hitchcock
De Palma’s THE BOSTON STRANGLER and more Inglorious Basterd’s Pics !
This morning story courtesy AICN via Jenna Busch and UGO Movie Blog.
It’s been quiet since THE BOSTON STRANGLERS was announced last June as a vehicle for Brian De Palma, but, according to producer Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator 2, The Abyss, Aliens, The Terminator and De Palma’s Raising Cain), it’s still in the pipeline and slated for a Spring production. The screenplay is based off the book “The Boston Stranglers: The Public Conviction of Albert DeSalvo and the True Story of Eleven Shocking Murders,” by Susan Kelly.
The Master.
It’s based on Susan Kelly’s book called The Boston Stranglers, because everything that we think we know is wrong. There was a film made right after the events called THE BOSTON STRANGLER starring Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda. And it posits that Albert DeSalvo was the Boston Strangler, but the truth is, if you scratch beneath the surface, Albert DeSalvo was never charged with the crimes. He was actually incarcerated for another series of assaults, and there was not one shred of evidence linking him to the crimes. So the film is very much (about) how did things go so wrong, that to this day we all think Albert DeSalvo was tried and convicted as the Boston Strangler?
The screenplay draft by Alan Rosen went over 160 pages starts off with DeSalvo’s first foray into the crimes as he talks his way into the homes of desperate women pretending to be a modeling scout and then dramatizes the police investigation, the intense media scrutiny, and DeSalvo’s jailhouse confession to convicted murderer George Nassar. It’s kinky and bloody and chalk full of conspiracy; standard faire for De Palma, a certified master of the genre. I personally loved The Black Dahlia and if Brian’s name is on it, I’ll be satisfied just watching the direction and visual tour de force he commands. No one, and I man, no one understands films visual language better than De Palma, cut from the cloth of Hitchcock, he is a master.
Spring of 2009 with a 2010 release date is the projection on this one.
You can read the Busch interview with Gale and for up to date news from the best De Palma site on the net, check out De Palma Ala Mod and you can talk about Brian in our own forums Here.
In other cinejunkienessism news; what’s another post without some Inglorious Basterd’s news ? And before you message me to let me know I spelled the title wrong again, it has been confirmed that Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming WWII-spaghetti western remake of Enzo Castellari’s Inglorious Bastards (which filming began this month), that QT’s “misspelled” title is official.
When the script (which you can download here) made its onto the internet (accident, I’m sure) this summer, many simply thought he was a poor speller but according to the Weinstein Co. and Universal Pictures, who confirmed the title after releasing a new synopsis for the film:
“Inglourious Basterds begins in German-occupied France, where Shoshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.
Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own…”
Tarantino’s international cast includes Brad Pitt Diane Kruger, Mike Myers, Eli Roth, Cloris Leachman, Rod Taylor, Daniel Brühl (The Edukators), Samm Levine (Freaks and Geeks), Til Schweiger (King Arthur), B.J. Novak (The Office), Michael Fassbender (300), Mélanie Laurent (Days of Glory), Michael Bacall (Death Proof), Omar Doom (Death Proof), Julie Dreyfus (Kill Bill Vol. 1), August Diehl (The Counterfeiters), Richard Sammel (Casino Royale), Christian Berkel (Black Book), and more. The film reunites Tarantino with Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 cinematographer Bob Richardson, longtime production designer David Wasco, Oscar-nominated editor Sally Menke (Pulp Fiction), and producer Lawrence Bender.
And here is another pics from the set of the newly constructed French farmhouse that will open Inglorious Bastards in a soon-to-be-classic and nail-biting fashion. The window on the far right will presumably frame and foreshadow a showdown between the female main character and the Jew Hunter
The Farmhouse from the scripts opening scene.
That’s all for today. I have some writing to do and then it’s off to work.
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If you like this then please subscribe to the AFI’s DISRESPECT AND SHUNNING OF THE HORROR FILM.
AFI. The American Film Institute. Recently gave us yet another list, the 10 Top 10. Covering categories from Comedy to Drama to Animation and Western, Sports and Mystery. Noticeably off the list ? The category of Horror.
Horror and the art of scaring audiences has been around for a hundred years, not too mention old legends of folklore and Fairy Tales for children. The genre is a staple of Cinema and storytelling as a whole. Why the omission ?
Nate Yapp put it nicely over at Classic Horror with the following word bite on AFI’s Top 100 (100 Years, 100 Movies)
A scant four horror films were worthy of the AFI’s mention: Psycho (#14), King Kong (#41), Jaws (#56), and The Sixth Sense (#89). Significant amongst the omitted is Frankenstein, which held the 87th slot on the same list ten years ago.
