ScreenCrave.com » 2012

The 10 Best Youtube Trailer Remixes Ever

Rohan Ramakrishnan — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:00:04 +0000

The trailer remix is a noble art where a trailer for a movie is remixed (hence the name) into something that looks completely different. Horror becomes comedy, comedy becomes action, action becomes romance… you get the picture. To this end, we’ve decided to count down the 10 best trailer remixes of all time. Enjoy!

10. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The Original: A zany teen comedy.
The Remix: A heartbreaking sob story.

This remix asks a simple question: What if Ferris Bueller’s illness wasn’t just a made-up excuse to get out of school but was actually life-threatening? In the alternate reality of the trailer, Ferris has only one day left to live – adding poignancy to the title – and decides to spend it doing awesome stuff with his friends. We shed a few manly tears.

9. The Fast and the Curious

The Original: A fast-paced car thriller.
The Remix: A tale of forbidden love.

With a name like “The Fast and The Curious,” there’s really only one thing this could possibly be. This trailer takes the mildly homoerotic tension between Vin Diesel and the blond protagonist up to Brokeback Mountain levels, replacing the romantic subplot of Vin Diesel’s sister with Vin himself. Tasteless? Maybe. Funny? Oh yeah.

8. 10 Things I Hate About Commandments

The Original: A biblical/historical epic.
The Remix: A high school comedy.

Imagine Mean Girls set 3000 years ago. Now imagine the girls are guys, and the guys are Pharaoh Ramses and Moses. It’s amazing what a change of soundtrack and a bunch of shots of drunk partying Egyptians does for a story; we have no idea how anyone could think this kind of thing up, but we’re glad they did.

7. West Side Story

The Original: A musical take on Romeo and Juliet.
The Remix: A zombie horror flick.

Wait, what? Admittedly, something always seemed off about the finger-snapping so-called gang members in the original, but zombies? But hey, we’ll roll with it; the zombies in question appear to be running and glowing like traffic lights, and while that doesn’t fit with the usual undead trope it’s actually pretty darn terrifying. 28 Stories Later, anyone?

6. Must Love Jaws

The Original: A suspenseful tale of man-vs-beast.
The Remix: A family-friendly animal movie.

You got Free Willy in my Jaws! No, you got Jaws in my Free Willy! Made by the same geniuses who did 10 Things I Hate About Commandments, if this movie was actually released instead of Jaws it would have had the exact opposite effect, making people appreciate these (fairly) gentle giants of the deep instead of staying out of the water.

5. Xmas Origins: Santa

The Original: A wacky holiday comedy.
The Remix: A kickass superhero film.

Some masterful splicing of actual superhero films – including The Punisher, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and The Dark Knight – alongside the actual Santa Clause trailer leads to an actually pretty awesome-looking movie. And given the “dark, gritty reboot” bug that seems to be infecting Hollywood, maybe this isn’t so farfetched.

4. Scary Mary

The Original: A classic kids’ movie.
The Remix: A supernatural horror story.

We’ve always thought something seemed terribly wrong about Mary Poppins’ unexplained magical powers, and it turns out we were totally right. She’s actually some sort of Satanic demon sent from hell to terrorize little children. We can’t really imagine anything more traumatic for a kid to watch than this. Well, except for…

3. Home Alone

The Original: Another classic kids’ movie.
The Remix: A gory slasher movie.

…And now your childhood is ruined. Sleep tight, kids!

2. 2012: It’s a Disaster!

The Original: A disaster movie.
The Remix: A disaster movie… parody.

The genius of this remix is that it doesn’t really change the genre, but instead cranks it all up to 11 in every sense of the phrase. Let’s be honest here: you didn’t go into 2012 for the plot or characters; you wanted to see things exploding and/or falling apart, and this trailer knows it. Definitely the movie we most wish was made.

1. Shining

The Original: A paranormal horror movie.
The Remix: A heartwarming redemption tale.

However, we have to give the top spot to the remix that’s both the most influential and the best. Turns out that under all the dark and creepy stuff in The Shining there was a beautiful story about a kid needing his dad. No one goes nuts, Jack finds an equitable balance between work and play, they drive off to the tune of Solsbury Hills, and everyone lives happily ever after.

What do you think? Did we leave any others out?

