Welcome, To Jurassic World!

It is a well known fact that every kid grows up loving dinosaurs! And so when the doors to Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Jurassic Park opened up shiver went down my spine as I saw these amazing creatures brought to life. Since then we have seen Jurassic Park: Lost World (1997) and Jurassic Park 3(2001) hit the cinemas, but since then it almost seemed that Jurassic Park had sadly gone extinct. Until Jurassic World was announced!

Due to hit cinemas on the 12th June, Jurassic World is set twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, the famous Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and a drop in visitor rates, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor’s interest, which backfires horribly.
Now this horrible new hybrid dinosaur, reportedly nicknamed the D-Rex, can briefly be seen in its full beauty in the above trailer. The thought of  the brutish strength of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex crossed with the unsettling wit of a Raptor is enough to make me shake in my boots. This screenshot of the D-rex peering through the green forest canopy reminds us of the classic “clever girl” scene from the first Jurassic Park, a great shout back to its origins from new to the franchise director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed).

The advertisement for this film has been simply amazing with a fully operational and interactive website having been created as if Jurassic World was a real life attraction for people to visit. The site is well worth a visit for all dinosaur and film fanatics alike. http://uk.jurassicworldintl.com

Hot off the amazing Marvel hit Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Chris Pratt plays expert in the field Owen Grady alongside a cast that features Bryce Dallas Howard (Spiderman 3), Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil) and Ty Simpkins (Iron Man 3) we have a mostly new cast from the original trilogy (Yes, we see you there BD Wong!). Chris Pratt appears to really fit the role well bringing his usual witty sense of humour to the role, and Its got to be said Chris Pratt does look real cool riding this bike alongside a pack of trained hunting raptors!

Horus Heresy

I am a self confessed geek and proud to be see. I love Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Warcraft, Marvel and many more. One of my earliest interests of the geekdom is my interest in table top games and roleplaying games. I’ve played so many different varieties of games within these genres but my love first started with a UK based company known as Games Workshop and their Warhammer 40k miniatures set. Its an amazing game of tactics between alien species and the last of mankind and although it focuses on the miniatures on the board, the lore and background of this universe are rich with details that have created so many interesting novels. One long standing series of novels from this universe is known as the Horus Heresy that really captured my imagination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horus_Heresy_(novels)

Its been a series of books that I have always wanted to see adapted into a movie or series of movies following the opening three books of the series: Horus Rising, False Gods and Galaxy in Flames. Its got some great characters and an impactful twist of brother fighting brother amidst the feelings of abandonment, pride and revenge. If I ever ‘made it big’ then I would jump at the chance to direct this series in live action because I really think its got promise. The visuals with this story are dark and gritty, offering up a brutal vision of a future that has been missing from cinema. Whilst I’m not going to pretend i’ve thought it through in intricate details, here are a few key things I think that are required for this to be a success:

Garviel Locken and the Luna Wolves
Much of the novels focus on Garviel Locken, Captain of the Luna Wolves’ 10th Company. He is initiated to the Mournival, a group of personal advisors to Horus the Warmaster of the Crusade campaigns against anti-Imperials and aliens. It is imperative that despite these hulking space marines being killing machines that we feel a real intense bond between the brothers of the chapter, especially between the members of the Mournival. This will make the turning point of the series, the betrayal, all that more emotional. The actors would also have to be chosen with keen insight into each character.

The Power of the Space Marines
The Space Marines are one of the most elite and feared fighting forces in the Imperium of Man. They are physically and mentally tempered for war against the horrors of the universe. Its important that from the very beginning of the series they are portrayed as ruthless warriors of tactical genius capable of crushing a mans head with their hand.

The Primarchs and The Emperor
Both the Primarchs and the Emperor are impressive warrior even amongst the space marines, the Primarchs lead the chapters and the Emperor is like a god above the Imperium of Man. They should each be unique and powerful but the relationship between Primarch and Emperor should also be stressed for they are essentially his children, none more so than Horus.

The 41st Millennium is a Grim Place
People shouldn’t come to this film expecting to see heroes saving the day with valiant heroism and giving the baddie a slap on the wrist. Its the 41st Millennium and there is only war. Blood will be spilt, limbs will be chopped, heads will roll. This will have to have an 18 rating to really capture that brutality of the setting however this could be problematic for a film based in the universe of a merchandise that sells to all ages.

Movie Mashup

Here is the opening 40 seconds of my Movie Mashup for 161MC, after the 40 second mark its simply audio but ill be finishing the rest off tonight, so enjoy this tease.

Advice From The Pros – Part 2

“Of all the Chris Foss paintings that inspired Guardians of the Galaxy, this may be the one that inspired us most. Yellow is an underused color in films, especially science-fiction and fantasy films. In Guardians, I used it as a signifier of change, rebirth, and redemption – the yellow prison uniforms, Drax drowning in the yellow spinal fluid, the yellow Groot spores, and the yellow interlocking Nova Corps net… I believe color is a part of what made Guardians successful. When so many huge, spectacle films have the beige color palette of Saw, the brain becomes thirsty for color. We were that technicolor pitcher of water at the edge of the summer desert.
This doesn’t mean all movies should be colorful, just that color in general is important, and too much of one thing is boring. If, over the next few years, films become oversaturated with bright colors, brains will be relieved by a film entirely hazel and gray.
Anyway, this painting, along with other Chris Foss works, was a part of my original presentation to Marvel when I pitched myself as director and I explained the visual direction I was going to take with the film. They were immediately on board, and we ended up hiring Chris Foss to help design some of the spaceships in the film. He was, of everyone, my biggest visual inspiration on Guardians.
He has a page here on FB – Chris Foss Artist Page. I’m not sure if it’s Official or not, but it’s worth checking out nevertheless.”

