De Palma a la Mod

Friday, December 9, 2011

CRUISE ON THE LANGLEY SCENE IN 'M:I'
"DE PALMA KNEW WE HAD THE SHOT, AND HE JUST HELD IT, AND HELD IT"

MTV News' Josh Horowitz talked with Tom Cruise on the red carpet as he was promoting Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, and asked him which of the set pieces in the M:I series was his favorite. When Cruise had trouble coming up with just one, Horowitz said it was hard to top the Langley break-in sequence of the first film. The article states that Cruise credits Brian De Palma for that scene's success. "I remember when I was doing it, my head kept hitting the floor," Cruise told Horowitz. "I was running out of energy, and we were running out of time. So Brian said, 'Look, if you don't get it on the next take, I'm going to have to edit that scene,' and cut to where I fall down. So I said, no, I don't want to do that. To one of the stunt guys, I said, 'Give me your pound coins out of your pocket.' I put the pound coins in my shoes, the tips, so that's what allowed me to be able to balance and keep off the floor for that whole shot. That kept my face from hitting the floor. And then De Palma knew that we had the shot, and he just held it, and held it. I was like, 'How long can I hold off the floor?' Brian had a fantastic laugh, and then he said, 'All right, cut.'"

Posted by Geoff at 6:23 PM CST
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Saturday, November 5, 2011

HERZOG: DE PALMA IS THE BETTER DIRECTOR THAN ME
AND BRAD BIRD DISCUSSES CRUISE/REDGRAVE DYNAMIC IN DE PALMA'S 'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE'

The second trailer for Brad Bird's upcoming Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol was released last week, and Flickering Myth's Rohan Morbey included this juxtaposition of a screen shot with one from Brian De Palma's 1996 M:I film. This placement of Jeremy Renner as a direct homage to De Palma and Tom Cruise's showstopping moment in the first film (which itself was an homage to Jules Dassin's Topkapi, MI creator Bruce Geller's original inspiration for the TV series) seems to bolster the idea (rumor) that Cruise and company are looking toward Renner to possibly take over at some point as lead actor in the franchise.

Bird told the Los Angeles Times' Geoff Boucher that he watched the earlier films in the series to find the playful rhythms he wanted to weave into his version. "One of my favorite moments acting-wise were the scenes [Cruise] did with Vanessa Redgrave; he kind of came alive in a slightly different way,” Bird told Boucher in reference to the De Palma picture. “You could tell he had a lot of respect for Redgrave and knew that he had to be on his game because she was going to get every drop out of her part of the scene, so he better get every drop of his. There was a playfulness to those scenes together that I really liked. When you see the [new] film, it’s a little more playful than the other Mission: Impossible films — hopefully without undermining the suspense or action.”

HERZOG: "IF I HAD TRIED TO MAKE 'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE', I WOULDN"T HAVE COME UP WITH A FILM AS INTENSE AS BRIAN DE PALMA"
Meanwhile, Cruise is currently shooting his next movie, One Shot, which also features Werner Herzog, not as director, but as actor. Herzog plays the villain in the Christopher McQuarrie adaptation of the novel by Lee Child, which Cruise is hoping will be the first film in a new franchise. Herzog spoke with Movieline's S.T. VanAirsdale yesterday about working with Cruise, and Cruise's knack for working with great directors. Herzog surprised VanAirsdale when he stated that De Palma "is certainly the better director than me." Here is the excerpt:

VanAirsdale: Cruise is an interesting actor to me — someone who’s never directed, but who’s instead worked with some of the foremost filmmakers of the last half-century: Kubrick, Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg, and many others. Have you met him?
Herzog: Yes.

What do you think of his regard for filmmakers? Do you think his wanting to work with you in this context was because he probably wouldn’t have the chance otherwise?
No, he does not work with me. He works with the director, Chris McQuarrie. I’m only a partner in crime onscreen. But let me try to describe him: Yes, he has worked with some very, very good — very good — serious filmmakers. But what strikes me is that sometimes you can tell from five miles’ distance: “This is a professional man. He means business.” He’s extremely well-prepared, very good to work with, very respectful — a very kind human being. And you can tell, strangely enough, from five miles’ distance.
McQuarrie aside, being on this set is probably as close to working with you as Tom Cruise is going to get, considering the films you make.
Not necessarily, because the kind of films he has been into — like Mission: Impossible — I’m convinced that… I don’t even know who made Mission: Impossible. Who directed Mission: Impossible?
The first one was Brian De Palma.
OK. Brian De Palma is certainly the better director than me.
Really?
If I had tried to make Mission: Impossible, I wouldn’t have come up with a film as intense as Brian De Palma. I mean this very film, for example. There are other people who do that better.
Fair enough.

Posted by Geoff at 5:56 PM CDT
Updated: Saturday, November 5, 2011 6:05 PM CDT
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Thursday, October 28, 2010

4TH M:I TO BE TITLED GHOST PROTOCOL
CRUISE ANNOUNCES NEW TITLE IN DUBAI PRIOR TO SHOOT
According to Gulf News, Tom Cruise held a press conference in Dubai today, where he was getting ready to begin shooting scenes for the fourth Mission: Impossible film with director Brad Bird. Cruise announced that the title of the new film will be Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. "One of the things I always wanted for the franchise was for it not to have a number afterwards," Cruise said, according to Gulf News. "I’ve never done sequels to films and I never thought of these films as sequels. Paramount has done a great job in coming up with a title, so it’s not going to be MI2, 3, 4: it’s going to be Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. I always felt it should have a title."

Posted by Geoff at 2:50 PM CDT
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Sunday, August 29, 2010

MI4'S WORKING TITLE IS ARIES

Between Variety and Deadline Hollywood last week, we found out that Paramount is "rebooting" the Mission: Impossible franchise with the fourth installment. Jeremy Renner has been cast as partner spy agent to Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, with an eye toward Renner taking over as the lead in future MI films. Brad Bird is directing, and the word is that the fourth film will not be called "Mission: Impossible 4." Now, Production Weekly has a listing for a film called "Aries (aka Mission: Impossible 4)." Meanwhile, several actresses are being tested for the female lead, according to another Deadline Hollywood post. The film will open in December of 2011.

Posted by Geoff at 1:13 AM CDT
Updated: Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:02 AM CDT
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Sunday, August 8, 2010

VING RHAMES TALKS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
AND SNARKY'S MACHINE SCREENS THE DE PALMA BLOCKBUSTER

Ving Rhames visited Lopez Tonight last week to promote his chainsaw-bearing role in the upcoming Piranha 3D, and mentioned a couple of things about the Mission: Impossible franchise. On the show, Rhames revealed that his character in the M:I films, Luther Stickell, was originally written to be one of the team members killed off in "the first six minutes" of the first film. "Now, I called Tom Cruise and Brian De Palma," Rhames told Lopez, "and I said, 'Why is it the black man dies in every action movie in the first six minutes?' Well, I'm about to do Mission: Impossible 4, so, uh, cha-ching and God bless." Since the Stickell character is a computer tech wiz, it seems likely he would have been essentially the one to die in the elevator shaft (that role ended up being played by Cruise's pal Emilio Estevez as an uncredited, and unadvertised, extended cameo-- people were surprised when the film began and the first real face they saw in color close-up on the big screen was Estevez'). Rhames had previously worked with De Palma when he portrayed Lt. Reilly in De Palma's Casualties Of War in 1989 (Mission: Impossible was released in 1996). If all goes as planned with the fourth installment, Rhames' Stickell will be the only character besides Cruise's Ethan Hunt to appear in all four M:I movies.

Meanwhile, a couple of months ago, Snarky's Machine watched Mission: Impossible and provided a terrifically entertaining running commentary. Here's a sample:

11:09 – I much prefer Cruise in one of those rubber face masks. I find his acting much more satisfying. Nothing too De Palma-y going on right now. Though the scenery looks an awful lot like the scenery in Phantom of the Paradise. Though like Emilio, I question Cruise’s decision to go with a Foghorn Leghorn accent. Very curious.

Posted by Geoff at 9:24 PM CDT
Updated: Sunday, August 8, 2010 9:24 PM CDT
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Friday, July 9, 2010

DESPICABLE RIFFS ON THE IMPOSSIBLE
ACCORDING TO CRITICS

The new animated film Despicable Me, which opens in theaters today, apparently includes a nod to Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible. According to Filmcritic.com's Sean O'Connell, "There's a memorable riff on Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible that involves a dangling shrink ray and a killer shark." (Of course, the dangling scene in M:I itself is a riff on Jules Dassin's Topkapi, which itself riffed on Dassin's own Rififi). The Toronto Star's Jason Anderson writes in his review that Despicable Me includes "swift spoofs of Mission: Impossible and The Godfather."

Posted by Geoff at 12:19 PM CDT
Updated: Friday, July 9, 2010 12:20 PM CDT
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Thursday, June 17, 2010

M:I ONE OF TEN BEST "PURE HOLLYWOOD ACTION" MOVIES
PLUS: A YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL THRILLER HAS DE PALMA POTENTIAL

Simon Brew at Den Of Geek has thought long and hard about it, and has now posted his list of "The 12 best pure Hollywood action movies of the 1990s." At number 10 is Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible, which Brew feels is De Palma's "last great movie." While I find the film brilliant, De Palma has actually made even better films since then, but here is what Brew writes about Mission: Impossible:

Mission: Impossible is a tight, taut action thriller, featuring some terrific set piece sequences (the kind that De Palma continually excels at).
It's also got a terrific cast, and one that Tom Cruise is happy to sit more as an ensemble member of (unlike, say, Mission: Impossible III). For while he's front and centre of the film for good chunks, just look at the memorable names around him. Vanessa Redgrave eats up the screen as Max, while the likes of Jean Reno, Jon Voight, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Beart and Ving Rhames are each good value, too. It'd be remiss not to mention David Schneider popping up right at the end, too.
But the thing we most take away from Mission: Impossible are wonderfully set-up action moments. De Palma knows how to wring maximum tension out of these, and it's his discipline in putting these sequences together that was sorely missed in the overblown first sequel. Furthermore, Mission: Impossible also benefits from a lean running time, meaning you're not left focussing too heavily on the occasionally over-wrought plot that the MI team are trying to uncover. Instead, you're just left to enjoy one of the very best action thrillers of the 90s.

YOUNG ADULT FILM FRANCHISE SOUNDS LIKE A MATCH FOR DE PALMA
While we're on the subject of kicking off franchises with a bang, The Hollywood Reporter's Jay A. Fernandez reported yesterday that Paramount and MTV Films will adapt the best-selling young adult paranormal thriller novel Wake. According to Fernandez, "Wake is the first of three novels written by [Lisa] McMann about a 17-year-old girl named Janie with the unwanted ability to become sucked into people’s dreams. Not surprisingly, she sees things she would rather not see. But when she gets pulled into a terrible nightmare, Janie dangerously goes from mere witness to participant." The script is being written by Christopher Landon, who co-wrote the Rear Window-esque Disturbia. This sounds like a project that would have huge potential for someone like Brian De Palma. I almost forgot to mention: Miley Cyrus is being talked about for the lead, but she wants to see the script first. I also forgot to mention: Paranormal Activity 2 producers Steven Schneider and Jason Blum are involved in this project, as well.

Posted by Geoff at 12:50 PM CDT
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

TOM CRUISE ASKS FANS:
WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO DIRECT MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE IV?

