Passengers *spoilers from post 58*

FortuneChip

Honestly, I was skeptical of this. Just a cash grab with two fairly bankable stars but... this trailer looks fantastic. Right amount of levity and gravity (puns not wholly intentional)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BWWWQzTpNU

Funny we've had a thread about Temp Tracks recently, there's a whole lot of "influences" here.

H3llR4iser

I knew nothing about this movie, first time I even hear (see) it mentioned.

Few points:

- The ship interior looks phenomenal; First time since Star Trek: The Next Generation that I see a long-journey starship interior done properly, meaning it looks more like a cruise liner than a military submarine; If you have people spending years on board a ship, you wan it to be nice;

- I assume people are supposed to wake up at some point before the end of their 120-years journey, or the huge salon and mess hall would have zero purpose;

- The whole movie around only two actors might be a bit boring; Although Gravity showed us it can be pulled;

- I will be in Italy when it releases, don't fancy the sh1tty dubbing, so I may have to wait for home video release;

- Last and most important point: Chris Pratt gets stranded on a deserted spaceship for like 90 years, and the only other person around is Jennifer Lawrence. If it was me instead of Chris, the only other person would be a 56 years old male biker gang member with a B/O issue ;

cowboyBuilder

H3llR4iser wrote: »

I knew nothing about this movie, first time I even hear (see) it mentioned.

Few points:

- The ship interior looks phenomenal; First time since Star Trek: The Next Generation that I see a long-journey starship interior done properly, meaning it looks more like a cruise liner than a military submarine; If you have people spending years on board a ship, you wan it to be nice;

- I assume people are supposed to wake up at some point before the end of their 120-years journey, or the huge salon and mess hall would have zero purpose;

- The whole movie around only two actors might be a bit boring; Although Gravity showed us it can be pulled;

- I will be in Italy when it releases, don't fancy the sh1tty dubbing, so I may have to wait for home video release;

- Last and most important point: Chris Pratt gets stranded on a deserted spaceship for like 90 years, and the only other person around is Jennifer Lawrence. If it was me instead of Chris, the only other person would be a 56 years old male biker gang member with a B/O issue ;

First time I heard of it too, looks really good actually.

Is there no VO cinemas near you ?

just curious about Italy..

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

When I read about this a while ago it sounded like they were keeping very quiet about the plot, but the trailer seems to show an awful lot. Still looks good though.

Chain Smoker

Was curious about this until I saw the director.
Wanting to give it a second chance, I had a look at what else the writer has done.


I won't be checking this out.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Chain Smoker wrote: »

Was curious about this until I saw the director.
Wanting to give it a second chance, I had a look at what else the writer has done.


I won't be checking this out.

Just looked up the director myself...hardly inspiring work besides the imitation game.

Chain Smoker

The Honey Monster wrote: »

Just looked up the director myself...hardly inspiring work besides the imitation game.

Are you implying the Imitation Game was inspiring?!


I didn't like Headhunters and I haaaaated the Imitation Game. Morten Tyldum's elevation into $100 million+ budgets absolutely baffles me. That's territory for surefire franchise driven blockbusters and people with extremely solid track records behind them.

H3llR4iser

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

First time I heard of it too, looks really good actually.

Is there no VO cinemas near you ?

just curious about Italy..

Every single movie gets completely redubbed in Italian; It's never been ideal, but until 15/20 years ago, there were a couple of extremely good dubbing studios in Italy which actually won many international awards. A voice actor named Ferruccio Amendola used to dub actors like De Niro and Hoffman; He did it so well, in fact, that Hoffman wanted to meet him after hearing "himself" speaking Italian to personally congratulate.

Since that specific generation of voice actors retired, however, it's gone down and down to the point it's now a joke - not only the acting is bad, it's often completely out of sync as well :mad:

Chain Smoker

H3llR4iser wrote: »

Every single movie gets completely redubbed in Italian; It's never been ideal, but until 15/20 years ago, there were a couple of extremely good dubbing studios in Italy which actually won many international awards. A voice actor named Ferruccio Amendola used to dub actors like De Niro and Hoffman; He did it so well, in fact, that Hoffman wanted to meet him after hearing "himself" speaking Italian to personally congratulate.

Since that specific generation of voice actors retired, however, it's gone down and down to the point it's now a joke - not only the acting is bad, it's often completely out of sync as well :mad:

Ooooh, interesting!
Doesn't this all stem from the quality of film equipment available in Italy after WW2 being really f*cking loud, so they wound up dubbing everything? The assumption films would be dubbed became part of the whole Italian filmmaking process (casting crazily attractive women who can't act at all, casting major foreign stars who don't know a word of Italian).
When even the Italian language films are dubbed, the notion of reading subtitles over dubbing became way less attractive than it did just about everywhere else.


That generation of voice actors were presumably cultivated from the time period where even Italian films would be dubbed, I assume?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Chain Smoker wrote: »

Are you implying the Imitation Game was inspiring?!


I didn't like Headhunters and I haaaaated the Imitation Game. Morten Tyldum's elevation into $100 million+ budgets absolutely baffles me. That's territory for surefire franchise driven blockbusters and people with extremely solid track records behind them.

