History is written in blood. This new theatrical trailer for Neil Marshall‘s Centurion looks as badass as previous red ban trailer, I’m really hoping that the whole movie would be as good as what the trailer shows us.

Watch the theatrical trailer for Neil Marshall’s Centurion:

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Wow, this just keeps getting better and better! Moviefone has released seven badass character posters for Chris Nolan’s Inception, and they looks frickin’ gorgeous. We also get to see a bit of extra insight into each of the characters. From what we’ve known so far, this sounds like a heist movie, but if you are a fan of Nolan, you’ll know that there’s got to be some tricks in it, so expected to be impressed when it is released in theaters. Check out the posters for: The Extractor, The Architect, The Forger, The Point Man, The Shade, The Tourist and The Mark below.

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“With no power comes no responsibility.” MSN has released another red band international trailer for Matthew Vaughn‘s Kick-Ass, so, this is the fifth trailer now? Anyway, this is the best trailer of all. By now, I don’t think I need to say how much I love this film and looking forward to it. “Being a superhero is bad for your health!”

Dave Lizewski one day decides to be a superhero, even though he has no powers, training or any reason.

Kick-Ass is both written and directed by British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, of Layer Cake and Stardust previously. The screenplay was co-written by Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman, of Stardust as well. The story is an adaptation of Mark Millar‘s comic of the same name that is currently in the middle of its first series. Kick-Ass was funded entirely by Matthew Vaughn and his own private investors and sold once finished earlier this year. Lionsgate is bringing Kick-Ass to theaters everywhere on April 16th this spring.

Universal Pictures has released the first two official production photos from Edgar Wright’s big screen adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Check them out below.

The photo above appears to feature Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim, wielding a red Flaming Katana (George Lucas is gonna sue somebody…) in a futuristic nightclub, as Jason Schwartzman, who plays evil ex Gideon Gordon Graves and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers watch on in the background from atop a pyramid.

This is another film that I’m quite looking forward to this year, can’t wait for the first trailer to come out.

Cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Writers: Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright
Based on the Oni Press Comic Book Series by: Bryan Lee O’Malley
Producers: Marc Platt, Eric Gitter, Edgar Wright, Nira Park
Executive Producers: Ronaldo Vasconcellos, J. Miles Dale
Plot Synopsis: Meet charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). A bass guitarist for garage band Sex Bob-omb, the 22-year-old has just met the girl of his dreams…literally. The only catch to winning Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him. Genre-smashing filmmaker Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) tells the amazing story of one romantic slacker’s quest to power up with love in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass–and now is back in town–to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes controls her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past–from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsomely identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over.

This has become one of my favorite films. Found a lot of me in Tom, and quite a few similarities with my own past experiences.

◎译　　名　和莎莫的500天
◎片　　名　(500) Days of Summer
◎年　　代　2009
◎国　　家　美国
◎类　　别　喜剧/剧情/爱情
◎语　　言　英语
◎字　　幕　N/A
◎IMDB评分  8.2/10   15,090 votes
◎IMDB链接  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1022603/
◎片　　长　01:23:58
◎导　　演　马克·韦布 Marc Webb
◎主　　演　约瑟夫·高登-莱维特 Joseph Gordon-Levitt ….Tom
佐伊·丹斯切尔 Zooey Deschanel ….Summer
科洛·莫瑞兹 Chloe Moretz ….Rachel
敏卡·凯利 Minka Kelly
马修·格雷·古柏勒 Matthew Gray Gubler ….Paul
克拉克·格雷格 Clark Gregg
Geoffrey Arend ….McKenzie
Jenn Gotzon ….Coffee House Waitress
Rachel Boston
Patricia Belcher ….Millie
Maile Flanagan ….Co-worker Rhoda
Nicole Vicius
Yvette Nicole Brown ….New Secretary
Jennifer Hetrick ….Sarah
Ian Reed Kesler ….Douche
Olivia Howard Bagg ….Summer – Age 12
Tim Lacatena ….Dancer
Brandon Waters ….Tom – Age 8
Michelle Mason ….The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Lexy Hulme ….Dancer
George Romero ….Beer Vender
chris Connell ….Marcus
Darryl Sivad ….Usher
Adam Emery ….Tom – Age 12
Catherine Campion ….Bride
Alexei Lantsov ….Film Noir Actor
Liz Jamieson ….Co-Worker
Cody Matthew Blymire ….Wedding Guest
Kevin Leung ….Chinese Father
Jason Robinson ….The Puma
Joshua Collins ….Co-worker #3
Kenneth Hughes ….Dancer
Sid Wilner ….Grossman
Gregory Thompson ….Minister
Natalie Boren ….Party goer #2 (uncredited)
Danielle Cooper ….French Woman in Hat (uncredited)
Kristen De Luca ….IKEA Shopper (uncredited)
Kim Donovan ….Bar patron (uncredited)
Mike Endes ….Party Guy (uncredited)
Michael Justice ….Cute Guy #1 (uncredited)
Jennifer Lee Keyes ….Dancer (uncredited)
Rebecca Lin ….Dancer (uncredited)
Kayla Gwyneth Morrisey ….Girl on the Stairs (uncredited)
Vivian Nixon ….Dancer (uncredited)
Tracey Phillips ….Dancer (uncredited)
Keisha and Kellie Ramdhanie ….Pretty dinner guest (uncredited)
Eileen Reardon ….Summer Look-a-like (uncredited)
Georja Umano ….French lady (uncredited)
Pleasant Wayne ….Pretty Bar Girl (uncredited)
Maurice Webster ….Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Leland White ….Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Jon Morgan Woodward ….Wedding guest (uncredited)