Top 5 Movies: When The Earth Strikes Back!

Krystal Clark — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:33:45 +0000

In honor of Earth Day we’ve decided to put together a list of the top 5 movies that feature the earth fighting back. We’ve seen plenty of films where men have gone up against aliens, monsters, and even each other but what about the planet? Sometimes Mother Nature is known to put her foot down when it comes to pollution, global warming, and the occasional space invasion. When she’s on the warpath expect to see massive earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami’s, and tornado’s because everything under the sun (literally) is fair game. What can you do when earth turns against you?

Here are 5 movies that feature the earth kicking ass and taking names…

5. Twister – When Tornadoes Attack!

Twister landed in the number 5 spot because it proved that not only can tornadoes blow stuff over, but they also make loud groaning noises when they’re hungry and then eat people… seriously they can. Now go recycle!

They don’t like regular people and they really don’t like storm chasers. When Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt‘s character’s try to slip their device in the middle of the biggest tornado Oklahoma has ever seen, it tosses houses, cars, and even cows. But somehow thanks to the magic of movie making their lives are spared all because of a pole and a belt. They fought Mother Nature with a pole and a fashion accessory and lived to tell about it.

Watch the Trailer:

4. Dante’s Peak – When Volcanoes Attack!

Dante’s Peak proves that no matter how much danger you’re in, there’s always an alternate route. Volcanoes may be violently dangerous, but if you’re the lead in your own movie, you’ll be FINE! But it’s a good reason why to make sure you always have a life raft nearby!

They’ll pretend that they’re sleeping and the next thing you know they’re spewing ash all over the place and interfering with international flight plans (we’re looking at you Iceland). This movie landed on our list because of the awesome eruption scene that takes place near the end. The volcano really lets the townspeople have it and we’re not just talking about lava, it caused acid rain and plenty of black smoke. Nobody saw that coming.

Watch the Trailer:

3. The Day After Tomorrow – When Glaciers Attack!

The Day After Tomorrow crept is what happens when the earth gets sick of global warming and decides to fuck us all up. That’s right all you Hummer drivers, prepare to freeze because you think you look cool!

Coming in at number 3, this movie showed all of New York City being turned into a giant piece of ice and the only person who could save the human population was Dennis Quaid! How are we supposed to survive when he’s the man with all the answers? This made us think twice about pollution because if we don’t get it together Mother Nature will put our asses on ice, just look at what she did to Jake Gyllenhaal.

Watch the Trailer:

2. Deep Impact – When Comets Attack!

Deep Impact is what happened after space saw that commercial with the person throwing trash out the window and a Native American crying… Damn you humans!!! Take this!

Sitting pretty at number two, the science fiction and natural disaster genre literally collided when this movie came out. It features not one but two comets that are gearing up to rip the planet a new one. The first one hit and caused the biggest tidal wave that we’d ever seen on screen and the second threatened to create a cloud of smoke so thick it would black out the sun for years. While all this was happening, do you know what Mother Nature was doing? Nothing! You’d think she’d try to create extra oxygen for us or something.

Watch the Trailer:

1. 2012 – When EVERYTHING Attacks!

2012 lands at number one spot because it doesn’t just destroy America like the rest of the movies, it blows up the world! And! It used all the disasters in the previous four movies in one. So everyone is fucked!

Roland Emmerich really upped his game when he created some of the most insane disaster scenes ever produced. You need an earthquake? Check. What about a tsunami? Check. Is there a tornado in there? Yep. Are countries shifting? Yes. Is stuff on fire? Of course! Are there explosions? Plenty. Has any disaster stone been left unturned in this movie? No. Mother Earth said screw us and the horse we rode in on because she was about to start over.

Watch the Trailer:

What do you think of our top 5 disaster movies? What film do you think should be added to the list?

Weekend Box Office: 2012 Blows Everyone to Hell

Mali Elfman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:08:45 +0000

This weekend, the competition was literally blown away by Roland Emmerich‘s latest flick, 2012. The movie brought in an estimated 65 million dollars at the box office, coming in at number one over last week’s champ, A Christmas Carol. The Disney film came in second with just over 22 million dollars, which isn’t a far drop from it’s debut. But something tells me that movie could have brought in a lot more money if it was actually released around a holiday.