– James Gunn

Digital Footprint – Part 2

For the second part of my assigned task we were now asked to consider the digital footprint of another professional media practitioner and how they represent themselves. So to do this I decided to pick a favourite director of mine in James Gunn from such films as ‘Super’ and most recently ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.

On what sites do they present themselves on the internet?

So James Gunn has a Facebook page which he operates himself and posts fairly often to it as you may have seen I posted a quote of advise to fellow filmmakers from James Gunn on my blog a month back. He also operates a Twitter page on which some of his posts are the same as on Facebook however he appears to use this more regularly than Facebook, whether this is because her recognises the rising popularity of Twitter for following celebrities or whether this is just because of ease I am unsure. He has his own website ( http://jamesgunn.com ) which I only just discovered since starting writing this blog and can I say it is eye catching and intriguing. The opening header of his website says “the official website of filmmaker james gunn for shit outside the norm”. This particularly struck me as a website is a means of advertisement to potential employees, and although James Gunn is now a big name surely this was still a resource for potential employers. However it is in keeping with his relaxed and casual display of self throughout all media outlets.

What kind of images do they use and do they brand themselves?

So with James Gunn having recently released hit sensation Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy it is clear that James Gunn has since been branding himself as a Marvel fanatic by posting images not only about his hit film but also others related to the MCU such as this image of Daredevil in his early black costume sporting the line “For those among you complaining about Daredevil’s initial costume in the series may I remind you of this…”

Considering Gunn is signed on to direct Guardians of the Galaxy 2 it is within reason that he would show support to Marvel so as to keep employers happy, however nothing about James Gunn’s appearance on the internet appears out of synch with him being interested in things such as comics and so it could simply be a very real appearance of himself.

Do they give interviews?

Yes, Yes he does and I have seen some interviews with Mr.Gunn that have been a delight to watch. Here is one where he discusses writing and it really captures the laid back approach of James Gunn to his media professional career. It is a really interesting watch not just because it shows us what he is really like but also because it is an eye opener to just what the industry is like these days and what it takes to be successful as a writer.

Advice From The Pros

From the mouth of one of the big directors at this time, James Gunn, comes this brilliant snippet of advice to all aspiring directors out there. I’d like to send out thanks not only to James Gunn himself for taking the time to write to his fans about this but also my friend Ben, who took the time to link me to this:

Remember that it takes ten years or so to become a doctor. Entertainment is a far more competitive field than medicine – and, if you’re really focused on mastering your craft, it can be just as complex. So expect it to take at least ten years of hard work at the expense of a regular life to simply be competent and perhaps begin to make a living at it. And, even then, sadly, only an extremely small percentage of people are able to do so.
If you find that too daunting, consider working in another field. If you don’t find it daunting at all, consider therapy. Considering your sense of reality, you’ve got bigger problems than your career goals.
However, if you find that daunting, but still have the need or desire to continue, well, that’s at least one place to start. I wish you not only luck, but strength, perseverance, heart, and talent.
And, before you start, there are of course lots of exceptions to the ten year rule (or, as Malcom Gladwell talks about in his book Outliers, the 10,000-hours-of-work rule). But that also takes a great amount of luck, something we don’t have much control over other than putting ourselves out there as much as possible.

Iron Man

All those times where we thought Mr Tony Stark was just flying around in his suit, he was secretly multi-tasking…

Stans the Man

Browsing the internet whilst putting off doing my Character Creation project for 160MC, I stumbled across a competition that had been made available via LiveJournal.com (http://therealstanlee.livejournal.com/856.html) and the legend that is, Stan ‘the man’ Lee, to find out who is his biggest fan in the world. The winner would receive a full expenses paid trip to Hollywood with one guest to meet Stan himself in person. All we have to do is create a post on LiveJournal.com about how we are the biggest fan of Stan Lee in existence. For me, I couldn’t pass up on this opportunity as I am a massive fan of Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe and regard Stan Lee as my biggest hero. The man is nothing short of a legend and the narratives and complex characters he has created throughout the many years have filled the hearts and minds of many from various walks of life with inspiration. Without a shadow of a doubt I shall be creating an early draft tonight for this and going through the process of perfecting it so that I can upload it before the competitions deadline on the 30th December. Stay tuned for draft copies to be posted up here later and I absolutely welcome feedback on this so that I can better my chances, to all of you I have one final word. Excelsior!

The King of Wakanda!

As part of my pre-university task over the summer and weeks leading up to my start, I was asked to write a small synopsis of a film I would love to make if time and money was no issue, and to also choose a dream cast for this project. I chose to follow my passion of Marvel Comics and Marvel Cinematic Universe whilst deviating to a hero that normally wouldn’t be my first choice but was a hero sorely missed in the Cinematic Universe being created So I chose the hero Black Panther, also known by his alter ego of T’Challa. His is an interesting story of a princes rise to kinghood and the learning of fair justice when it comes to confronting the killer of the previous king, his father. He is a really interesting character and I advise you to look into him more, especially because earlier this week Marvel announced there slate of films up to 2020 and there it was, Black Panther.

They also revealed the casting of the protagonist and out of some pure coincidence it was the very same actor I had chosen for mine, Chadwick Boseman! I really think he is a great choice for the role. He is an up and coming star that Marvel so love to cast in their main roles and his voice and demeanour really carry a sense of aggression and authority when he’s in the zone. Not to mention his appearance is spot on and he’s also physically able to carry off the role. Now the interesting thing to note is the theory that the panther main villain, Klaw, will make an appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron alongside the unveiling of the nation of Wakanda. It is common belief that Klaw will be played by no other than Andy Serkis.