◎简　　介

作为一个满脑袋充满各种奇思妙想的年轻人，汤姆·汉森（约瑟夫·高登－莱维特饰）拥有一份和他的天性所完全不对路的工作：他是一名专门给各类贺卡撰写贺词的文字工作者，长此以来这份工作成了他宣泄自己想象力的地方，可惜这毕竟是一份机械乏味、单调枯燥的活儿，所以汤姆也一直觉得这工作让他沉闷无趣，而他的志愿只做一名建筑师。但对于他的爆棚想象力，也有人吃不消，这个人就是汤姆的女朋友莎莫·芬恩（佐伊·丹斯切尔饰）。莎莫曾经在人生旅途里受过男人的伤害，因此他对所有男人都不抱有什么幻想，包括自己的男朋友，尤其是见到汤姆整天沉溺在不切实际当中，这跟他们当初的相遇完全不一样。

两个人的关系很明显出现了问题，莎莫终于忍不住对汤姆说了分手，深信快刀斩乱麻，做事果断的莎莫很快离开了汤姆，有了属于自己的新生活。对于莎莫同自己的分手，汤姆痛不欲生，他深爱莎莫，却不得不接受莎莫已经离去的事实。这使他开始反思，自己是否是一个称职的男朋友，他究竟都做错了什么？汤姆开始回想和莎莫在一起的500个日日夜夜，他希望从中找到答案……

一句话评论

这部电影同他的男主角一样富有想象力，是一部相当精彩的爱情喜剧。
——《纽约时报》

把一个漂亮女人当成整部电影的核心似乎是一个被用烂了的桥段，但我们有幸的看到马克·韦布拍出了新鲜味。
——cinemablend.com

《和莎莫的500天》如同它的片名一样不俗，这部电影会令你欢笑，令你心碎，令你若有所思。
——firstshowing.net

◎幕后制作

处女作所绽放的光芒

每个导演在面对自己的第一部作品时一定都会有着各种各样的忐忑与不安，对于马克·韦布来说，这部《和莎莫的500天》也充满了他的种种难以忘怀的故事。马克·韦布回忆道：“每一个导演都希望有朝一日能够拍摄一部属于自己的电影作品，我成为导演是在多年之前，一直以来我都在等待这个机会。这并不是一件容易的事，虽然多年来我也曾经有过很多次机会，但那些片约无一例外都充满了各种各样的限制，我不能在那些作品里自由的创作我想要的东西，所以我一次又一次的推却，直到我等到了《和莎莫的500天》。这是一部符合我理想状态的电影，故事很简单却很有趣，我第一次看到就喜欢上了它，我那段时间总是在琢磨怎么才能把这个剧本变成一部电影，一部能让我满意的电影，而公司告诉我，这个机会可以毫无保留的给我，所以我觉得我很幸运，在我的导演之路上有这样一个令我惬意的开始。”

第一次拍摄故事长片，虽然早年担任导演助理和音乐录影带的工作经历已经让马克·韦布积累了不少的导演经验，但毕竟这是第一次带领一个团队完成一部电影，马克·韦布还是少不了有着一丝兴奋：“刚开始拍摄的时候别人都觉得我好像有着用不完的精力，我几乎每天都在凌晨3、4点睡觉，6、7点就醒来，在工作时间以外不停的构思着影片的种种可能，笔记本上写满了我想出来的点子，这种状态持续了好几周，我以前是一个嗜睡的人，那段时间却变得完全没有困意，现在回想起来，这或许就是《和莎莫的500天》所赋予我的一种魔力，这种魔力能让我完全忘却疲惫和其他的事情，让我专注在影片当中，这部电影能够成功拍摄完毕，我必须得感谢那段时间无穷的精力，尽管这可让我的家人没少吃苦头，我必须要感谢他们给予我的支持。这是一段艰辛但值得的旅程。如果观众能从中找到共鸣，并愿意与故事里的角色一起走完这段旅程，我们就达到了制作这部影片的目的。”

一个关于失恋者的故事

倾注了马克·韦布大量精力拍摄的这部电影，讲述的是一个有关于被女朋友甩掉的男人如何追忆往昔时光的故事。对于这个爱情故事，马克·韦布的看法是：“ 我喜欢这个剧本的角度，他从一个失恋者的角度去看待一切，而且一点都不消极。这部电影虽然会让人有些难过，但这并不是我想带给观众的全部内容。我希望观众更多的能看到男主角是如何渐渐的改变自己，改变自己对生活的态度，以及最后那个让我十分满意的结局。整个故事是非常阳光的，例如女主角的名字莎莫（英文 Summer意同夏日），还有我们选择在洛杉矶拍摄，那里的阳光总是让人感觉振奋，影片里汤姆也总是积极的笑着去面对人生，这种态度我希望每一个人都能和他一样，无论你的女朋友是否要同你说分手（笑）。”

《和莎莫的500天》男主角汤姆的扮演者约瑟夫·高登-莱维特，这位童星出生的年轻演员近年来出演了不少独立制作如《神秘肌肤》、《历劫俏佳人》，同时也出演了《特种部队》这样即将上映的好莱坞头号大作。对于拍摄《和莎莫的500 天》的缘由，约瑟夫·高登-莱维特则坦言：“我必须得承认，让我听到导演对我说这部电影已经定下女主角，而她就是佐伊·丹斯切尔的时候，我就对导演说我一定得拍摄这部电影了。我很欣赏佐伊·丹斯切尔，尤其是她在音乐方面所展现的才华。我很喜欢听她的歌，喜欢那种清新的独立民谣风格。在拍摄电影的时候，我们两个人都会花很多时间在一起听音乐，聊天，寻找影片中需要的那种亲密、轻松的关系。我觉得没有什么能像音乐那样，可以在瞬间就将两人的心连接在一起。所以在影片中，两人在电梯间相遇，正是汤姆正在听的音乐引起的佐伊的注意，才有了之后的恋情发展，这样的恋爱开端，其实在现实生活里常常发生，所以这部电影不会让观众觉得是属于那种很假很喧闹的爱情喜剧，相反，他是如此的贴近我们的生活。”

与影迷一起修改电影

作为一部投资并不高，明星味道也并不浓的电影，马克·韦布则真正的把这部草根电影与影迷联系到了一起，在拍摄的过程中，他经常和影迷在网上讨论，与现场来探班的明星粉丝们一起观看初剪的样片，甚至还会公开自己的联系方式，让有着各种意见的影迷能够写给自己。对于这些举措，马克·韦布并不觉得有什么：“ 我想对于一部电影而言，每个观众都是有权做出他们的评判，即便那些意见也许并不合理，但我相信大多数观众都是很真诚的。在我自己还是一个影迷的时候，我就经常会对自己刚看完的电影提出很多修改意见，我觉得按照我的方式去做，那部电影会变得更棒。所以当我在拍摄《和莎莫的500天》时候，我也回想起过去自己的这种做法，而我也寻找了各种机会，让大家能够对影片提出更多的意见，而影迷们总是会超乎我的想像，很多时候他们都准确无误的击中了一些要害，而我也根据他们的意见做出了修改，这让这部电影显得更加的令大家满意。”