On a side note, the indie features The Men Who Stare at Goats and Precious are managing to stay strong with the 3rd and 4th spots on the box office chart. At his point in his career, can George Clooney ever go wrong?

Check out the numbers below…

2012 | New | Sony | Weekend Gross $65,000,000 | Average Per Film $19,095 | Weekend Gross $65,000,000 | Production Budget $200 | Week 1
A Christmas Carol (2009) | LW 2 | BV | Weekend Gross $22,325,000 | Average Per Film $6,062 | Weekend Gross $63,289,000 | Production Budget $200 | Week 2
The Men Who Stare at Goats | LW3 | Over. | Weekend Gross $6,200,000 | Average Per Film $2,528 | Weekend Gross $23,376,000 | Production Budget $25 | Week 2
Precious | LW 12 | LGF | Weekend Gross $6,090,000 | Average Per Film $35,000 | Weekend Gross $8,915,000 | Production Budget $10 | Week 2
Michael Jackson’s This Is It | LW 2 | Sony | Weekend Gross $5,100,000 | Average Per Film $1,679 | Weekend Gross $68,211,000 | Week 3
The Fourth Kind | LW 4 |Uni. | Weekend Gross $4,744,000 | Average Per Film $1,875 | Weekend Gross $20,588,000 | Week 2
Couples Retreat| LW 7 | Uni. | Weekend Gross $4,253,000 | Average Per Film $1,695 | Weekend Gross $102,133,000 | Production Budget $70 | Week 6
Paranormal Activity | LW 5 | Par. | Weekend Gross $4,200,000 | Average Per Film $1,549 | Weekend Gross $103,847,000 | Production Budget $0.015 | Week 8
Law Abiding Citizen| LW 8 | Over. | Weekend Gross $3,932,000 | Average Per Film $1,899 | Weekend Gross $67,326,000 | Production Budget $50 | Week 5
The Box | LW 6 | WB | Weekend Gross $3,185,000 | Average Per Film $1,209 | Weekend Gross $13,206,000 | Production Budget $30 | Week 2

What did you pay to see this past weekend?

Movie Releases: 2012, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Pirate Radio…

Kara — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:36:19 +0000

We have quite the coverage this week. We literally have interviews and reviews for every movie coming out from Roland Emmerich’s 2012 to Women in Trouble. Then there is the more family friendly, but still fun for the adults, Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson. Pirate Radio is the a comedy with an all-star cast about the radio stations in the 60′s that set up shop off the British coast. There are quite a couple of indie movies coming out this week, but they’re definitely worth checking to see if they are playing near you.

Check out all the movies hitting theaters this week with reviews and interviews…

2012 | ScreenCrave Review | Press Conference | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
Fantastic Mr. Fox [Limited] | ScreenCrave Review | Reviews | Tickets an Showtimes
Pirate Radio | ScreenCrave Review | Nick Frost Interview | Talulah Riley Interview | Tom Sturridge Interview | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
The Messenger [Limited] | ScreenCrave Review | Oren Moverman Interview | Ben Foster Interview | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
Dare [Limited] | Adam Salky and David Brind Interview | ScreenCrave Review | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
Women in Trouble [Limited] | ScreenCrave Review| Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes

Watch the trailers below…

2012

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Pirate Radio

The Messenger

Dare

Women in Trouble

2012: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:59:17 +0000

Roland Emmerich destroys the world again and this time, there’s no place to hide! If you believe the Mayans than the end of the world is less than 3 years away. Doesn’t that sound like something that should be exploited in theaters? If you’re a fan of these types of movies, than chances are, you know Roland and you exactly what you’re paying to see when you walk into that theater. The film is a triumph for its genre and will not disappoint those looking for to see some major destruction.

The Players:

Director: Roland Emmerich
Writers: Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser
Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt

The Plot:

2012 comes and the world comes to an end. Simple and sweet. The whole added thing of a few lucky ones who get to go on an arch (made by the Chinese) to survive is also there, but we know why you’re all really going… the giant waves!