Tom Cruise is asking fans to name their "dream director" for Mission: Impossible IV, the franchise that Brian De Palma got off to a bang as director of the first installment. Cruise's official blog post states that a director has not yet been chosen, and then runs down the list of directors who helmed the first three films. The little bio for De Palma goes like this:

Known for his psychological thrillers like Carrie and Dressed to Kill, as well as graphic violence in gangster films like Scarface, The Untouchables, and Carlito’s Way, De Palma is often considered to be a member of “New Hollywood” generation of directors along with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola. In Mission: Impossible, De Palma made sure to kick off the franchise with lots of over-the-top action and explosions, including helicopters flying in train tunnels and a restaurant fish tank explosion.

Fans can submit director choices on the blog site, Cruise's Twitter page, or his Facebook Fan Page.

Posted by Geoff at 3:50 PM CDT
Updated: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 7:33 PM CDT
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Monday, March 15, 2010

PETER GRAVES DIES
AND SOME STILL BITTER ABOUT M:I LEADER-BECOMES-TRAITOR TWIST

Peter Graves, the actor who became famous for his role as Jim Phelps, leader of the Impossible Missions Force on the Mission: Impossible TV series, passed away over the weekend. He was 83. The tributes are proliferating over the web, and some are still bitter about the big twist in Brian De Palma's film adaptation of Mission: Impossible that turned the "heroic" Phelps into a traitor, embittered by the end of the cold war and the subsequent diminishing of his own power and status. Driven by greed, Phelps sells out his fellow spies and, as leader, directs many on his very own team to their own deaths. Nick Leshi at The Man Behind The Curtain calls De Palma's film a "travesty" because of the Phelps turn, calling it "a slap in the face." Yes it was a slap in the face, and it was meant to be. This kind of treason happens in the real world, and here was a great opportunity to take a character whose work is based on deception, and to show that the world he lives in is not as cut and dry as the old TV series might have us believe. These are spies, through and through. John Woo even toyed with the idea of an evil Ethan Hunt in his sequel to De Palma's film (the villain of that film wears a mask to look like the Tom Cruise character). Mitchell Hadley feels that Graves was right to turn down the role in De Palma's film, writing, "You know, just as fans of the show know, that Jim Phelps would never betray his country. Sure, Jon Voight, who winds up playing the role in the movie, is a good actor, as well as a good patriot in real life. But he’s no Jim Phelps, and both you and everyone else knows it." Voight was a great choice for the role, but Graves really should have taken it (if he was actaully ever asked to)-- it would have been fantastic.

Posted by Geoff at 4:35 PM CDT
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Saturday, November 7, 2009

DE PALMA FILM ON WORLD'S BIGGEST MOVIE SCREEN
OUTDOOR DRIVE-IN SCREENING OF MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TO BREAK WORLD RECORD

Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible will play on the world's biggest movie screen tonight at England's Pinewood Studios, where parts of the film were shot. De Palma's film will kick off a winter series of drive-in screenings that includes Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Full Metal Jacket, among others. The studio's water filming facility is being "temporarily transformed into the world's largest cinema screen," according to the press release, which continues:

The largest movie screenings ever recorded have been to mass audiences in Norway and Japan. In 1996 the Oslo Spektrum’s 70mm film screening of Independence Day measured 40.24m in width, and in 2008 the Tokyo Dome played host to a 37m wide IMAX premiere of Speed Racer. Pinewood aims to break the existing world record for the largest ever movie projection with its outdoor drive-in screening of Mission: Impossible this Saturday 7th November. Managing the projection of Pinewood’s Drive-In, QED Productions Director Paul Wigfield says "We’re projecting onto the world’s largest screen at Pinewood, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for QED to demonstrate the very latest projection technology from Christie, the world leaders in digital cinema. Mission: Impossible seems the perfect choice to beat the existing world record and it will look absolutely sensational."

Posted by Geoff at 1:09 AM CST
Updated: Saturday, November 7, 2009 1:11 AM CST
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