不过，马克·韦布也表达了他的顾虑：“当然，这或许是因为本片是一部独立制作的电影缘故，才能够给予创作者这么大的空间和自由度。也许当你真正踏进好莱坞的时候，制片方会用铁栏把你同影迷隔开，而主宰电影的会是其他那些不相关的人。如果《和莎莫的500天》能够成功，我不会忘记那些和我一起为本片付出过心血的影迷与制作人员，并且我会尽可能的把这种工作方式带到我将来的作品里，不管我在好莱坞还是在伦敦。”

◎花絮

·影片海报以蓝色为主色调，这是因为要突出扮演影片女主角莎莫的演员佐伊·丹斯切尔的蓝眼睛。
·本片是两位主演约瑟夫·高登-莱维特和佐伊·丹斯切尔的第二次合作，两人上一次合作是在2001年的电影《狂躁》。
·这部电影是导演马克·韦布的第一部故事长片。在此之前，他曾经执导了大量的MTV。
·本片是一部独立制作的小成本电影，早先在圣丹斯电影节上展映后，受到了观众的好评，由此引起了独立制片大厂福克斯探照灯的注意，最终成功运作于北美上映。

◎精彩对白

Tom: People don’t realize this, but loneliness is underrated.

汤姆：“人们没能意识到这一点，但孤独的可怕总是被我们低估了。”

Tom: What happens when you fall in love
Summer: You believe in that
Tom: It’s love, it’s not Santa Claus.

汤姆：“当你坠入爱河的时候都会发生些什么样的事？”
莎莫：“你信这玩意？”
汤姆：“这是爱，这不是圣诞老人。”

《建国大业》：这真是一部反动透顶、包藏祸心、极不和谐的电影啊！！ 由 张佳玮·信陵 发表在HoopChina·影视厅 http://www.HoopChina.com

以下故事，纯属虚构

若有雷同，纯属巧合

一个月黑风高、蝙蝠乱飞、野狼长嗥的夜晚，荒村的阴暗角落，木屋窗口闪着幽绿的灯光。两个一听便知一不爱国二不爱民惯于蝇营狗苟企图乱中夺权拖少年下水拉少女上床的邪恶声音，正用饱含恐惧和阴毒的低声，盘算着阴谋诡计。

邪恶A：老大，李连杰已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：陈真啦，张三丰啦，反正都是些刚正英武的打戏角色。
邪恶B：那就偏不让他打。让他演个不想内战的国民党军官吧，陈绍宽比如。

邪恶A：老大，胡军已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：《天龙八部》里演过萧峰，为了宋辽和平，死在雁门关啦。
邪恶B：那这次就让他负责挑起内战，当个民族罪人吧。顾祝同不是谋的皖南事变吗，让他演去。

邪恶A：老大，修宗迪已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：那可就多了。对了，《三国演义》，他演过白门楼誓死不降的陈宫。
邪恶B：那这次就让他演个重量级的投降吧。比如，嗯，让他演傅作义去。

邪恶A：老大，甄子丹已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他净拍打戏，好的坏的都演过。
邪恶B：那这次就别给他动手的机会，让他舞文弄墨去。演个田汉吧。

邪恶A：老大，孙红雷已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他刚拍一《潜伏》，特别红。演一卧底，净卧国民党的底了。
邪恶B：《潜伏》我也看过。他不是还化妆成记者去问八路军问题呢吗？这次还演一记者，不过，就当国民党那边儿重庆的记者吧。

邪恶A：老大，黄圣依已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：她都演过谁？
邪恶A：这姑娘特可怜，最有名的一角色是个上海哑巴女孩儿。
邪恶B：那这次让她多讲讲话，就演个我党播音员吧！

邪恶A：老大，张涵予已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他在《集结号》里演过谷子地，特爷们一解放军。
邪恶B：那这次别让他爷们了，就演一国民党卧底吧。他在《集结号》里没死成，这回就枪毙了他。

邪恶A：老大，吴刚已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他和孙红雷在《潜伏》里合作过，演一叫陆桥山的反派，还枪杀学生呢！
邪恶B：那这回就别演反派了，改演正派。就演闻一多吧，回头让他被枪杀一回。