The Good:

Action: When the world first starts falling apart the action is so intense and tangible that you’ll literally feel like you can put your hands in the air and go for a ride with the air (and lava) blowing through your hair. If there is one thing that Roland knows how to do it’s send nature after humans, and he does so well.
The Topic of Religion: As much as this is a fun film, it isn’t afraid to poke fun at the government and religion on it’s way to mass destruction. The Queen, the Pope, our Governator, none are spared.
Detail of Mega-Sets: From the tiny men dangling from huge buildings to the huge cracks in the asphalt, nothing in this film was left behind, everything was thought about and well executed. The special effects team on this film were (as expected) absolutely amazing.
Unsympathetic: No one is safe in Roland’s world and he makes no apologies when he kills of characters you’re almost sure will make it to the end. Of course if you’re religious, you’re dead.

The Bad:

[Note: Anything that I didn't like only pertains to this movie if you're judging it in terms of a "normal film." This is not a film, it's an action pack thrill RIDE. Don't start picking at it because you want everything to be based in facts. This is not an educational film, there are no "facts" in Roland land, just enjoy the waves!]

Melodrama: As to be expected, but yes it’s there. Sometimes you’ll be yelling at the screen saying “I don’t care if you all die, lets get to the next way of killing everyone!”
Length: It’s a loong wild ride and chances are that by the end of it, your ass will be numb. It could have 20 minutes cut out of it and we’d all be fine with it.
Same Tricks: He does repeat some of the same tricks within the movie. Three times in a row, a plane has the exact same issues taking off. Once or twice would be okay, but three times?

Overall:

There is nothing really new in the film, but it knows what it is and is honest about it.

Rating: 8/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

2012 Press Conference: Emmerich, Cusack, Peet, Ejiofor

Mali Elfman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:54:03 +0000

2012 crashes into theaters this weekend with all the destruction you could possibly hope for. A few weeks ago in Wyoming not far from the highly explosive Yellowstone National Park, we got to talk to director Roland Emmerich, John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and Chiwetel Ejiofor on their thoughts about big budget action films, the myths behind 2012, and how Roland decides which monuments to destroy and which to leave alone.

If you’re too lazy to read the edited version of the press conference below, you can listen to full press conference here (you might want to skip to about 4 minutes in, there’s a lot of babbling until about 3:10 after Amanda Peet comes in):

What are your personal thoughts of what will happen in 2012?

Roland Emmerich: It is peculiar how 2012 is this date that there are a lot of ideas about it, and we chose the destructive one. I think destruction works better in the movie. The preparations, well, I will go ski. It is December 21st, which is skiing season. I will chose the highest mountain there is. If the world ends, you know, what can I do? If not, I will ski down.

John Cusack: I will try to get on Roland’s trip to be on that mountain.

Amanda Peet: Yeah, can I come?

John Cusack: Do you know the book, The Return of Queztacoatl? That book, I think, is a little more in line with what I think will happen; a shift in consciousness. That seemed to be more of what I think will happen rather than an actual end of days.

Chiwetel Ejiofor: I don’t ski, so I can’t join them. Unfortunately. Besides, I think avalanches are something to worry about, so I’ll just spend it kind of quietly with family and friends and hope for the best. I don’t have a real opinion about 2012. I think it is, like John said, a shift in consciousness. It feels like things are converging and that something has to change, and maybe it will center around that time.

Amanda Peet: I am kind of a hypochondriac, and I worry about a lot of things, so I’m really going try to not worry about it too much.

How much scientific research was done for this script?

Emmerich: From the beginning, there was the Earth’s crust displacement theory, which we found was a theory that was big enough, in a way, to cause all this flooding. That was the main reason why I chose this one. Before we started writing the script, we actually met with a professor of science at USC, in Los Angeles, and asked him how it could all unfold. He told us first that he doesn’t believe in the displacement theory. We asked him if he could give us some insight, and he said the only way this could work is if a molecule mutated into another kind of particle. He said from that moment, all bets are off. No scientist would say that this could not happen because this has never happened before. That was the concept we chose. I also believe that there has some sort of feeling of believability in the movie.

In earlier versions of the script, did you ever have a stronger focus on the cosmology or was that already figured out and get to the disasters?

Emmerich: We discussed that too. We said we wanted a little bit of that at the beginning. First of all, there are so many theories and so many different ways to do it. We just felt it has to be over relatively fast. At the end, it is not only a story about 2012, but it is a modern retelling of Noah’s Ark.

Do you think of this film as a sort of cautionary tale?

Emmerich: I don’t think the film is to warn about anything, so it is not a cautionary tale. It is a cautionary tale in a way, maybe in a way of if this is going to happen, what is important in life and what is savable, and how should we save things. For me, I am always a little suspicious of governments, so it is also an expression of that. Then I always think movies have to be fun. If a movie is not fun, I don’t want to do it.

Cusack: I think it also taps into the paranoia around the world.

Ejiofor: People tend to in tragedies. Obviously, in the tragedies we see in the world now. People tend to find great unity in that. I think that is one of the things this story talks about. I think you have to have a lot of optimism in humanity and people. I think that is part of this story and what it is getting at. There is an inherent good and these things bring them out sometimes.

For the actors, was this the most physical movie you have ever done, and what was it like working in front of a green screen?

Cusack: Yeah, this was pretty action packed for sure. It wasn’t any different than a lot of films, in a way, because of the production design. Usually, you have the entire set built, and then in back of the set would be a green screen. There was a massive production design team working on the set. When we were on the mountain at the end, there would be a huge glacier field and there would be blue screens in the background, so we were always acting with regular sets; it was the backgrounds that were being digitally enhanced…Yeah, a lot of running, jumping, and tumbling. You got to stay stretched out or you could pull a hamstring, for sure.

Ejiofor: I got off pretty lightly being in the government. Yeah, I had a couple of days of fun work, but that was it. I was slightly envious not to be able to work on the shaky floor. It looked pretty cool.

John, what was the hardest thing for you to do in this movie?

Cusack: I thought it was pretty fun actually. It was a great group of people, the story was great, and the studio was great. Roland has done this so many times before. What would be a crushing technical process for other directors, he seems to do very effortlessly, so he just focuses on the characters. I got to work with Amanda again. It was a great part. It was kind of a good gig all the way around.

Amanda, can you talk about you saw your character’s relationship with John’s character when you read the script?

Peet: John’s character was my true love and I was really hurt by different things. I kind of chose a different path. That’s the end of the story. I think that’s how I saw it and obviously.

Chiwetel, how much did you learn from the experience of making Endgame? And what is the importance of helping young filmmakers?

Ejiofor: I had a really interesting time on that project. I didn’t know anything about the talks at all. I knew that Thabo Mbeki had been exiled to London…I knew that they were being hunted down by the secret police in South Africa, but I didn’t know that William Young had organized these talks between the Africans. When I read the script and got involved in the project, I was really amazed by how quiet the story was, how accurate the film is, and how much those talks did progress the movement for the release of Nelson Mandela. I think it is an amazing period of history and a real indication that these negotiated talks can really bring extraordinary results.

Roland, you tend to add in a lot of humor with the disaster films, and this film had a lot of funny dialogue. Did you intentionally try to insert the funny dialogue to offset the catastrophic events?

Emmerich: Yeah, it was a little like that in a way. I had this discussion with, Harold, my co-writer. We kind of asked ourselves what the tone of the movie should be. I always believe that when such an extreme thing happens, and it is about survival, you have to give the people release. If they cannot laugh once in a while, they will not enjoy the movie. We went for the tone of Independence Day, which is similar. For The Day After Tomorrow, I didn’t want to do that because I thought with the theme of the movie, and what I wanted to tell, it was too serious.

Do you like to choose which places you will destroy in your films?

Emmerich: Well, it is not like I walk around and I think, “Well I could destroy this or I can destroy that.” It is like a world tour, “Why did you destroy our city?” It is just the fact that it has to come out of the story. Jackson Curtis lives in LA, and I live in LA. You know, everyone in LA constantly talks about when California will sink into the ocean, and then we just decided to do that. It was like a starting point. Yellowstone Park was kind of intricate in the story too. Yes, we knew in the beginning that we wanted to have certain events and then we kind of followed that. Then sometimes it is born from something quite interesting. For example, at one point, we discussed some part you could not save. For example, the Sistine Chapel and the famous painting where God and Adam touch fingers. I said, “Oh great, we have to show how this gets destroyed.” Then we said, “Well we are already there, why don’t we have the church fall on people’s heads?” I am against organized religion so that is how we thought of it.

Cusack: You have to be careful if you are standing outside the church.

Emmerich: The message is never pray in front of a big church. Pray by yourself. Then there is this funny thing, where we had one angle where you see the Pope in the background, and these shots were done in England by the same guys who did Angels & Demons. They conveniently left out the Pope, and I said, “We have to see a little bit of him. He is the Chairman after all.”

What about the JFK Aircraft carrier destroying the White House?

Emmerich: Again, Harold said, “If you don’t destroy the White House, you will be asked about that.” I said, “ I cannot destroy the White House again.” He said, “Well, just do it in a different way.” At that time, I was reading a lot about the Kennedys. As a kid, maybe about twelve and a half, I visited these old war ships in the Chesapeake Bay and they had just inaugurated JFK there. I was really excited as a kid. It was about a wave, and then you know JFK comes back to the White House. I thought it was kind of clever. I told Harold, “Let’s go for it!”

Roland, you previously mentioned that you are against organized religion and we see these Christian monuments destroyed. Why not do something really controversial and do another Islamic site?

Emmerich: I wanted to do that, but my co-writer, Harold, said, “I will not want to have a target on my head because of a movie.” He was right. In the Western world, we have to think about it.

Did you have any visual references of the destruction to know how to react properly?

Peet: Tommy.

Emmerich: It was a Scottish accent.

Peet: Do it John, come on.

Cusack: It was a mascot for me. Does Scottish accent. He is screaming. He is the most fantastic guy in the world.

Peet: You have a camera this close to you, and obviously you are looking at nothing. He would have to narrate, basically bit-by-bit, what tragic [event] we were responding to.

Emmerich: When it comes down to the scene, you want to do it in one take because you cannot ask the actors to do it in pieces. You have to figure out how to do it. Tommy came to me and said, “Okay, give me the key points.” Then we wrote them down and he was just reading them off a piece of paper with great emotion. Everyday he was as enthusiastic as it gets.

Peet: It was hard for us new people to know how to calibrate our responses to this incredible destruction.

Cusack: He had it all rigged out, almost like a video game. You wouldn’t really see it in all it’s detail, but you knew that you were going to be flying through these two buildings with a train going over your head, so you knew the sequence. The planes and the cars were all on hydraulics. When I come to pick them up, there is an entire city block with white picket fences and houses and the whole thing was on hydraulics. A whole city block with cars on it was pulsating, so it was like walking onto a pretty wild set. It wasn’t all green screen and imagination.

You tend to have a lot of melodramatic elements in your films, why do you add in these elements as opposed to just action?

Emmerich: When you tell stories about human beings, some people call it melodramatic. I call it heartfelt and true. I think when you make movies like this, you have to make people laugh, cry, and scared. I try to do that.

Check out the film in theaters November 13th!

Further Reading:

Roland Emmerich Drinking Game for 2012

Mali Elfman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:53:00 +0000

This week in theaters, Roland Emmerich, the master of cinematic world-destruction will be releasing his latest film 2012 with Amanda Peet and John Cusack. The film feels like you’re on a roller-coaster ride with the world crashing down around you. The only way to make the movie even more fun is to add some booze! We all know that Emmerich likes to add a few jokes about religion and politics while coming up with the best damn way to kill everyone in the world, so why not cheers to another Emmerich masterpiece?

Without further ado, I introduce to you, The Roland Emmerich Drinking Game!

Drink Whenever You See:

A Giant Wave – Bigger the wave, bigger the chug!
A Political Figure Being Mocked
A Religious Icon Being Killed/Destroyed
A Plane take off, dip down, and then regain flight
A crack suddenly appears, opens up and tries to consume someone
You hear someone with a ridiculous over the top accent
You see a tiny little man in the background dangling off a building and then falling to his death

Bonus Shots: Drink every time you think Woody Harrelson shot his scenes high.

Follow these simple rules and I guarantee you’ll be shitfaced by the end of the film! Enjoy!

Note: This drinking game was made for 2012, but with a few minor adjustments you could also use it for The Day After Tomorrow or Independence Day. Just swap Woody for Jeff Goldblum and waves for explosions in Independence Day. And for The Day After Tomorrow, add in whenever you see someone breathing in and out fake movie breath.

