INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW STANTON

Filmmaker Andrew Stanton is no stranger to success. He directed and co-wrote the screenplay for Disney/Pixar’s WALL•E, which won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature in 2008. He made his directorial debut with Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo, garnering an Academy Award-nomination for Best Original Screenplay and winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Stanton also worked on a host of successful Disney/Pixar movies including Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille and Up before turning to live-action with the epic action-adventure John Carter.

With the Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD of the heroic tale, John Carter, about to be released, we catch up with the acclaimed director to find out more on the epic project…


How would you describe your first directorial experience away from your comfort zone at Pixar?

It’s been extremely exciting to work on John Carter. The best analogy I can use to describe the experience is to say that it was like deciding, ‘Yeah, I’m going to get on a boat and sail across the ocean!’ Half the people in the world wouldn’t want to do anything like that, but some people consider a voyage out to sea to be an incredibly attractive journey. It’s an exciting adventure for some people, but it also sounds incredibly hard. You know there will be a lot of labour involved and you may see some really pretty things, but you may also get stuck in a horrible storm. I feel like that’s a pretty good comparison because I knew making this movie wasn’t going to be necessarily easy, but there’s a sense of fulfilment and a thrill that you wouldn’t get any other way. It was the adventure of a lifetime.



What’s the biggest difference between making an animated film and a live-action movie?

I thought, at least intellectually, that the biggest difference would be the physical stamina of creating a live-action feature, the standing around all day for 100 days. It didn’t matter if it was hot or cold or wet, we never stopped standing – and that can be tough at times. However, I think a lot of people thought the biggest difference would be the fact that I was working with actors rather than computers. On the set of John Carter, I’d have tons of people asking me, “So what’s it like to work with people now?’ And I’d laugh at them and I’d say, “I don’t talk to computers when I work at Pixar. I’ve been talking to 200 people on movie projects for the last 20 years! I talk to them about where to put the camera, what costumes we should make, where the lights should go and what the motivation of the scene is. It’s not very different at all.” It’s funny because I have all the same conversations at Pixar as I do on a live-action project. I just don’t have them all at the same time. On an animated project, I have these conversations in separate meetings over the course of several weeks or months. On a live-action set, it happens all at once.

How much of the movie was shot using a green screen?
We tried really, really hard not to use too much computer generation in John Carter. I watched a lot of movies where it can look incredibly pretty, but the more CG a movie uses, the more cold and antiseptic it feels. You can sense it; you are distanced.

Were there any other reasons why you decided to veer away from green screen as much as possible?
I had spent all my life reading the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs and imagining what it would be like to stand in the desert talking to the 9-foot tall creatures he wrote about so distinctively, so I wanted this movie to feel as real as possible. The Ape Arena in John Carter is a perfect example of this. We went all the way to Utah and found a big patch of sand where we built the throne area and the dungeon area for the scene. Everything else was green screen, but we built enough for Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe and all of the other actors to feel like they were really there in the arena. We were always trying to strike a balance by building enough so that if we had to have green screen, the actors didn’t feel like they were standing in the middle of nothing.

What were the conditions like in the desert when you shot John Carter in Utah?
We got to Utah in April thinking it would be really warm, but it was freezing. It warmed up just enough for when we shot the scenes on the river – but then we got hit with sandstorms. The only thing that was helpful is that in Utah you can see for almost 100 miles, so you can spot any bad weather coming and you can plan for it. You can aim to get the shot done before the storm hits because you have a certain amount of warning. I was so adamant about staying on schedule and on time that I said, “We’re just going to shoot it whatever happens. If Clint Eastwood can do it, I can do it. If Clint Eastwood does one take, I can do one take. Let’s go for it!” And we’d jump in and do it. It was great.

So what’s next for you and Pixar?
I’m not working on any Pixar features right now. However, I have a Pixar short that I’m working on with Pete Docter. Plus, I’m working on a couple of other options. I’ve had lots of ideas over the years, so there’s always something bubbling around in my mind. We’ll just have to see where that takes me next.