邪恶A：老大，赵薇已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：她都演过谁？
邪恶A：她演过的可多了，不过最经典最红的，还得是十年前的小燕子吧。
邪恶A：那这回别让她演疯丫头了，让她通点儿音律，给我选国歌去。

邪恶A：老大，刘烨已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：什么黄金甲的王子啊，什么无极的黑衣人哪，反正这人比较阴柔。
邪恶B：这回让他爷们点儿，演个扯嗓子喊话的解放军吧。

邪恶A：老大，邓超已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他在《集结号》里演一炮兵哥，得了百花最佳男配角。
邪恶B：那和甄子丹一起，别打仗了，舞文弄墨去。演一徐悲鸿得了。

邪恶A：老大，姜文已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：哟那可没准，但基本都是混不吝天不怕地不怕的爷们角色。对了他还爱跟鬼子较劲，《红高粱》、《鬼子来了》什么没少拍。
邪恶B：那这回让他演一对蒋介石言听计从还爱跟我们领导较劲的大反派，看他还混不吝爱国得起来不。就演毛人凤吧。

邪恶A：老大，许晴已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：她都演过谁？
邪恶A：早年吧都演些女白领第三者老挨原配骂，后来还演过任盈盈。
邪恶B：那这回让她演国母去，让她也风光风光。

邪恶A：老大，尤勇已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：不说他是警察专业户吗？不过近来有点转型。《天下无贼》里演一笨贼，《赤壁》里演一特木讷的刘备。
邪恶B：这次没警察。也别让他笨了。他不演过刘备吗，这回演一诸葛亮。小诸葛白崇禧也不辱没他了。

邪恶A：老大，佟大为已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：您开电视，这不到处都在播《奋斗》呢吗？
邪恶B：那就让他别奋斗了，演一坐吃山空的太子党得了，就演孔令侃吧。

邪恶A：老大，成龙已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他近来电影演得不多了，就到处接受采访宣扬中国心。
邪恶B：那这回让他演个记者采访李济深去，听听别人怎么表中国心。

邪恶A：老大，陈坤已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：金燕西什么的，反正都是些特帅特柔情的角色。
邪恶B：这次让他演个铁腕的爷们角色。蒋经国吧。

邪恶A：老大，陈凯歌已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他净导演来着……噢对了，在他自己的片儿《刺秦》里，演过专横跋扈的相爷吕不韦。
邪恶B：那就让他演一特落寞特没权柄特被老蒋收拾的角色，冯玉祥吧。

邪恶A：老大，陈道明已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他演的可都是文华秀质风流倜傥的中年妇女杀手型角色啊……
邪恶B：那这回让他演一武的，就国民党管保安的吧。不过也别定死了，演一卧底就行。

邪恶A：老大，葛优已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：冯小刚的贺岁片里，他净演些贫嘴骗漂亮姑娘的男人了。
邪恶B：这回让他没法贫嘴，演一嘴笨特不招姑娘的连长团长什么的得了。

邪恶A：老大，孙兴已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：他最有名的角色是十六年前了，《倚天屠龙记》里一笑倾城的光明左使杨逍啊。
邪恶B：这回让他谁也倾不了。演个大反派杜聿明吧，而且只许出个侧脸。

邪恶A：老大，张国立已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：康熙呗，乾隆呗，反正到处微服私访体察民情假装明君。
邪恶B：这回让他演个大独裁者，就蒋介石，一点儿微服民情都不给他。

邪恶A：老大，章子怡、梁家辉、宁静什么都来了。
邪恶B：他们都演过啥？
邪恶A：哟，老大，这可都是国际级的大腕啊！
邪恶B：那这回就只让他们演个路人，露俩脸就成。

邪恶A：老大，范伟已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：挺多，大概最有名是一被忽悠了的脑袋大脖子粗的厨师。
邪恶B：那就还演厨师。

邪恶A：老大，王宝强已经确定出演了。
邪恶B：他都演过谁？
邪恶A：傻根啊，许三多啊，笨笨的小兵。
邪恶B：那就还让他演笨小兵，连北平都不认识那种。

邪恶A：老大，我觉得您的思路好象是这样的。什么角色都反着来，对吗？
邪恶B：也不尽然。范伟和王宝强这俩，我不是就安排他们还演凡人吗？
邪恶A：属下愚钝，不明白您的意思啊……