2012 Makes John Cusack an Action Star

Mali Elfman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:57:32 +0000

John Cusack has been in the acting game for 20 plus years and is mainly known for his quirky demeanor and unique performances. You’ve seen him in supporting roles, as the lead in an offbeat comedy or even a dark thriller, but never running around dodging debris in a full out action film. If you look at his resume, he’s never been the gung ho jump-from a burning building type so what made him want to take on the genre with the king of disaster movies, Roland Emmerich?

We recently caught up with Cusack at a press conference for the film 2012, and he shed some light on why he finally made the big leap (figuratively and literally) to becoming an action star.

A lot of you are probably thinking that this is nothing new because Cusack was featured in the 1997 blockbuster, Con-Air. Well, guess what? The key word in that sentence is “featured”, everyone knows that movie was all Nicolas Cage and his long flowing wig. Although some people are considering this a big change, Cusack was excited to get involded in the process.

“I think it was the combination of the project, director, and the actors. It was nice to be wanted… I got the call, and they told me, “Roland Emmerich’s movie, they want you to do it, and we’ll send you the script.” I said, “Great!” Then I read the script and it was a real page-turner. I thought it was very surprising. By the end of the film, I actually got quite emotional and very tense. I just thought it was a really good, big, epic movie all the way around.”

This could easily be considered Cusack’s most physically demanding and effects driven film to date…

“There was a massive production design team working on the set. When we were on the mountain at the end, there would be a huge glacier field and there would be blue screens in the background, so we were always acting with regular sets; it was the backgrounds that were being digitally enhanced. Yeah, a lot of running, jumping, and tumbling. You got to stay stretched out or you could pull a hamstring, for sure.”

Even though there was a lot of movement involved, Cusack didn’t see the filmmaking process as tedious as you might think.

“I thought it was pretty fun actually. It was a great group of people, the story was great, and the studio was great. Roland has done this so many times before. What would be a crushing technical process for other directors, he seems to do very effortlessly, so he just focuses on the characters.”

Although many of us don’t think of Cusack as an action hero, he found himself quite comfortable in the role. When asked about the challenges of doing a film like this, he was all smiles…

“I thought it was pretty fun actually. It was a great group of people, the story was great, and the studio was great. Roland has done this so many times before. What would be a crushing technical process for other directors, he seems to do very effortlessly, so he just focuses on the characters. I got to work with Amanda again. It was a great part. It was kind of a good gig all the way around.”

He’s got that right, if there’s anything Roland Emmerich knows how to do it’s destroy the world with some technical savvy. He’s like the MacGyver of disaster movies, just give him a camera, some string and an open fuse. Even though John is revered for his lighter roles, it’s good to see him step outside the box into something that has him fighting against conformity or in this case, the elements.

What do you think of John Cusack taking on an action role in 2012?

Roland Emmerich on His Shakespeare Film

Mali Elfman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:28:07 +0000

After 2012 gets released, action-thriller director Roland Emmerich plans on trading in tidal waves and earthquakes for a more subtle and dramatic challenge, Shakespeare. Or rather a fictional story about the man who may have actually written Shakespeare’s plays.

You might see this as a huge jump for Emmerich, who won’t have the big budget and special effects that he’s used to for his next film, but there’s a connection between the two. So far, every feature we’ve seen from him has been a form of fiction based on realistic theories. He definitely has a passion for what MIGHT be true and likes to bring us the most dramatic version possible. It works with destroying the world, now let’s see if it works with 17th century playwrights.

The screenplay was written by John Orloff, who wrote A Mighty Heart and the TV series Band of Brothers so this film has the chance to be more than just a “thriller,” possibly even something with insight and depth. People like to question the reality around Shakespeare’s works, in the same way they’re curious about the theories behind 2012. In a way, Emmerich’s taking what he does best and putting an academic spin on it.

Are you going to have to scale back a bit for your Shakespeare project?

Emmerich: Yeah, you cannot do a Shakespeare project for that kind of money (laughs). I’ve actually had this project for 8 years. It’s always supposed to be my next movie, but this time I’m really going to do it because I’m already set to shoot on March 22 and I’m in the casting process right now, which for me is the most nerve racking because you have to make decisions. I start shooting, in 4-5 days, the first plates.

What’s it about?

Emmerich: It’s a story about how it came to be that William Shakespeare was not the author of [his] plays.

Marlowe?