John Carter is out on 3D Blu-ray™, Blu-ray ™ and DVD from 2 July
©2012 Disney

Thanks to Disney and Thinkjam for the interview

Storage 24 MCM panel

Noel Clarke and director Johannes Roberts visited the MCM Expo last month to promote the sci-fi action flick Storage 24 which opens tonight. After the trailer played they answered questions before running a preview clip from the midst of the action.

Unable to find a deal (or a role) that played to his strengths, Clarke wrote and produced the picture in addition to playing the lead. As Clarke describes, this brought restrictions associated with any independent British film:

“What happened with this film, halfway through (this won’t give it away) we wanted some sort of SWAT team thing at the end and we couldn’t afford the sixty or so people that I wanted. They came to us and were like, ‘you can have eight in the SWAT team.’ Fuckin’ eight! Motherfuckin’ eight! That’s not a SWAT team, that’s a group of guys comin’ out of a minivan!

“So I said, what if we scrap that? I said to Johannes, what if we do THIS thing? And I told him this really cool ending. And he said ‘aw, dude that’s so cool, do that.’

Fleeing something monstrous through corridors is a familiar enough idea and the corridors of a self-storage facility are an even more common image (I’ve moved house 3 times in the past 4 years). But the menace of Storage 24 does have a difference – one worth checking out on the big screen if the preview clip was any indication.

Storage 24 opens tonight



Blu-Ray review: Woman in black

What makes The Woman in Black so refreshing is its adherence to old-school psychological horror, featuring an isolated and haunted mansion, rocking chairs, beheaded dolls, random screams, mysterious deaths, untold secrets, dangerous silence, suspiciously hostile locals, a hallucination sequence, and horrifying consequences. While some eyebrows were raised when Daniel Radcliffe was announced as the leading man, his performance as Arthur Kipps, a down-on-his-luck solicitor, is captivating. Despite spending much of the film alone in the haunted mansion, Radcliffe manages to hold your attention throughout.

Arthur is tasked with settling the affairs of the late Mrs. Alice Drablow, but upon arriving in the remote town, he is met with hostility from the villagers who clearly do not want him there. As Arthur unlocks the secrets of the mansion and the land, the story’s haunting mood is established effortlessly by director James Watkins. While the build-up is slow and steady, the payoff is worth it.

The Edwardian setting itself is unnerving, and the film’s cinematography, creepy sound effects, and Marco Beltrami’s eerie background score only add to the chilling atmosphere. The Woman in Black is not a film for those expecting non-stop jump scares like in Saw, but for fans of classic horror, it is a must-see.

While younger audiences may not appreciate the film’s slow pace, Daniel Radcliffe’s performance, combined with the film’s gothic setting and haunting mood, makes The Woman in Black a standout horror film that proves Radcliffe’s talent beyond the Harry Potter franchise.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Episode 66: Shaun of the Dead

In which Martyn and Gerrod attempt to review Shaun Of The Dead.

WARNING: without Pete or Ash this episode turns filthy, fast.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to Amazon Music, Podchaser, Player FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

Check out our Youtube.

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Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg start work on ‘The World’s End’.

After being announced in 2007, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have finally started writing their third movie, in the blood and ice cream trilogy, “The World’s End?”.

In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, the dynamic duo expanded a bit on the film’s title and gave a brief plot synopsis.
“20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell-bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realise the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.”

Shaun of the Dead was Pegg and Wright’s homage to horror, Hot Fuzz to action films, The World’s End seems like it could be their homage to sci-fi disaster films. Could we possibly be looking at their answer to an Alien invasion movie?

The pair is scheduled to start shooting in the Autumn and are aiming for a 2013 release. I can’t wait for this movie. I’ll see you at The world’s end.



‘Turtles’ reboot series previews at MCM

The self-published, 1984 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book brought artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird intense interest from media, movie studios, television and toymakers. Since then, the comic has continued with no end in sight and new rightsholder Nickelodeon intends the slew of animated series, toys and films to continue in force.

Eastman and a sneak preview of the latest CGI-animated series (illustrated at right) came to Britain’s largest genre event, the MCM London Expo this weekend. Also present was Rich Magallanes, a senior VP at Nick focussed on the series’ writing.



‘It comes from a sincere place’ was a phrase used more than once by Eastman. As an artist, he was also struck by the series’ extension of his classic New York skylines into ‘twenty city blocks’ and the re-introduction of the logo design he did back in the ’80s.

Another throwback to the original Turtles is their best human pal, April O’Neil.  Once more it’s she who names the turtles and she’s back in a laboratory instead of being reimagined as yet another plucky girl reporter.

Always controversial has been the direction of the original, violent parody toward a younger audience. ‘We’re trying to touch the whole family,’ says Magallanes, who notes that although ‘they’re not busting heads’ the turtles are still ‘world defenders,’ laying the smackdown upon a variety of inhuman baddies. Nevertheless, ‘they want to be teenagers first, playing around with each other and having fun.’

Magallanes considers the comic and films ‘extensions of the core series’ but both men are keen to allow the comics to remain true to their origins. Peter Laird is taking a much-needed break from the franchise but Eastman is working with IDW on issues of new and reprinted stories. Meanwhile, a fifth Turtles film is currently in production, by Transformers director Michael Bay.

When Bay described the turtles as ‘aliens’ recently instead of mutated Earth turtles, many fans went ballistic. As the movie is in a much earlier stage than the TV series the outcome of this controversy is unclear, although Eastman appreciates the fact that the famous ‘ooze’ that mutated the turtles in the first place can be considered alien in origin. Eastman: ‘Michael Bay’s heart is in exactly the right place.’

Like the film, the TV series will begin its story afresh. ‘We want to reset it and grow it even bigger,’ says Magallanes. He feels the story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lends itself to extended storytelling. ‘We get to live with it.’

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premieres this autumn on Nickelodeon.

DVD REVIEW-Clone

Originally called ‘Womb’ this straight to DVD release has a pre-Doctor Who Matt Smith playing the recently deceased lover of Eva Green. It’s sat on the shelf for a couple of years, but due to Smith now being the Doctor, it’s finally getting a release.

Smith has recently died and Green has decided like you do to clone him and raise him as her son.
I was initially intrigued by the premise, it isn’t every day you see a sci-fi movie shot as an art-house flick and I think this movie shows us why. It is beautifully shot, but the pacing is slow and you find yourself switching off after about 10 minutes.

Any dramatic tension that could have been built up over the course of the movie is lost on beautifully stunning, but out of place shots of a beach.



Episode 65: The Avengers (Assemble)

In which Martyn, Gerrod and Ash take a look at The Avengers, or Avengers Assemble. Then Ash talks to two women about a puppet: Check out Ash’s excellent podcasts , Night’s at the round table. and Hammered Horror.

The show can be accessed via different places, including Miro, Stiticher, Blubrry and Itunes.

Follow the Bad Wilf team:

Martyn – @BadWilf

Pete – @BeeblePete

Gerrod – @ingerrodsmind

Check out the Bad Wilf Vlog.

App review-Zombies, Run!

In this day and age, it isn’t easy to motivate yourself to go for a run. So along comes Zombies, run!.

It’s an episodic audio story, that turns your run into a game. It uses your iPhone’s GPS to track your pace. If you slow down, the moans and groans of the walking dead get louder. At £5.49 it’s cheaper and more fun than a gym membership.

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Film review-Avengers Assemble

In 2005 Marvel realised they could make their own movies, the problem was that they had sold the rights to all their A-list characters. All they had left was Ant-Man, Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, Twins who got their powers from unicorns and the recently acquired rights to an Iron Man film. They decided not to go with the unicorn twins, but instead with Iron Man and in 2008 they used the first “Iron Man” movie to lay the groundwork for The Avengers. Finally, in 2012 we get the most highly anticipated comic book movie of the past decade and it was worth the wait.



This is not just a Marvel movie, it’s also a Joss Whedon movie and fans of Whedon will spot his signature stamped all over it. The script is classic Whedon it’s smart, funny, dramatic, ridiculous, yet over-all brilliant. It reminds you why he was such a power-house on tv, back in the day.

The hardest challenge this movie faced was giving all The Avengers equal screen time and for the most part, they did.

Continue reading Film review-Avengers Assemble