I’m not sure which I’m more annoyed with — the poor representation of the genre in general, or the dropping of what I consider to be the cultural milestone in Hollywood Horror. I’m not going to dig into their other selections; each film on the list has its champions and they have spoken. It’s just a bummer that the AFI’s creative think tank is treating horror like the poor cousin. Given the glitzy Hollywood focus of the list, I’m not expecting Night of the Living Dead to make the cut, but why not Rosemary’s Baby? If not The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, what about The Exorcist (which is not a film I enjoy, but it made #3 on the AFI’s own 100 Years… 100 Thrills list)?
1922’s Nosferatu
Makes no sense to me and is a virtual slap in the face to all moviegoers. We’re not talking about harcore horror or cultish fanboy stuff, I’m talking about omitting some of the greatest films in history, films that scare people and leave legitimate impact on them.
Whether outright horror (looks like, tastes like, feels like; it must be …) or horror sub-genres, Great, great films have been made that are screaming for attention
Four films listed on this one, and not a single category of respect in their latest 10 Top 10. I personally don’t even consider Animated Films to be real films (it’s my own spin) and am wondering how they could not come up with the Top 10 Best ever horror films for the respect of the genre.
Many a director has gotten their start in horror while others, even great ones have built entire bodies of work in the subject matter.
The Masta
Masters of the genre:
John Carpenter (The Thing, Escape from New York, The Fog, Halloween), Alfred Hitchcock, forever known as the Master of Suspense (The Birds, Psycho) , Brian De Palma (Carrie, Dressed To Kill, Sisters), Cronenberg (Rabid, The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly), George Romero (The Dead Trilogy), Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead Series), Dario Argento (Suspiria), Lucio Fulci, Wes Craven (The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects) and Richard Donner (The Omen)
Not too mention, notable Directors who got their start in Horror
Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners) and Steven Spielberg (Jaws) come to mind. I would love to see Steven tackle a legitimate horror film.
Which brings me to my (and it seems many) all time favorite horror films. It takes a lot to scare m in a movie, to really have any kind of serious affect. I’m making this list an unofficial AFI list, it is authoritative.
10. Salem’s Lot
‘Salem’s Lot is a 1975 horror novel written by Stephen King, and was the author’s second published novel. The title King originally chose for his book was Second Coming, but he later decided on Jerusalem’s Lot. The publishers, Doubleday, shortened it to the current title, thinking the author’s choice sounded too religious.
I don’t think there’s ever been a film that scared me more that was a Made For TV movie. Directed by Tobe Hooper, this film left scars on my child hood ass.
9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film written, directed, and produced by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel. So bizarre it could happen. Which is exactly what makes a horror film scary. Realizing that it could be you.
8. Carrie
Carrie is a 1976 American horror film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Lawrence D. Cohen, based on the novel by Stephen King. The film and the novel deal with a socially outcast teenage girl, Carrie White, who discovers she possesses telekinetic powers after being subjected to both physical and mental harassment by her peers, teachers, and her mother. The film stars Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Betty Buckley, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt and John Travolta.
Regarded as a watershed in the horror genre and is arguably one of best feature film adaptations of a Stephen King work.
7. Rosemary’s Baby
Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move into an apartment in a building with a bad reputation. They discover that their neighbours are a very friendly elderly couple named Roman and Minnie Castevet, and Guy begins to spend a lot of time with them. Strange things start to happen: a woman Rosemary meets in the washroom dies a mysterious death, Rosemary has strange dreams and hears strange noises and Guy becomes remote and distant. Then Rosemary falls pregnant and begins to suspect that her neighbours have special plans for her child.
6. Jaws
Favorite film of all time, first film I remember seeing. My brother asked me “Jaws ? A horror film?” I said “Can you go in the ocean and not think for just one moment that Bruce is coming?”
5. Night of the Living Dead
Played to death in the public domain, I remember seeing this growing up and being mesmerized by how freaked out I was.
Here, watch the entire film for free
4. The Exorcist
Ain’t no intro needed
3. Psycho
2. The Shining
1. Halloween
VISUAL LANGUAGE - The Point of View
My suspicion for some time is that in this day and age of shaky cam epilepsy (see Bourne Ultimatum) that films visual language is slowly being lost. Todays young filmmakers don’t seem interested nor inclined to the study and practice of these fundamentals. Like all artforms, understanding proven methods and techniques only strengthens ones palette.
How long does it take for a man to die in the desert ?
This will be the first article in a series that examines (and hopefully inspires and educates) the visual language of film. Brian De Palma, the visually obsessed master once said “… I try to develop pure visual storytelling. Because to me, it’s one of the most exciting aspects of making movies and almost a lost art at this point.”
Visual Language. It’s a basic core of education for a director, but a complcated one…