Emmerich: No, not Marlowe, it’s [Edward] De Vere a playwright out of Oxford. It’s a little bit like a political thriller. It’s about who will succeed Elizabeth’s [reign] and the cause of that thriller is the Essex rebellion. You learn how it could have been that the plays were written by somebody else who never ever could stay clear [of trouble].

How accurate will it be in terms of the Elizabethan context?

Emmerich: Well, it has been very well researched. The writer is John Orloff, he has worked on the script for two years before I got involved and he did a really, really good job. I just discussed it with several actors who are very knowledgeable of the time and they were really pleased at how accurate it is. Naturally you always have real events sometimes and facts for the dramatic reasons, but it’s pretty well researched.

He later talked about how although people associate him with huge end of the world projects, 2012 will likely be his last film in the disaster genre, at least for a while. He said that they “had to convince him” to do this and it seemed as if he was more than ready to take on another type of movie.

Both Amanda Peet and John Cusack have nothing but good things to say about working with the director on the action packed scenes as well as the more intimate and dramatic ones.

Peet: It is really incredible how intimate he is able to be, and how gentle, and how he never loses his cool. I remember one particular scene with John with our kids… he just kept saying, you’re not getting it, this is about you and him and your relationship… He’s just incredibly smart and very intuitive about very subtle things. On this massive scale he becomes incredibly intimate and doesn’t stop shooting, even a small moment like that, until it has subtext, emotion, and something really authentic.

Cusack: I concur. I’ve worked on some movies on big scopes, it’s very rare to meet a director that can do both.

That being said, when asked if he would ever do another film like his former he said “never, say never.”

Do you think Roland Emmerich can pull off a Shakespearean period piece?

New 2012 Theatrical Trailer

Krystal Clark — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:51:23 +0000

The second theatrical trailer for Roland Emmerich‘s 2012 has arrived. The film hits theaters on November 13th and stars John Cusack as a man who has to lead his family to salvation in the middle of a global disaster. The film also features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, and Danny Glover. Unlike its predecessor this trailer actually gives us some insight into why the world is falling apart.

Check out the latest trailer for 2012…

The year 2012 has been at the center of a heated debate for what seems like forever. Various cultures suspect that it will be the year the world ends, and mankind is brought to it’s knees. With this film, Emmerich makes sure he does everything he can to make the event seem as real as possible. Sure the graphics aren’t as great as they could be, but this looks like it’s going to be an awesome popcorn movie.

What do you think of the second trailer for 2012?

2012 Extended Video Clip

Krystal Clark — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:48:45 +0000

Last night the television networks went crazy when over 100 channels premiered a five minute clip from the Roland Emmerich film, 2012. The footage will look eerily familiar to those of you who attended the movie’s panel at this year’s Comic-Con. It’s pretty much the same footage, but they edited out a swear word or two for general audience purposes. The language may be different, but the onslaught of destruction stays the same.

Take a look at the extended clip from 2012…

I love the magic of movie making, because in the middle of a natural disaster we all know someone who’s a certified pilot, right? The amount of destruction shown in this five minute clip, should give you a gauge of how CGI heavy this movie will be. Some of the stuff is way over the top but then again that’s what makes it so fun. It’s a guilty pleasure.

2012 hits theaters on November 13, 2009.

New Explosive 2012 Photos

Krystal Clark — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:50:02 +0000

The Roland Emmerich disaster flick, 2012 won’t hit theaters for another two months, but we’ve got just the thing to tide you over. On the UK website Heyuguys, they’ve posted a batch of photos from the movie that features nothing but fear and destruction. Those are the two things that every good Roland Emmerich film needs and without them we have nothing. Good thing there’s plenty of that to go around in this apocalyptic CGI-fest.

Take a look and the wreckage…

To browse our gallery, select any photo and it will enlarge and then allow you to scroll through the photos…

For more 2012 destruction check out the international trailer, an airplane clip from the film, and the latest poster.

The year 2012 has been at the center of a heated debate for what seems like forever. Various cultures suspect that it will be the year the world ends, and mankind is brought to it’s knees. With this film, Emmerich makes sure he does everything he can to make the event seem as real as possible. 2012 stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, and Danny Glover.

2012 debuts in theaters nationwide on November 13th.

What do you think of the latest photos from 2012?

ScreenCrave.com » 2012

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