Don't know what order people were hired in but with the two most bankable stars in Hollywood on board it doesn't matter who the director is, it's a guaranteed money maker.

Chain Smoker

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Don't know what order people were hired in but with the two most bankable stars in Hollywood on board it doesn't matter who the director is, it's a guaranteed money maker.

They're bankable until they're not. These big budget films need to make absolutely gigantic money to be considered a success (as they've to offset losses elsewhere and whatnot).


Lawrence is getting $20 million and 30% of the films profits after it breaks even.

A budget of $120 million coupled with (what appears will be) the biggest marketing campaign for a film this Christmas, the film won't break even unless it hits over $300 million.
Even accommodating for some clever accounting managing to hide that from Lawrence for one or two hundred million, this film is gonna have to make absolutely huge money for it to be considered a success.



Lawrence's role in all of this is very interesting. I think she's pretty great but I also think she's a bit **** at picking roles and more a naturally talented actor than one with much range, someone who's either destined to remain in really meh mainstream roles or to turn into a pretty brilliant character actor (or the latter via a decade or so of the former). The money is par for the course for a (male) lead in a big film, the huge percentage of the profit is veering into Tom Cruise empire building territory.

Michael Sheen has also finally found the role Hollywood was always going to eventually find a way for him to play, a cordial robot bartender :pac:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^ I think Lawrence should steer clear of David O Russell for a while/forever. Although weirdly enough it's his films that keep getting her on the awards circuit. That means little as far as quality is concerned but it certainly helps her bring in the $.

cowboyBuilder

H3llR4iser wrote: »

Every single movie gets completely redubbed in Italian; It's never been ideal, but until 15/20 years ago, there were a couple of extremely good dubbing studios in Italy which actually won many international awards. A voice actor named Ferruccio Amendola used to dub actors like De Niro and Hoffman; He did it so well, in fact, that Hoffman wanted to meet him after hearing "himself" speaking Italian to personally congratulate.

Since that specific generation of voice actors retired, however, it's gone down and down to the point it's now a joke - not only the acting is bad, it's often completely out of sync as well :mad:

Same in Spain - but there are VO (Version Originale) cinemas that show in original audio with Spanish subtitles - surely it's the same in Italy.

Surprised about Hoffman to be honest, a dubbing "actor" is a hack, he sits in a studio and reads a script and gets credit for someone elses work.

Dubbing is a disgrace to cinema and an insult to an actors art.

It's always out of sync and just sounds wrong - at least in Spanish.

Chain Smoker

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Same in Spain - but there are VO (Version Originale) cinemas that show in original audio with Spanish subtitles - surely it's the same in Italy.

Surprised about Hoffman to be honest, a dubbing "actor" is a hack, he sits in a studio and reads a script and gets credit for someone elses work.

Dubbing is a disgrace to cinema and an insult to an actors art.

It's always out of sync and just sounds wrong - at least in Spanish.

They literally get no credit at all, surely? There's very little incentive to be especially good at the art of dubbing.

As an actor himself, Hoffman would have to be some prick to not sympathise some with fellow actors who not only have to accept some pretty ****ty jobs to make a living but actually go to the effort of doing a good job.

cowboyBuilder

They make a good living, the one actor usually does the voices for many lead actors so he can clean up nicely.

There is huge opposition to TV channels here broadcasting films in VO and VO cinemas because they don't want people getting to like the original version - too much $ loss.

Dubbing was originally done for illiterate people anyway, it needs to die.

H3llR4iser

Chain Smoker wrote: »

Ooooh, interesting!
Doesn't this all stem from the quality of film equipment available in Italy after WW2 being really f*cking loud, so they wound up dubbing everything? The assumption films would be dubbed became part of the whole Italian filmmaking process (casting crazily attractive women who can't act at all, casting major foreign stars who don't know a word of Italian).

Yes, that's what was happening, even Italian productions were dubbed; If that happened for technical reasons due to the equipment quality, I don't know to be honest.

Other than the situation you outlined, which is something that happened all the time, directors/producers played heavily on the dubbing card by creating "Frankenstein characters" who would have the "face" of an actor and the voice of another.

One of the most relevant cases is that of movies starring Bud Spencer & Terence Hill; In most movies until the mid-80s they were both dubbed by actors different than themselves, as their low-pitched, somewhat booming voices were considered not a good fit for the lighthearted character of the comedies.

Chain Smoker wrote: »

When even the Italian language films are dubbed, the notion of reading subtitles over dubbing became way less attractive than it did just about everywhere else.

That generation of voice actors were presumably cultivated from the time period where even Italian films would be dubbed, I assume?

Exactly - the average Italian person can't cope with subtitles and will be actively put off watching a movie by them; As a matter of fact, the practice of overbearing dubbing has had profound cultural ramifications over the decades, as it wasn't only a matter of translations: even concepts, jokes and references have been "trans-cultured" in most movies. As a result, most Italians have a completely skewed view of foreign culture; Because characters in foreign movies use the same slang they do and refer to Italian culture tropes, they assume the entire world to be just an "extension of Italy", if I get the concept across...

