June
20
Wanted Leads Off LAFF
The LA Film Fest opened with the premiere Thursday night of Universal's Wanted, followed by a Westwood block party. Spirits were high, because the smart director's showcase played.
Wanted is a stylish R-rated, violent adaptation of the comic books by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. Producer Marc Platt matched up the comics with a series of screenwriters (Michael Brandt & Derek Haas and Chris Morgan) and director Timur Bekmambetov, the established Russian auteur of the stylized, over-the-top horror thriller Nightwatch and its Daywatch sequel, huge hits. Bekmambetov doesn't just do action, he said last night, smiling slyly. He also released a recent hit romantic comedy.
Bekmambetov's WMA agent Mike Simpson was over the moon because this is the kind of director Hollywood studios fantastize about--a Tim Burton with visual flair who can do action. Bekmambetov could do a Mission: Impossible or Bourne movie (that's Universal) if he wanted to. It was Universal that had the guts to put him on a $100-million actioner (Universal's official budget is $80 million)--and lured reliable stars Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman to support James McAvoy. The ads sell Jolie, who's terrific, but McAvoy carries his third American-accented picture--sans dialogue coach. He gives the movie a believable center. And yes, these people are playing actual characters. The movie breathes.
And it delivers action on a Bourne or Matrix level.
Suspension of disbelief is required. But the direction is so controlled, precise, detailed and inventive that you go for the ride. Bekmambetov has another plus: his own visual effects house in Russia, like Peter Jackson does in Wellywood. The f/x by Bazelevs are superb. Jolie and McAvoy skip along elevated subways, do metal-bending aerial car stunts, and boast special skills that enable them to alter the laws of gravity. SPOILER ALERT: Just when I was wondering when they'd stop working so hard and get sexy, the movie delivers a major kiss. And there's a stunning train derailment off a mountain abyss.
Assuming Wanted plays widely when it opens June 27 (a lot of arguments Thursday night were about whether it was a two-or-four-quadrant movie), McAvoy is signed up for two sequels. But, he predicts, "There won't be more than one. I don't want to do action movies." Bekmambetov was mum about whether he would return. (They will likely have to pay him.) He's setting up something called Saga, I hear. (Is it a movie version of the videogame?)
Universal could have a big summer. Marvel's remake of The Incredible Hulk dropped dramatically on its second weekend, but should be steady as they go. Next up is Guillermo del Toro's $100-million sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which closes the LA Film Fest. The movie musical Mamma Mia! has global pull with women thanks to its long-touring theater show. And Rob Cohen's $170-million (official studio budget is $150 million) reinvention of the Mummy franchise, The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, shot in China with Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh and an army of Terra Cotta warriors, opens in August. A test screening this week yielded a positive AICN posting.
What these movies have in common--and this will be an interesting test of what the box office will bear--is that "they all know exactly what they are," says Universal co-chairman Marc Shmuger, "and who they're for."
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I've heard it's a bit of a Matrix ripoff. But stylish action movies are always in demand, so I imagine it will have great success.
Posted by: Liz | June 20, 2008 at 10:18 PM
I admit I went in not terribly excited to see this, but was totally I surprised. I really dug Wanted. True, throw away any ideas of realism or logic and just let yourself be taken for a ride. I found the film highly enjoyable. And McAvoy was a real surprise for me. He carries the film and makes a belivable action hero, something that judging from the trailer I didn't expect. Even Morgan Freeman, doing yet again one of his "wise old sage mentoring some white guy" role that he's been doing exclusively for years, is pretty good putting a real quirky spin on his character. And THANK GOD we've got a real genuine, blood splattered, R rated movie for a change. I'm so sick of these castrated PG-13 action films. I'm a guy! I want my blood and guts! Can't wait to see Paul W.S. Anderson's remake of Roger Corman's Death Race later this summer. That promises to be another ultra violent, macho guy's flick.
BUT...
What's the deal with Jolie, in my opinion one of the most overrated actresses today? (She might win me over in Eastwood's The Changeling but that's down the road) First all of she looks like she weighs only 80 pounds in Wanted. She still reminds me of a fish everytime I see her face and her anoxeric appearance in the film oozes as much sexuality as a wet mop.
Posted by: Sergio | June 21, 2008 at 08:15 AM
Anne,
Did the director shoot the pages of the comic book, or did something happen in between?
Posted by: Larry Doyle | June 21, 2008 at 11:28 AM
fair enough: there was a long list of screenwriters, as I understand.
Posted by: Anne Thompson | June 21, 2008 at 03:02 PM
Three is long, huh?
My future girlfriend is gonna be pleasantly surprised.
Posted by: Hi Hitler | June 21, 2008 at 04:06 PM
Hi Anne,
Derek Haas and Michael Brant worked on the film from the beginning, came back on to it at various points, and were involved, giving notes, having dialog with the director, throughout post (before and after the strike). They were not merely a couple of writers in a long line, but crucial to the process. I know from personal experience that you are actually a champion of writers, and interested in getting it right, so wanted to share the information I had on this one with you.
Brian Koppelman
Posted by: Brian Koppelman | June 21, 2008 at 04:25 PM
Mr. Koppelberg:
Not to rewrite you but I believe the man's name is Michael BRANDT.
Posted by: Hi Hitler | June 21, 2008 at 04:47 PM
Thanks, Brian.
Posted by: Anne Thompson | June 21, 2008 at 04:53 PM
Anne:
Serious question. Why give such cursory treatment to the screenwriters? Maybe there was a series who worked on it. However, the people who got credit were the only ones who rose to the level of authorship. What's wrong with acknowledging them?
My guess is that you don't think there's anything wrong with that, and this is another case of benign neglect.
Believe it or not, this sort of casual dismissal is the source of much misery among my fellow screenwriters. Brandt & Haas and Morgan worked just as long as the director. Longer. They were there on the project before he was.
A writer usually is.
And yet...nothing, huh?
In lieu of an apology, how about a simple policy? When discussing the authors of a film, include them all. Directors and screenwriters.
Sad that we have to even ask.
Posted by: Craig Mazin | June 21, 2008 at 05:10 PM
Are we assuming the action in this is so cool, it described itself? This film departed substantially from the comic source material and writers wrote it. Not a long list but the credited screenwriters: the team of Brandt & Haas and Chris Morgan.
Posted by: J. Turman | June 21, 2008 at 07:56 PM
The director's freakin' agent gets name-checked but the writers of the freakin' movie can't make it into the review?
Posted by: Ryan Paige | June 21, 2008 at 09:46 PM
You are preaching to the choir. I am duly admonished. We're prepping a more in-depth piece on the movie, so I left that part of the narrative to another writer, who did proper interviews. I did not.
Posted by: Anne Thompson | June 21, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Stop fighting us on this, Anne. :)
Posted by: Craig Mazin | June 22, 2008 at 08:40 PM
"I admit I went in not terribly excited to see this, but was totally I surprised. I really dug Wanted."
I had the opposite reaction. I went in REALLY hoping to like this but it just didn't work for me. I can suspend disbelief with the best of 'em, but I need to know the context of the universe we're in. Where these guys superhuman or just assassins trained to the nth degree? There was a mix of those two in the movie that jerked me around and left me feeling the whole thing was ridiculous when it was over.
Yeah, it TRIED to be The Matrix...
Vic
Posted by: ScreenRant.com | June 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM