dziena - Gemma Honeycutt
• Ray Winstone - Moe Fitch
• Kevin Hart - Bigg Bunny
• Ewen Bremner - Alfonz
• Brian Hooks - Curtis
• Malcolm-Jamal Warner - Cordell
• Roger Sciberras - Andras

[edit] Production

Warner Bros. and director Andy Tennant planned to shoot the film in the Caribbean, but decided on Queensland because the hurricane season in the Caribbean was likely to stall production of the film. The Key West scenes were filmed in Port Douglas. Filming also took place in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Lizard Island, Airlie Beach, and Hervey Bay. Scenes were also filmed at Batt Reef, where Steve Irwin died from a stingray barb in 2006.[1]

Inside scenes were shot on a sound stage at the Warner Bros studio facility and the actors and crew stayed in luxury homes and apartments on the Gold Coast. McConaughey mentioned having a python in the backyard of his house in Port Douglas. McConaughey said, “There were other days like the day we went out diving and swam with a dugong, which was very cool.”[1]

Two crew members were stung by Irukandji jellyfish during filming, so some of the water scenes were shot in the Caribbean because the actors were so frightened.[1]

The Precious Gem luxury motor yacht in the movie is called the Keri Lee in real life. It is owned and operated by Lee Group Charters.[2]

Journey to the Center of the Earth (also promoted as Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D or Journey 3-D) is a 3-D film adaptation of the novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. It was released on July 11, 2008. The film stars Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem.

Plot

Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) is a Bostonian volcanologist whose nephew, Sean (Josh Hutcherson), is supposed to spend ten days with him. Trevor learns at work that his brother’s lab is being shut down because of a lack of funding. Trevor has forgotten that Sean is coming until he receives several messages from Sean’s mother. When Sean’s mother drops him off, she leaves Trevor with a box of items that belonged to Max, Trevor’s brother and Sean’s father, who disappeared years before. Sean suddenly takes interest in what Trevor has to say after he tells him about his father, whom he never really had a chance to know. Trevor discovers in the box a Max’s old baseball glove, a yo-yo, and the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. Inside the book Trevor finds notes written by his late brother. Trevor goes to his laboratory to find out more about the notes. There he realizes that he must go to Iceland to investigate for himself. He intends to send Sean back to his mother, but relents at Sean’s protest and brings Sean along for the adventure. They start by looking for another volcanologist. When they get to that scientist’s institution, they meet a woman named Hannah (Anita Briem), who offers to help them climb up to the instrument that has suddenly started sending data again. While hiking the mountain a lightning storm forces the three into a cave that collapses. Trevor, Sean, and Hannah investigate further into the cave until they fall into a deep pit, taking them to the “Center of the Earth”. They all continue until they discover a cave dwelling that Max lived in. Trevor and Sean find Max’s old journal. Hannah and Trevor discover Max’s dead body and bury him. Trevor reads a message from Max’s journal that was written on Sean’s 3rd birthday (8-14-97). Trevor continues to read Max’s journal until he realizes from his notes that they must quickly leave, as the temperature is steadily rising. Trevor figures that they must find a geyser that can send them to the surface. They must do this in 48 hours or all of the water to create the geyser will be gone. Also they figure that they must get out before the temperature rises past 135 degrees. They begin by crossing the underground ocean, and then the two adults become separated from Sean. Sean’s guide is now a little bird who has been present since the trio entered the Center, and it takes him towards the river. However, he encounters a Tyrannosaurus, and Trevor - who desperately is searching for him - saves him. When they arrive at the geyser it is all dried up. All of the water is on the other side of a wall. Trevor uses a flare to ignite the magnesium in the wall and causes a geyser to shoot them through Mount Vesuvius in Italy. When they destroy the home of an Italian man, Sean gives him a diamond that he had found earlier. Trevor sees that he has many more in his backpack, and he uses them to fund his brother’s laboratory. Throughout the adventure, Hannah and Trevor gradually become so attached to each other that they kiss. The film ends on the final day of Sean’s visit with Trevor (and now Hannah), and he is leaving their new home, which was purchased with some of the diamonds Sean took from the cave, and Trevor handing Sean a book titled “Atlantis”, suggesting they could maybe hang out at Sean’s Christmas break, alluding to a possible sequel.

Cast

• Brendan Fraser as Prof. Trevor Anderson
• Josh Hutcherson as Sean Anderson
• Anita Briem as Hannah Asgiersson

Production

Filming

The film transposes the novel into the present day and is mostly live action, with only the landscape and creatures supplied by computer-generated graphics.[1] The film is projected using Real D Cinema technology, a format that made its debut with the release of Chicken Little.

[edit] Rating

The film is MPAA rated PG for intense adventure action and some scary moments.

Marketing

The first trailer was shown during the re-release of The Nightmare Before Christmas and the release of Beowulf, with the Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, and during the 2008 Kids’ Choice Awards.

Warner Bros. marketed the film like a theme park attraction.[2] However, the studio had to slightly tweak the campaign (including dropping “3D” from the title) when it became clear that the film would be shown in 3-D in far less theaters than anticipated.[3]

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a 2008 comic book film based on the fictional Dark Horse Comics character Hellboy. The film is directed by Guillermo del Toro and is a sequel to the 2004 film Hellboy, which del Toro also directed. Ron Perlman reprises his role as the titular character. The film was commercially released on July 11, 2008 in the United States and Canada.

Plot

In a Christmas of 1955, a young Hellboy is told a bedtime story by his father, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), involving an ancient battle between humans and mythical creatures. A Goblin suggests to King Balor, King of the Elves, that he could create an unstoppable clockwork army. This ‘Golden Army’ of 4900 soldiers decimated the humans so mercilessly in battle that Balor regretted the army’s creation and offered a truce: man would keep his cities and the creatures would keep their forests. This truce was to be part of an unspoken chain passed from ruler to heir amongst the realm of men, until the end of time itself. The truce didn’t settle with Balor’s son, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who left in exile. The crown was soon broken into three, with two of the pieces going to the Elves and the last to the humans. The Golden Army was buried and quickly became legend.

In the present, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is having relationship issues with his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair). The duo, along with Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), are sent to an auction house where violence has erupted by thousands of ravenous tooth fairies, which Nuada set loose as he took the first piece of the crown, which was being auctioned off. The incident led to not only Abe accidentally scanning Liz and learning that she’s pregnant, but the disposal of the tooth fairies caused Hellboy to be blown out a window and exposed to the media, thus destroying the secrecy of the BPRD. Furious about this turn of events, the Washington sends down a new agent, Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), to take command due to his notion of working completely by the book. While that occurs, Nuada goes to the court of his father, who fails to convince his son to avert his course of war with the humans and is forced to sentence Nuada to death. However, the Buthcher Guards are slaughtered before Balor is murdered by Nuada, who then takes the second piece of the crown from his stony corpse before hunting down the final piece, which is owned by his twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), with whom he possesses a magical bond; each is at least vaguely aware of what the other knows, and any wound delivered to one appears on the other as well. Investigating the tooth fairies, Johann leads a group to the Troll Market, an enormous merchant city hidden under The Brooklyn Bridge, for clues. While Hellboy and Johann ask around, Abe crosses paths with Nuala while she was looking for the map to where the Golden Army rests, quickly falling in love with her before they get attacked by Nuada’s pet troll, Mr. Wink.

Hellboy arrives and his fight with Mr. Wink results in the troll’s death, infuriating Nuada into unleashing an Elemental, a Forest God, on him and the city. The fight results in Hellboy realizing that people won’t accept him, and also causes him to question his place in the world as Nuala is brought under BPRD protection. Back at headquarters, Abe and Nuala examine the map, but find nothing about the whereabouts of the Golden Army. Nuada uses the bond with his sister to find BPRD headquarters. When Nuala senses her brother’s arrival, she burns the map, along with the canister in which it came, and hides the final piece of the crown within a book. However, Nuada reveals that the map was a misdirection and that the real map is on the canister. He removes the hot canister from the fire and burns the map into a nearby desk, uncovering the resting place of the Golden Army. Nuada kidnaps his sister and mortally wounds Hellboy in the process with his spear. Unable to remove the spear shard, Liz and Abe take Hellboy to the map’s location, Northern Ireland, joined by Johann after a sudden change of heart. There, they encounter the Goblin who oversaw the creation of the Golden Army, who brings them the old subterranean city of his people, devoid of all life since the army were placed within the depths of the city. It is there that Liz is brought before the only one who could remove the shard, the Angel of Death, who has been waiting for their arrival. Though told that Hellboy would doom humanity if he lives, and that she’ll suffer the most from it, Liz pleads for Hellboy not to die. Amused by her choice, the Angel easily removed the spear shard from Hellboy’s chest and tells Liz to give him a reason to life, with Liz revealing to Hellboy that he’s going to be a father.

After the Goblin honors his part of the deal upon getting the shard, Hellboy leads his team to the resting place of the Golden Army where Nuada awaits them. However, as the others learn too late, Abe had found the last piece of the crown that Nuala hid and gives it up to Prince Nuada in exchange for her life. With the crown reformed, Nuada invokes the Golden Army and has them immediately attack the agents. After a fierce battle, the agents realize that the army cannot be destroyed because they can magically reconstruct themselves. Getting an idea, Hellboy challenges Nuada for the right to the crown, but the Prince refuses, claiming that Hellboy is not of royal blood. However, his sister points out that Hellboy, being the son of the Fallen One, is therefore a prince of Hell itself and Prince Nuada is forced to accept his challenge. Hellboy defeats Nuada, but the Prince tells him he must be killed, as he will never stop fighting. Hellboy refuses and the Prince tries to attack once more with his back turned, forcing Nuala to take her own life to stop her brother. Abe rushes to Nuala’s body and psychically tells her his feelings before she dies as Liz then melts the crown, shutting down the Golden Army forever. As the BPRD agents leave the underground compound, Agent Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) reprimands them for their actions. To his surprise, Hellboy, Liz, Abe, and Johann all hand over their belts and announce their resignation from the bureau. As they walk away, Hellboy contemplates his future life with his baby. Liz stops and corrects him, saying “babies”, which made Hellboy stop and turn to look at her as she holds up two fingers, revealing that she is pregnant with twins.

Cast

Ron Perlman as Hellboy: A demon who works for the government organization Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). Guillermo del Toro described the character’s dilemma in the sequel, “[He] has always fought on the side of humans, but this [destruction of fantasy] pushes his buttons to reconsider.”[1] In the sequel, Hellboy is armed with an enormous new gun called “The Big Baby”, which fires flare-like bullets.[2]

Selma Blair as Liz Sherman: A pyrokinetic member of BPRD and Hellboy’s girlfriend. Blair described her character as more engaging in the sequel, “In the first one she was afraid to take a step. She was completely a zombie, not wanting to own up to her power and having the memory of what she’d created in her life… I was really eager to come and play Liz with a little more vibrancy.” Blair also had short hair for her role, avoiding long hair from her portrayal in the first film, which she felt “brought her face down”. The actress emphasized Liz Sherman’s growth in the sequel, “She’s looking to the future much more, and things are happening in this one that she has to buck up… I think you’re dealing with a lot knowing this young girl that we last saw as very damaged, and now she’s with this guy, and all these people around her, I think, we’ve really had to step up a strength, and a confidence in her so that I don’t look like the little baby kid sister tagging along.”[3]

Doug Jones as Abe Sapien: An aquatic empath who works for BPRD with Hellboy. Jones said of his return to the role after the first film, “He’s been an absolute treat for me to play this time. He’s written with so many different colors and levels and there’s a love interest… And his buddy time with Hellboy is more concrete and his brother/sister time with Liz is even better.” Jones believed that Abe Sapien became “the brains, the intellect of the team” while Hellboy protects his character because he is still “kind of innocent”. The actor pointed to his character’s adolescence with love,[4] “His love life is something that’s never been tapped into before… So just like a 13-year-old with his first crush, this is how you’re going to see Abe this time. A portion of him. Will this affect his decision-making powers?”[5] In addition to Abe, Jones also portrayed two more characters in the film.

The Angel of Death: A female angel with androgynous characteristics. Jones explained his portrayal, “The script refers to the angel as a her and that’s what I do. I think she has feminine qualities, but she’s not totally a woman either. And that’s okay. I like characters that keep you guessing.”[4]

The Chamberlain: The door keeper for the Elfen King of the Underworld.[6] The creature is long, gangly, eight feet tall and wears silk and velvet robes. It also has long, spindly fingers, which filmmakers mobilized with servos and which Jones wore as extensions of his own hands.[7]

Luke Goss as Prince Nuada: The Elf Prince of the Underworld. Goss was originally cast as the mutant vampire Jared Nomak in del Toro’s 2002 film Blade II, and the director approached the actor to be cast in Hellboy II. Goss trained with swords and spears for six to seven months for his role.[8] He and Anna Walton also learned ancient Gaelic from a dialog coach for their lines.[9] Goss did not perceive Nuada as evil, explaining, “It’s issues, his people, he’s part of what he truly believes. I don’t think, really, he’s so deluded… [He] is driven by an ethic that was instilled by the person he has problems [with] his father, and inevitably, that leads into the conflict with him and Hellboy.” Goss also noted that his character admired and revered his twin sister, portrayed by Anna Walton. He said of the prince and the princess, “There is an incestuous relationship that’s not maybe overly obvious to everybody, but some people hopefully will pick up on the fact, certainly from my direction towards her.”[8]

Anna Walton as Princess Nuala: The Elf Princess of the Underworld and Nuada’s twin sister. She is described as “very light” while Nuada is “very dark”, creating a yin and yang dynamic.[2] She elaborated on the incestuous tones between her character and Prince Nuada, “He’s the dark side and she’s the light side and they’re pulled apart and pulled back together again, and she’s trying to get away because she knows there is something she has to do. He can’t let that go and they can’t really do anything without each other so it’s a really interesting thing.” Her character also forms a relationship with Abe Sapien, and Walton noted their similarities, “They are both slightly lost souls and they understand each other.” Walton spoke of her character’s sense of purpose, “She feels very strongly about what she has to do in the film, and then her absolute connection and love for the Earth and what we are given. That’s what she’s here to protect… Her relationship with her brother, and how he is almost a part of her but she has to break away and will do whatever it takes to stop him from achieving what he wants to achieve which is the mass destruction of mankind.”[9]

Seth MacFarlane voices Johann Krauss: Actors John Alexander and James Dodd wore the suit. Krauss is a German psychic whose ectoplasmic being is contained in a suit after a botched séance. Originally, filmmakers planned to create a computer-generated version of the glass fishbowl helmet, but with the cost being prohibitive, they created an actual helmet. To ensure the invisibility of the actor’s head under the glass, perspective and mirror tricks were used. The helmet was controlled by two puppeteers, so the heavy contraption had to be shared between Alexander and Dodd.[7] McFarlane took over voicing duties from Thomas Kretschmann, after del Toro realized that Kretschmann’s voice and the mechanical sound FX to Johann’s suit did not mesh well.[10]

Brian Steele as Mr. Wink: A giant cave troll who was originally conceived by Guillermo del Toro. Wink was sculpted by Mario Torres, and the costume was worn by Brian Steele. In the film, Wink’s right arm has a giant metal fist. The fist was designed by filmmakers to be made of heavy plastic to stay light enough for motors to operate the mechanical fingers. The fist could also be physically detached and used as a projectile without any computer-generated imagery used.[7] Steele also plays a different troll, Cathedral Head (the map shop owner) and Fragglewump.[11]

Other cast members include:

• Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning
• John Hurt as Trevor Bruttenholm: Hellboy’s adopted “father”, he is seen in the beginning of the film telling a young Hellboy the story of the Golden Army.
• Roy Dotrice as King Balor: The Elf King of the Underworld.

Production

Development

In May 2004, following the release of Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy the previous month, a sequel was announced by Revolution Studios with del Toro returning to direct and Ron Perlman reprising his lead role as the titular character.[12] The director sought to create a film trilogy with the first sequel anticipated for release in 2006.[13] Revolution Studios planned to produce the film and distribute it through a deal with Columbia Pictures, but by 2006, Revolution had gone out of business. In August 2006, Universal Studios acquired the project with the intent to finance and distribute the sequel, which was newly scheduled to be released in summer of 2008. Production was scheduled to begin in April 2007 in Budapest, Hungary and London, England.[14]

Writing

Director Guillermo del Toro explored several concepts for the sequel, initially planning to recreate the classic versions of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolf Man.[15] He and comic book creator Mike Mignola also spent a few days adapting the Almost Colossus story, featuring Roger the Homunculus. They then found it easier to create an original story based on folklore, because Del Toro was planning Pan’s Labyrinth, and Mignola’s comics were becoming increasingly based on mythology.[16] Later, Del Toro pitched a premise to Revolution Studios that involved four Titans from the four corners of Earth—Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth—before he replaced the Titans with a Golden Army.[17] Mignola described the theme of the sequel, “The focus is more on the folklore and fairy tale aspect of Hellboy. It’s not Nazis, machines and mad scientists but the old gods and characters who have been kind of shoved out of our world.”[18]

Filming

Del Toro released Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006, and the film earned multiple Academy Awards, providing the director enough clout to begin production on Hellboy II.[1] Guillermo del Toro began filming Hellboy II in June 2007 in Budapest and concluded in December 2007.[19] The film was the first American production to shoot at Korda Studios in Hungary, then newly built outside Budapest.[20] The creature shop was led by the company Spectral Motion,[21] and Filmefex contributed work in makeup and prosthetics. The latter company designed a creature for the troll market scene and built several statues and full-sized replicas of the Golden Army.[22]

Ray is a 2004 biopic focusing on thirty years[2] of the life of legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles.

The independently-produced film was directed by Taylor Hackford and starred Jamie Foxx in the title role; Foxx received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

Charles was set to attend an opening of the completed film, but he passed away before it came out.

Plot summary

Born in a small town in Georgia, Ray Charles went blind at the age of eight. Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world, Charles found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered incorporating gospel, country, jazz and orchestral influences into his inimitable style..

As he revolutionized the way people appreciated music, he simultaneously fought segregation in the very clubs that launched him and championed artists’ rights within the corporate music business. Ray provides a portrait of Charles’ musical genius as he overcomes drug addiction while transforming into one of his country’s most beloved performers.

Production

The film’s production was entirely financed by Philip Anschutz, through his Bristol Bay Productions company. Taylor Hackford stated in a DVD bonus feature that it took 15 years to make the film. He later clarified in the liner notes of the soundtrack album that it took that time to secure financing.

Charles was given a braille copy of the film’s original script; he objected only to a scene showing him taking up piano grudgingly, and a scene implying that Charles had shown mistress and lead “Raelette” Margie Hendricks how to shoot heroin.

Ray debuted at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival.

Reception

Box office

Ray was released in theatres on October 24, 2004 on a budget of $40 million. The film went on to become a box-office hit, earning $75.3 million in the U.S. with an additional $50 million internationally, bringing its world wide gross to $125 million.

Critical reaction

The film received mostly positive reviews. Most of the praise went to Jamie Foxx’s tour-de-force performance which made him a favorite for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film however did receive some bad reviews, with critics complaining that the powerful performances were met with a mediocre screenplay.[3] Currently Ray has a certified freshness rating of 81% at rottentomatoes.com.[4]

Awards

Jamie Foxx was nominated for Best Actor for this film and Best Supporting Actor for Collateral. He is the second actor to have been nominated in both categories in the same year, after Al Pacino. Like Pacino, he won the former, but not the latter.

Won

• 77th Academy Awards:
  • Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
  • Best Sound (Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa)
• American Cinema Editors: Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical (Paul Hirsch)
• 58th BAFTA Awards:
  • Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
  • Best Sound (Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa)
• Black Reel Awards: Best Film - Drama, Best Actor - Drama (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren), Best Breakthrough Performance (Sharon Warren), Best Screenplay (James L. White), Best Original Score (Ray Charles and Stephen Altman)
• Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren)
• Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Soundtrack
• Florida Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
• 62nd Golden Globe Awards:
  • Best Actor - Comedy or Musical (Jamie Foxx)
• Grammy Awards:
  • Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Ray Charles)
  • Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Craig Armstrong)
• Image Awards: Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Jamie Foxx), Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Kerry Washington), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Regina King)
• Kansas City Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
• London Film Critics Circle: Actor of the Year (Jamie Foxx)
• Motion Picture Sound Editors: Best Sound Editing in Feature Film - Music - Musical (Curt Sobel [music editor])
• National Board of Review: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
• National Society of Film Critics: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
• Online Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren)
• Phoenix Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Use of Previously Published or Recorded Music
• PRISM Awards: Performance in a Feature Film (Jamie Foxx)
• Satellite Awards: Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Jamie Foxx), Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Comedy or Musical (Regina King), Best Screenplay - Original (James L. White)
• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Jamie Foxx)
• Seattle Film Critics: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
• Southeastern Film Critics Association: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
• Vancouver Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)

Nominations

• 77th Academy Awards:
  • Best Picture
  • Best Director (Taylor Hackford)
  • Best Editing (Paul Hirsch)
  • Best Costume Design (Sharen Davis)
• American Society of Cinematographers: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (Paweł Edelman)
• 58th BAFTA Awards:
  • Best Screenplay - Original (James L. White)
  • Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (Craig Armstrong)
• Black Reel Awards: Best Actress - Drama (Regina King), Best Actress - Drama (Kerry Washington), Best Supporting Actor (Clifton Powell), Best Breakthrough Performance (C.J. Sanders)
• Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Picture , Best Director (Taylor Hackford)
• Casting Society of America: Best Feature Film Casting - Drama (Nancy Klopper and Mark Fincannon [location casting])
• Cinema Audio Society: Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures (Steve Cantamessa, Scott Millan, Greg Orloff and Bob Beemer)
• Costume Designers Guild: Excellence in Costume Design for Film - Period/Fantasy (Sharen Davis)
• David di Donatello Awards (Italy): Best Foreign Film
• Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Taylor Hackford)
• 62nd Golden Globe Awards:
  • Best Picture - Comedy or Musical
• Golden Trailer Awards: Best Drama
• Image Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Clifton Powell), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (C.J. Sanders), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Sharon Warren)
• MTV Movie Awards: Best Movie, Best Male Performance (Jamie Foxx)
• Motion Picture Sound Editors: Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features - Dialogue & ADR
• Online Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren)
• Satellite Awards: Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Kerry Washington), Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Comedy or Musical (Sharon Warren), Best Director (Taylor Hackfor)
• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Aunjanue Ellis, Jamie Foxx, Terrence Howard, Regina King, Harry J. Lennix, Clifton Powell, Larenz Tate, Kerry Washington)
• Teen Choice Awards: Choice Movie Actor - Drama (Jamie Foxx), Choice Movie Actress - Drama (Kerry Washington)
• Young Artist Awards: Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor (C.J. Sanders)

Cast

• Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles - As stated in the DVD commentary, the actor does not sing as Ray Charles with exception to covers Charles performs in his earlier years. Kanye West and Ludacris have since both made songs with Jamie Foxx singing as Ray Charles in their songs “Gold Digger” and “Georgia”, respectively.
• Sharon Warren as his mother, Aretha Williams
• Kerry Washington as his wife, Della Bea Robinson
• Regina King as Margie Hendricks
• Renee Wilson as Pat Lyle
• Larenz Tate as Quincy Jones
• Harry Lennix as Joe Adams
• Clifton Powell as Jeff Brown
• Curtis Armstrong as Ahmet Ertegün
• Richard Schiff as Jerry Wexler
• Patrick Bauchau as Dr. Hacker
• Terrence Dashon Howard as Gossie McKee
• Chris Thomas King as Lowell Fulson
• Wendell Pierce as Wilbur Brassfield
• Bokeem Woodbine as David “Fathead” Newman
• Aunjanue Ellis as Mary Ann Fisher
• C. J. Sanders as Young Ray Robinson
• Denise Dowse as Marlene Andres
• Warwick Davis as Oberon
• David Krumholtz as Milt Shaw

The Punisher is a 2004 movie, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and John Travolta as Howard Saint, the money launderer who orders the death of Castle’s entire family. The story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories; “The Punisher: Year One” & “Welcome Back, Frank” along with scenes from other Punisher stories such as “Marvel Preview: Featuring The Punisher #2”, “The Punisher: War Zone” and “The Punisher War Journal”.[2]

Plot

The film opens with an arms deal taking place at a port in Tampa. Bobby Saint and Micky Duka meet with their contact, Otto Krieg, to provide him with the payments, but at the last moment, the FBI intervenes, and in the ensuing confrontation, Bobby and Otto are shot dead (Bobby is killed by one of his own men, and Otto by the FBI), and Duka is taken to prison. However, it is then revealed that Otto Kreig is in fact FBI agent Frank Castle, who was undercover and wearing a bulletproof vest. Shortly thereafter, Castle celebrates a retirement party with his friends, and heads home.

Meanwhile, it transpires that Bobby Saint is the son of the ruthless and powerful mob boss, Howard Saint, who is inflamed by the death of his son and almost kills Duka (who was bailed out). Instead, Saint and his associate, Quentin Glass, bribe the FBI to provide them with confidential information about Otto Krieg, who brokered the arms deal, and find out his true identity. At Bobby’s funeral, Saint learns that Castle is at a family reunion in Puerto Rico and will be heading for London, England soon. He requests that Castle be killed, but at the last moment, Saint’s wife, Livia, demands that they murder Castle’s entire family as well, in a twisted act of (what the Saints believe to be) revenge.

At the reunion, Saint’s cronies, Quentin Glass and John Saint (Bobby’s twin) among them, kill everyone present. Castle and his father bring down scores of them, but Castle Sr. is eventually killed, and Castle is shot multiple times and left for dead on a pier, which Saint’s men torch and destroy. Castle, however, does not die, but is blown away from the explosion, and nursed back to health by a witch doctor. That night, at Saint’s club, the Saints drink a toast to their revenge.

Castle packs up his things from his home and takes refuge in an old house where three youngsters, Spacker Dave, Bumpo and Joan, live. There, he starts his own mission of revenge, especially after learning that the police and the FBI, even five months after his family’s murder, have no intention of pursuing the men responsible, despite Castle giving them the names of the killers (for two reasons: they themselves sold Castle out; and they are on the Saints’ payroll). In the process, Castle sabotages Saint’s money laundering business and severs Saint’s partnership with the Cuban Toro mobster Brothers, Mike and Joe, and starts tailing Livia and Glass, learning that Glass is in fact gay (which he hides from Saint under fear of execution), all thanks to information provided to him by Micky Duka, who hates the Saints and was convinced to help Castle.

Saint realises that Castle is alive, and sends two assassins to kill him. First is Harry “Heck” Thornton, whom Castle kills with a trick knife which he uses to slit Harry’s throat. Second is the Russian, a behemoth who gives Castle a severe beating until he splashes the Russian’s face with a steaming pot of a meal Bumpo was cooking, blinding him long enough for Castle to push him down the staircase and break his neck. Moments later, Saint’s men arrive, led by Glass and John. Dave, Joan and Bumpo hide Castle, and refuse to tell Glass where he is, despite Glass pulling Dave’s piercings out with a pair of pliers.

That night, Castle prepares himself for battle, and manipulates Saint into believing that Glass and Livia were having an affair behind his back, by planting one of Livia’s earrings on Glass’ messed-up bed (which Castle himself had done). Saint, unaware that Glass was gay, and believing Livia (who is implied by dialogue to have been a prostitute before meeting Howard) to be capable of cheating on him, consequently kills them both, neither of them knowing why.

Castle then attacks Saint’s club, where he wages a one-man war on Saint’s entire crew, killing everyone inside, including John. Saint attempts to escape, but Castle catches up with him and shoots him fatally in the chest. As Saint dies, Castle reveals the evidence that Glass and Livia were not having an affair, but gives Saint little time to grieve, for he ties Saint to a running car, which goes into a bomb-laden car park, blowing countless cars up and killing Howard Saint once and for all.

His revenge is taken, but now will continue his vigilante mission against others who deserve punishment. Before departing on his next mission, he leaves some of Howard Saint’s money for Bumpo, Joan and Dave (to compensate for Dave’s hospital bills and the trouble he brought them). In his words: “Frank Castle is dead. Call me The Punisher.”

Cast

Before actor Thomas Jane became the Punisher, director Jonathan Hensleigh and Avi Arad have said in many interviews that Jane was the first and only actor to be asked to play the title role. Jane initially turned down the role twice, as well as a part in the first X-Men movie and a few other comic book movies, the reason for that was because he did not see himself as a superhero actor. Jane said that when they asked him the second time to play the Punisher that what really got him interested in playing the part was when Arad sent Tim Bradstreet’s artwork of the Punisher. After finding out what kind of character the Punisher was, he accepted. In addition to reading as many Punisher comics he could find to understand the character, Jane became a fan of the Punisher. Jane trained for 6 or 7 months with Navy SEALs and gained more than twenty pounds of muscle for the part.

Production

Before filming began, Hensleigh was not given the budget he wanted or needed from the studio. Hensleigh knew that most action pictures get a budget of around $64 million. He was only given a $15 million dollar budget for the movie.[4] He was also only given 50 days to shoot the movie, which is half the number of days it takes to shoot most action pictures. Most of Hensleigh’s original script had to be edited and re-written many times due to budget costs. According to the DVD commentary, the first scene in the movie would have been a battle set in Kuwait during the Gulf War, but they were unable to film this scene as a result of the budget cuts.

The Punisher was filmed on location in Tampa, Florida. For inspiration, Hensleigh and cinematographer Conrad W. Hall looked at dozens of action movies from the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Dirty Harry series, The Getaway, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Godfather and Bonnie and Clyde.[5] In an interview, Hensleigh also stated the film pays homage to Mad Max.[6]

As stated above the story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories; “Welcome Back, Frank” and “The Punisher: Year One” but before the film was released in theaters Jonathan Hensleigh was asked if the movie had been entirely based on “The Punisher: Year One” storyline. Jonathan Hensleigh stated:

During shooting of the film Lions Gate had purchased Artisan. In an interview with Jonathan Hensleigh, Hensleigh said that even though the movie is under Lions Gate, they had nothing to do with the film. Lions Gate never gave a green light for the film to be made. The film was still under Artisan Entertainment.

The character of Microchip was not included in the script because of director Jonathan Hensleigh’s distaste for him. Hensleigh said:

Comic book writer Garth Ennis has also expressed displeasure towards Microchip.

Awards

Won

• Prism Awards
  • Mark Chadwick was awarded a for Best Fire Stunt.

Nominated

• World Stunt Awards (Taurus Award)
  • Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman.
  • Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director.
  • Best Work with a Vehicle.

Catwoman is a 2004 superhero film directed by Pitof and released by Warner Brothers & Village Roadshow Pictures on July 23, 2004. It is loosely based and inspired by the DC Comics character Catwoman, who is traditionally a supervillain and love interest of the superhero Batman. Initially there was debate about the writing credits, but the Writers Guild of America ultimately awarded screenplay credit to John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris, and John Rogers, and story credit to Theresa Rebeck, Brancato, and Ferris.

The film stars Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Benjamin Bratt, Lambert Wilson, Frances Conroy, and Alex Borstein. It was poorly received by critics and moviegoers (see Films considered the worst ever).

Plot

Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) is a shy, timid artist working for a cosmetics company. One morning, she sees a cat outside her window. Thinking it is stuck, she climbs out onto a ledge and nearly falls. A detective named Tom Lone, spots her and thinks she is attempting suicide, and rescues her. After believing her story the two gradually form a relationship.

While delivering a new design to her boss, Patience overhears a plot to sell defective beauty products that initially make human skin look younger and prettier; if the product is not used over a long period of time, however, the skin begins to decay. Unfortunately she is spotted at the scene and attempts to flee into a set of water conduits. The pipes are flooded by her pursuers, and she drowns.

After being murdered, she is brought back to life by the temple cat she saw earlier, because the cat was moved by the fact that she risked her own life for it. When she wakes up, she is transformed into Catwoman, a warrior with the force of a cat, who prowls the night in search of justice. Her behavior becomes cat-like, and she gains heightened reflexes, senses, and physical power.

Determined to discover why she was murdered (having forgotten the events that occurred the night before), Patience re-learns about the beauty product and when she goes to the factory where the product is made, she finds a scientist who protested against the product’s release murdered. Before she can investigate further, however, the night guard spots her and sounds the alarm. Patience quickly flees the factory. She then informs her boss’s wife, Laurel Hedare, about the plan and asks her to keep an eye out for anything unusual.

Catwoman then heads to the opera house where her boss, George, is attending a play with another woman. She confronts him about the product, but he doesn’t know about its toxic after-effects. The police arrive and chase Catwoman, who is able to escape by cutting off the power.

Patience and Lone then go out on a date at a sushi restaurant, where they talk about Catwoman. When they leave, they go to Patience’s home where Lone finds one of Catwoman’s claw nails.

Later, Laurel contacts Catwoman, and tricks her into entering a room with Patience’s brutally murdered boss lying on the floor. Laurel then calls the police after tossing a gun into Catwoman’s hand. As she flees the house, Catwoman realizes that Laurel was the one who insisted on the product’s release and murdered the scientist who tried to stop it.

Catwoman’s lip prints on Lone’s cheek matched up with those of Patience from a glass cup, and she was taken into custody by Lone. That night she was able to escape from her jail cell by squeezing through the bars like a cat.

Meanwhile, Lone goes to Laurel, while she holds a press conference for the beauty product and a tribute to George. They go to her office and talk, and during their conversation, Laurel lets slip that she was the murderer of the scientist and her husband. But, before Lone can arrest her, she pulls a gun and shoots him in the arm. Catwoman then arrives, and rescues Lone just as Laurel is about to finish him off. After taking out her henchmen, Catwoman confronts Laurel, and they fight, though Laurel’s face is now like “living marble” from using the product for so long. During the fight, Catwoman slashes her face and causes it to rip. As Catwoman finishes scratching her face, Laurel accidentally falls off the broken glass window she tried to push Catwoman out of. Catwoman attempts to save her as she’s hanging on, but Laurel accidentally slips and falls to her death. Detective Lone comes and saw what happened. He then reassures Patience that she will not be found guilty for the murders.

At the end of the movie Patience sends an art piece of hers and a thank you note to the woman who owns the cat that revived her. This woman also helped her remember her death and told Patience the powers her cat gave to her and her new freedom. Patience also sends a letter to Detective Lone, saying good bye and thank you and walks off into the night, happy with her new powers and independence.

Cast

Response

Before the film was released, perplexities were raised by the notion that the protagonist would be a woman with feline superpowers, whereas in most adaptations Catwoman is a highly trained but normal woman fond of cat-themed theatrics, with no superhuman powers.[3] The debate subsided when it was learned that the character played by Berry would not be Selina Kyle, the original Catwoman from the comics, but an entirely new one, named Patience Phillips. Perplexity remained over the decision to omit the Selina Kyle character and depart so significantly from the source material however. Other criticisms included the similarities between the new character’s origins and that of another comic book character, The Crow (also adapted into a film version).

Catwoman was poorly received, both critically and at the box office. The film appeared on the list of Roger Ebert’s most hated films. He criticized the filmmakers for giving little thought to providing Berry “with a strong character, story, supporting characters or action sequences.”, but his primary criticism came from the failure of the film to give the audience a sense of what her character experienced as she was transformed into Catwoman.[4]

This film received seven Golden Raspberry nominations in 2005. It won in the categories of Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay. Halle Berry accepted the award for Worst Actress personally, apologizing for the film, and speaking frankly in interviews about her views regarding problems with the film.

Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks ran a series of comic strips in which Riley is punished by being forced to watch Catwoman. He subsequently campaigns to have being forced to watch Catwoman considered to be a form of child abuse.

MSN Movies ranks Catwoman as the third worst superhero movie to date, behind Batman & Robin .[1]

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 10% freshness rate, based on 168 reviews. It is also on the worst 100 reviews ever, along with a scatography rating of 99.7%[5].

Despite poor box office earnings and reviews, its US DVD rental gross during its stay on the weekly top 50 chart was $35 million [2].

Around the World in Eighty Days is a 1956 adventure film made by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists. It was directed by Michael Anderson and John Farrow (uncredited) and produced by Michael Todd with Kevin McClory and William Cameron Menzies as associate producers. The screenplay was by James Poe, John Farrow and S. J. Perelman based on the classic novel of the same name by Jules Verne. The music score was by Victor Young and the cinematography by Lionel Lindon.

Plot

Around 1872, an English gentleman Phileas Fogg (David Niven) claims he can circumnavigate the world in eighty days. He makes a PS£20,000 wager with several skeptical fellow members of his London gentlemen’s club, the Reform Club, that he can arrive back within 80 days before exactly 8:45 pm.

Together with his resourceful valet, Passepartout (Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”), Fogg sets out on his journey from Paris via a hot air balloon. Meanwhile, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen his £20,000 from the Bank of England. Police Inspector Fix (Robert Newton) is sent out by Ralph the bank president (Robert Morley) to trail and arrest Fogg. Hopscotching around the globe, Fogg pauses in Spain, where Passepartout engages in a comic bullfight. In India, Fogg and Passepartout rescue young widow Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine) from being forced into a funeral pyre so that she may join her late husband. The threesome visit Hong Kong, Japan, San Francisco, and the Wild West. Only hours short of winning his wager, Fogg is arrested upon returning to London by the diligent, yet misguided Inspector Fix.

At the jail, the humiliated Fix informs Fogg that the real culprit was caught in Brighton. Though eventually exonerated of the charges, he has lost everything — except the love of the winsome Aouda. But salvation is at hand when Passepartout realizes the next morning that, by crossing the International Date Line, they have gained a day. There is still time to reach the Reform Club and win the bet. To the surprise of all waiting at the club, Fogg arrives just before the clock’s chime at 8:45 pm, even Aouda and Passpartout arrive. Noticing Fogg’s whole travel party is here, Ralph announces the end of the journey.

One of the most famous sequences in the film, the flight by hot air balloon, is not in the original Jules Verne novel, and it is quite likely that modern-day readers of the novel have been disappointed at not finding it in the book. Because the film was made in Todd AO, the sequence was expressly created to show off the locations seen on the flight, as projected on the giant curved screen used for the process.

Cast

The movie boasts a huge cast, with David Niven and Mario “Cantinflas” Moreno in the lead roles of Fogg and Passepartout. Fogg is the classic Victorian gentleman, well-dressed, well-spoken, and extremely punctual, whereas his servant Passepartout (who has an eye for the ladies) provides much of the comic relief as a “jack of all trades” for the film in contrast to his master’s strict formality. Joining them are Shirley MacLaine as Princess Aouda and Robert Newton as the detective Fix, which would turn out to be his last role.

The role of Passepartout was greatly expanded from the novel to accommodate Cantinflas, the most famous Latin-American comedian at the time, and winds up the focus of the film. While Passepartout describes himself as a Parisian in the novel, this is unclear in the film — he has a French name, but speaks Spanish when he and his master arrive in Spain by balloon. There is also a comic bullfighting sequence especially created for Cantinflas that is not in the novel. Indeed, when the film was released in non-English speaking nations, Cantinflas was billed as the lead (according to the guidebook describing the movie, this was done because of an obstacle Todd faced in casting Cantinflas, who had never before appeared in an American movie and had turned down countless offers to do so. Todd allowed Cantinflas to appear in the film as a Latin, “so”, the actor said himself, “to my audience in Latin America, I’ll still be Cantinflas”).

Over 40 famous performers make cameo appearances, including Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, and Frank Sinatra to name a few (a complete list of cameo appearances is listed below.) Indeed, this film is credited with popularizing the term cameo appearance.

The movie holds the record for the highest number of animals ever employed.[citation needed]

[edit] Complete credited cast

(excluded are numerous extras)

Production

It was a big budget Hollywood movie, shot in producer Michael Todd’s pioneering 70mm Todd-AO system to provide the highest-available picture resolution and sweeping widescreen vistas.

“Around the World in 80 Days” was an epic film. It was produced by the flamboyant Mike Todd, who hadn’t produced a movie before that time, but had produced stage plays; Todd was a showman. Todd had previously worked on the Cinerama movies, which used three cameras, three strips of film and three projectors; Todd was one of the partners in the Cinerama company. (Later he was a partner, with Lowell Thomas, in Thomas-Todd Productions.) He hired a director who hadn’t previously directed a movie, Michael Anderson. The film is based on the famous Jules Verne novel.

The filming was done in late 1955, form Aug. 9 to Dec. 20; they worked fast (75 actual days of filming). They produced 680,000 feet (128 miles) of film, which was edited down to 22,000 feet of finished film. The film used the Todd-AO process, developed by Mike Todd and American Optical. It was developed as an improvement over the amazing Cinerama process. (The improvements were: a single camera, a single projector and a single strip of film.) They used 70 mm. film, which contained 65 mm. images; 5 mm. was used for the six sound tracks. A special projector was required to view Todd-AO films. The images were compressed on film and expanded to fill the nearly-semicircular screen. 70 mm. film is much higher resolution than conventional film. The process was used for many films, including “Oklahoma”, “The Sound of Music” and “Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines.” The process is no longer used. (One reason may be the cost of a Todd-AO print, $12,000 vs. $2,000 for a conventional 35 mm. print.) The picture cost just under $6 million to make. They used 140 locations, 100 sets and over 36,000 costumes. Todd said he and the crew visited every country portrayed in the picture (including England, France, India, Spain, Thailand and Japan). The film was released on Oct. 17, 1956 for a NYC premiere, at the Rivoli theater. Todd said the film got 70 to 80 awards, in all. It received five Academy awards, including Best Picture and Best Musical Score. The picture grossed $100 million world-wide, including about $25 million in the U.S (theater grosses).

The movie included over 40 stars, besides David Niven, who played the lead, Phileas Fogg. The Mexican actor, Cantinflas, played his co-star, Passepartout, Fogg’s assistant. Both of these actors have died. Niven, who was British, died in 1983, from ALS. He wrote an autobiography, The Moon’s a Balloon. A biography of Mike Todd also exists.

There are other interesting facts about the film. 10,000 extras were used in filming the bullfight scene, with Cantinflas as the bullfighter, in Spain; Cantinflas had previously done some bullfighting. They used all 6500 residents of a small town, but Todd decided there weren’t enough spectators. So he found 3500 more, from nearby towns. Todd also used over 6000 buffalo for a stampede scene. He used 650 Indians, for a fight with white people on a train, in the West. Many of the 650 were Indians, but some were extras, from L.A. All 650 had their skin color altered, with some kind of dye. Todd used about 50 gallons of orange-colored dye for those extras. Todd sometimes used models of boats, ships and trains in the film. But he often decided that they didn’t look realistic, so he switched to the real thing, where he could. The scene of a collapsing train bridge in the film may be authentic, without models. A tunnel was built for one of the train sequences out of paper mache. After the train filming was complete, the ”tunnel” was pushed over into the gorge. It may still be there.

Many of the balloon scenes, with Niven and Cantinflas, were filmed using a 160-foot crane. Even that height bothered Niven, who was afraid of heights. Many of the lots used in the film are now on the land occupied by Century City, an office complex in the L.A. area.

The title credits are shown at the end of the film. They are an animated sequence that lasts about seven minutes.

The DVDs for “Around the World…” include four hours of supplemental material, in addition to the (apparently restored) three-hour wide-screen color film. The above comments are summarized from the three-hour audio narrative that describes the film. Also included on one of the disks is a documentary film, about 50 minutes long, about Mike Todd.

Awards

Academy Awards

The movie was nominated for eight Oscars, of which it was awarded five:

• Won: Best Picture - Michael Todd, producer
• Won: Best Cinematography, Color - Lionel Lindon
• Won: Best Film Editing - Gene Ruggiero and Paul Weatherwax
• Won: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture - Victor Young
• Won: Best Writing, Best Screenplay, Adapted - John Farrow, S. J. Perelman, and James Poe
• Nominee: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color - Ken Adam, Ross Dowd, and James W. Sullivan
• Nominee: Best Costume Design, Color - Miles White
• Nominee: Best Director - Michael Anderson

Although not nominated for best original song, the film’s theme song “Around the World” (music by Victor Young, words by Harold Adamson), became very popular. It was a hit for Bing Crosby in