邪恶B：我其实就是要表达这么个意思：
天道循环，报应不爽。这世道成王败寇，好与坏，正与反，真是翻手之间就可以有大大的不同。六十年哪，一个甲子转到了头。所谓今之视昔，亦如将来者视今日乎？我还生怕观众不明白，所以才设计那么个剧情——
蒋介石跟他儿子说，“反贪，亡党；不反贪，亡国”。那时他在干什么？绕着个大圆形甬道散步嘛。这就是一个大循环啊，谁也逃不走，谁都会走到那一步。昨日的对手，也可能是今日的自己啊。

邪恶A：那，既然一切都可以朝反面转化，那为啥范伟和王宝强不变呢？
邪恶B：因为他们一个是厨子，一个是小兵，都是再地道再地道不过的人民百姓。开国嘛，六十年沧海桑田，什么都可能变。口口声声要反独裁的，也可能变成独裁的。嚷嚷着要民主的，也可能变成不民主的。只有老百姓，就这么被赶着去打仗，拉着去做饭，傻傻的不会变呀。

邪恶A：老大，我越听越觉得您这片特不和谐。
邪恶B：对嘛。用一个表面和谐其实特不和谐的电影来献礼，用一群外籍演员来演一个开国大业，这才符合本片真正的精神嘛——一切，都要反过来看，这才是《建国大业》的精华！

One of the best indie movies of 2006, and recent years.  Two thumbs up.

By Roger Ebert (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071224/REVIEWS/237678516/1023)

I’m not at all surprised that my esteemed colleague Michael Phillips of the Tribune selected John Carney’s “Once” as the best film of 2007.

I gave it my Special Jury Prize, which is sort of an equal first; no movie was going to budge “Juno” off the top of my list. “Once” was shot for next to nothing in 17 days, doesn’t even give names to its characters, is mostly music with not a lot of dialog, and is magical from beginning to end. It’s one of those films where you hold your breath, hoping it knows how good it is, and doesn’t take a wrong turn.

It doesn’t. Even the ending is the right ending, the more you think about it.

The film is set in Dublin, where we see a street musician singing for donations. This is the Guy (Glen Hansard). He attracts an audience of the Girl (Marketa Irglova). She loves his music. She’s a pianist herself. He wants to hear her play. She doesn’t have a piano. She takes him to a music store where she knows the owner, and they use a display piano. She plays some Mendelssohn. We are in love with this movie. He is falling in love with her. He just sits there and listens. She is falling in love with him. She just sits there and plays. There is an unusual delay before we get the obligatory reaction shot of the store owner, because all the movie wants to do is sit there and listen, too.

This is working partly because of the deeply good natures we sense these two people have. They aren’t “picking each other up.” They aren’t flirting — or, well, technically they are, but in that way that means, “I’m not interested unless you’re too good to be true.”

They love music, and they’re not faking it. We sense to a rare degree the real feelings of the two of them; there’s no overlay of technique, effect or style.

They are just purely and simply themselves. Hansard is a professional musician, well known in Ireland as leader of a band named the Frames. Irglova is an immigrant from the Czech Republic, only 17 years old, who had not acted before. She has the kind of smile that makes a man want to be a better person, so he can deserve being smiled at.

The film develops their story largely in terms of song. In between, they confide their stories. His heart was broken because his girlfriend left him and moved to London. She takes him home to meet her mother, who speaks hardly any English, and to join three neighbors who file in every night to watch their TV.

And he meets her child, which comes as a surprise. Then he finds out she’s married. Another surprise, and we sense that in his mind he had already dumped the girl in London and was making romantic plans. He’s wounded, but brave. He takes her home to meet his dad, a vacuum cleaner repairman. She has a Hoover that needs fixing. It’s Kismet.

He wants to record a demo record, take it to London, and play it for music promoters. She helps him, and not just by playing piano. When it comes down to it, she turns out to be level-headed, decisive, take-charge. An ideal producer. They recruit other street musicians for a session band, and she negotiates a rock-bottom price for a recording studio. And so on. All with music. And all with their love, and our love for their love, only growing. At one point he asks if she still loves her husband, and she answers in Czech, and the movie doesn’t subtitle her answer, because if she’d wanted subtitles, she would have answered in English, which she speaks perfectly well.