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Same in Spain - but there are VO (Version Originale) cinemas that show in original audio with Spanish subtitles - surely it's the same in Italy.

There are, but they aren't especially popular (as I said above, the average Italian has zero command of the English language and hates subtitles) and therefore both rare and concentrated around tourist zones (there are a few in Rome city centre, for example, but zero near where my parents live - and I'll be over Christmas ).

Also Starring LeVar Burton

This looks terrible. I'm a huge fan of Chris Pratt and I like J-Law just fine, but the plot is just so 'meh' and it's gonna rely heavily on visuals. I've always put story before style myself and this story is just so uninspiring.

I absolutely detested Gravity for the same reasons, but hell people loved the bejaysus out of that nonsense, so what do I know?

H3llR4iser

Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »

This looks terrible. I'm a huge fan of Chris Pratt and I like J-Law just fine, but the plot is just so 'meh' and it's gonna rely heavily on visuals. I've always put story before style myself and this story is just so uninspiring.

I absolutely detested Gravity for the same reasons, but hell people loved the bejaysus out of that nonsense, so what do I know?

Unrelated, but best. Username. Ever.

Chain Smoker

Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »

This looks terrible. I'm a huge fan of Chris Pratt and I like J-Law just fine, but the plot is just so 'meh' and it's gonna rely heavily on visuals. I've always put story before style myself and this story is just so uninspiring.

I absolutely detested Gravity for the same reasons, but hell people loved the bejaysus out of that nonsense, so what do I know?

This'll be nothing like Gravity. It's a script that was being passed around Hollywood for close to a decade and is by a director who isn't at all noted for visual flair.

It's far more likely to be pretty okay than something that was always going to be quite divisive like Gravity.




Visually, I expect this to be a very expensive Nolan imitation but it's gotta be ultimately focused quite heavily on the two actors. It's really the kind of thing you'd expect to be made for significantly less (even accounting for the two leads fees).
That budget is nuts for a project like this though. It doesn't seem like something that has any particularly strong marketing angle beyond "YOU LIKE JENNIFER LAWRENCE, RIGHT?! AND YOU LIKE CHRIS PRATT, DON'T YOU?! AHHH YES!"

cowboyBuilder

I got a The Shining in Space vibe from that trailer, with the barman ... just me ?

Bacchus

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

I got a The Shining in Space vibe from that trailer, with the barman ... just me ?

I did too but I doubt they'll get anywhere remotely close to the suspense and creepiness that The Shining achieved. That scene with the barman going a bit beserk also brings on memories of Alien. So it kinda feels like their going for that creepy, isolation tone but it'll end up half done and just turn into a generic "we've got to save the ship from 'sploding" type movie in the final act.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

When this film was first announced the blurb said

he wakes up first and after getting lonely decides to wake someone else up

The trailer doesn't make it look like that. It's possible they've changed that completely but if it's still in there, and there's one line in the trailer that makes it seem like it might be, it could be a slightly different film than it looks.

FunLover18

Will Jennifer Lawrence ever actually get to play a character her own age, or get a romantic lead her own age?

Chain Smoker

FunLover18 wrote: »

Will Jennifer Lawrence ever actually get to play a character her own age, or get a romantic lead her own age?

When they start making films with major roles for characters her age that pay as much as she's able to command, I imagine she will.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

FunLover18 wrote: »

Will Jennifer Lawrence ever actually get to play a character her own age, or get a romantic lead her own age?

You could ask the same question for most actresses over the age of "passes for a teen".

Even Emma Thompson, at 57, was recently playing the wife of an 80 year old.

cowboyBuilder

FunLover18 wrote: »

Will Jennifer Lawrence ever actually get to play a character her own age, or get a romantic lead her own age?

It's only 11 years between Chris Pratt and her - whatever about real life I think in the movie business this is fine.

FunLover18

cowboyBuilder wrote:

It's only 11 years between Chris Pratt and her - whatever about real life I think in the movie business this is fine.

But you wouldn't get that the other way around. Anyway that's a wider issue worth a thread on its own right.

The movie looks good and Michael Sheen is always worth watching.

cowboyBuilder

FunLover18 wrote: »

But you wouldn't get that the other way around. Anyway that's a wider issue worth a thread on its own right.

The movie looks good and Michael Sheen is always worth watching.

ah of course not, sure wasn't Colin Firth at almost 60 the love interest of some 19 year old recently ?

puke..

Chain Smoker

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

ah of course not, sure wasn't Colin Firth at almost 60 the love interest of some 19 year old recently ?

puke..

To be fair, that was a Woody Allen film.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Chain Smoker wrote: »

To be fair, that was a Woody Allen film.

Didn't Emma Stone play Jaoquin Phoenix's love interest in a Woody Allen film too?

Chain Smoker

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Didn't Emma Stone play Jaoquin Phoenix's love interest in a Woody Allen film too?

Yes, but he's fifteen years younger than Firth so it pales in comparison to Firth and Stone in magic in the moonlight.