“Once” is the kind of film I’ve been pestered about ever since I started reviewing again. People couldn’t quite describe it, but they said I had to see it. I had to. Well, I did. They were right.

◎简　　介

我们可能经常会在地铁站、天桥上看到弹着吉他卖唱的艺人，也许是现代城市的生活步伐过于快节奏了，我们大多数时候只是轻轻一瞥然后继续行色匆匆，甚至没有时间琢磨一下自己刚刚听到的是什么歌……这个故事中的男主人公就是一名在街头卖艺的小伙子，地点则切换成了爱尔兰的首府都柏林。他是与众不同的，不会弹奏那些脍炙人口的流行歌曲以赚观众缘，反而沉浸在自己的音乐世界中无法自拔，丝毫不会受到身边环境的打扰，几乎要与城市一角的黑暗与晦涩融为了一体。
然而这一切，都在一个傍晚发生了变化。当男孩猛然发现一个女孩站在自己面前、瞪着大眼睛好奇地打量自己时，他并不知道她站在这里有多久了……当时他正在弹奏一首特别好听的歌曲，那是他自己创作的，为了纪念一段伤心的往事。女孩发现了男孩询问的眼神，突然发问：你是不是曾经心碎过，所以为她写了这首悲伤的歌？卖艺的男孩吓了一跳，他从没见过这么大胆的女孩，但是他自己也承认，这个女孩看透了他的心。随着交谈的深入，女孩得知男孩白天的工作是吸尘器的修理工，她兴奋地大叫了一声–她正好有一台坏掉的吸尘器需要维修。
两天以后，她将吸尘器拿到男孩父亲开的修理店中，女孩告诉男孩，自己是来自于捷克的移民，虽然平时以卖花女的形象示人，其实她一直没有放弃古典钢琴的演奏。可是她太穷了，根本就买不起钢琴，于是有一位好心的乐器行老板，允许她每天在午饭时间去他的店里弹奏一个小时的钢琴……女孩将男孩领到她妈妈的家里，男孩惊讶的发现，女孩还有一个两岁的女儿，是一个单亲妈妈。
在女孩每天都要消磨一小时的乐器行里，她和男孩第一次有了共同演奏的机会，他是主弹，而她是伴奏。男孩发现女孩在伴奏方面的天分极高，当德国作曲家门德尔森的音乐从她指尖流淌出来时，再配以那柔软、脆弱的嗓音，竟然一下子变成了一首伟大的伴奏曲–男孩在女孩的启发下，创作灵感如泉水般涌出，而爱情，也随之萌芽，男孩知道，自己找到了灵魂的另一半。后来，一名贝斯手和一名鼓手分别加入到男孩和女孩的行列中，他们组成了一个乐团，可惜由于成员的默默无闻以及低下的社会地位，他们无故受到一位知名音乐制作人的嘲讽。然而，仅仅过了几个小时，这个以男孩为中心组建的乐团就改变了那位音乐制作人的态度，最终获得了相应的尊重。

一句话评论：
《曾经》并非一部完美的影片，尤其是开头的部分，是整部作品中最薄弱的一个环节，处理得不够稳妥，但在华丽的音乐的衬托下，故事随即进入了一段美丽的爱情中，很容易就让观众忽略了那么一点小瑕疵。

——电影手册

这是一部成熟饱满的音乐电影，内容与歌曲的衔接严丝合缝，一点都不突兀。

——综艺

用一双电影人的眼睛、一颗诗人的心，创作出这个动人的爱尔兰故事，影片中更是包罗了多首经典的歌曲。

——纽约时报

约翰?卡尼的执导方式谦逊、不装腔作势，能够看得出来，影片的原始剧本肯定短的要命，剩下的，就用音乐来说话吧。

——电影威胁

影片通过音乐制造了一个独特的故事环境，这里有一对通过歌声来表达情感的情侣，他们之间的爱情，是不求回报的，就像音乐本身一样，有时候安静舒缓，有时候荡气回肠。

——噪音评论

花絮：
·在拍摄影片的开头部分时，因为这组场景需要拿长镜头拍摄，所以工作人员都离得远远的，而且没有通知过往的行人他们正在拍戏……这时候，突然从人群中冲出了一个想当英雄的围观群众，在不知情的情况下打伤了影片中扮演小偷的人。

·在拍摄期间，因为最开始为影片投资的“南方公园”电影公司的破产，而使得演员和导演都受到了显而易见的连带影响，因此有一组被称为“蒂米”的音乐家，离开了剧组。

·影片中关于都柏林的镜像，包含了导演约翰·卡尼和主演格伦·汉萨德在影片拍摄之前差不多10-15年对于都柏林所有记忆的总结——那不仅仅是一个属于工人阶层的城市。

·约翰·卡尼曾经是格伦·汉萨德组建的乐队“The Frames”的成员之一。

·这个故事其中的一个部分是根据约翰·卡尼的真实经历改编的：生活在都柏林的卡尼，曾经与生活在伦敦的女友维持了一段非常长时间的远距离恋爱。

·影片中有关那个男孩的女友的闪回胶片……其实里面的女孩就是导演约翰·卡尼现实生活中的女友。

·格伦·汉萨德的母亲友情客串了一位宴会上的歌手。

Warner Bros has hired new screenwriters for their big screen live-action adaptation of Robotech. Smallville scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have come on board to rewrite Lawrence Kasdan’s previous draft. This is not good news. Gough and Millar were the team behind The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Herbie Fully Loaded, Made Men, Showtime, and the Shanghai Noon franchise (you remember, the Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson western comedy films?). To be fair, they got a story credit on Spider-Man 2...

And to think, Warner Bros gave those two guys the job of rewriting a script penned by the the screenwriting legend responsible for both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Empire Strikes Back. It’s mind-boggling. The Hollywood Reporter claims that Warner Bros made the move in hopes that it will “bring action and geek cred to the table.”
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A while back, Yahoo posted a boat load of concept art from Jon Favreau’sIron Man. Hidden in the piles of artwork is Phil Saunders concept art of War Machine. Forgive me if you’ve already seen this, but my initial google search shows that not many people noticed.

“These three images I did at the very end of production as alternate suit designs that would have been in a Hall of Armor coda at the end of the film,” writes Saunders. “I spent a lot of time on developing this [War Machine] suit, which was of course cut from the script about half way through pre-production. Originally it was going to be called the MK IV armor and would have been weaponized swap-out parts that would be worn over the original MK III armor. Earlier versions were red and gold, and would have been worn by Tony Stark in the final battle sequence.”

But before you get too excited, Saunders warns that “if there is a War Machine in [Iron Man 2], it’s unlikely to be this one.”

You can also check out the other two concepts Saunders created above. One is an attempt at “suggesting ’stealth’ technology in the surface treatment of the suit” and was “ultimately abandoned as not being classic enough.” The other is an underwater suit which Avi Arad asked for, but was never featured in the film. Saunders explains that “Toy licensing is such a large part of the revenue from these films, there was a lot of pressure to use as many variations on the suit as possible in the film, all budgetary considerations notwithstanding. Needless to say, the underwater suit never saw the light of day, but in homage to Avi, I drew this one up as a possible addition to the hall of armor.”

by: Peter Sciretta

FROM: http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/katsuhiro_otomo.shtml

How did Bugmaster get off the ground?

The producer Satoru Ogura wanted to make a large-scale jidai geki in co-production with the people behind Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. He asked me if I would be interested in directing it. I hadn’t made a live action film in a long time, though, and I was quite out of touch with the technology needed for a project of that size, so I thought it would be really difficult for me to direct something like that.

However, I told Ogura that I did have the desire to adapt the manga Mushishi, which is also a kind of period piece. I’d read it and thought it would make an interesting film. It would give me an opportunity to mix live action and computer graphics, to create a hybrid of the natural and the virtual, and hopefully achieve a harmonious mixture of the two.

You are known for science fiction. What was the interest in doing a period piece for you?

I’ve always been interested in jidai geki and in making one. As a Japanese, you grow up watching jidai geki. Every filmmaker probably wants to do one, to be like Akira Kurosawa. But not everybody can be Kurosawa. Also, I’m not interested in making films that someone else has already made. If I make a film, I want it to be unlike anything and when you find an idea that might allow you to do that, like in the case of Bugmaster, it really motivates you.

To get the rights to make this film you had to meet the author Yuki Urushibara. Of course, normally people come to you with that question, because they want to adapt one of your own manga. How was it to be on the other side of the table?

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