FUN FACTS from the SORCERER’S APPRENTICE

The cast and filmmakers of Walt Disney Studios’ THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE had a blast creating the fantasy adventure about Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage), a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan who recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé.
Get a load of these fun trivia about the newest Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster:

• The Phantom. Balthazar Blake’s vehicle of choice is very rare 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom. Its engine, appropriately known as the “Merlin,” helped propel Spitfire aircraft for Britain, which helped win World War II. An exact replica of the real Phantom was created for stunt sequences. During filming in the streets of New York City, the Phantom proved to be a huge tourist attraction.

• The Chrysler Eagle gargoyle comes to life in two varieties: the full-size, motion-base, computer-controlled version constructed by Academy Award®-winning special-effects coordinator John Frazier, and a CG version from visual-effects supervisor John Nelson and Asylum Visual Effects.

• Chinatown. The colorful Chinese festival sequence in which a parade dragon comes to life was filmed over the course of two weeks on Eldridge Street, in the heart of New York’s Chinatown. More than 2,000 people from the local Chinese communities showed up for an extras casting call for 500 available spots.

• Nikola Tesla. The inventions, philosophy and spirit of controversial and brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla hung over the entire movie, and by an amazing coincidence, the last day of filming fell on what would have been his 153rd birthday. And the company also filmed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Manhattan’s 110th Street, where Tesla received a state funeral attended by more than 2000 people.

• The Encantus, the film’s book of spells, weighed a mighty 75 pounds. But there were other versions created, including a 10-pound duplicate and a waterproofed floating version for the so-called “Fantasia” sequence.

• Every single page of the enormous Encantus had to be aged by experts in medieval bookbinding, with methods ranging from sanding the papers to wetting them with tea.

• The seven domains in the Merlin Circle include Space-Time, Motion, Matter, Elements, Transformation, Mind, and in the center, the Forbidden domain—Love. The multi-colored flames that shoot out of the Merlin Circle in the underground lab were created by the special effects team like a gigantic stove-top burner, with fire rods six inches below the deck in a water tank.

• The Coat. Costume designer Michael Kaplan and his team created 10 exact copies of Balthazar Blake’s long leather coat, and all of Balthazar’s rings were custom made as well.

• Arcana Cabana. Set decorator George DeTitta Jr. collected no fewer than half a million objects of escalating weirdness for production designer Naomi Shohan’s Arcana Cabana set, including a prosthetic leg, disembodied doll’s heads, shrunken heads, skeletons and a “unicorn skull.”

(Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, July 15, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.)

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SNEAK PEEK: “GROWN UPS”

Some guys need a little extra time to mature. In Columbia Pictures’ new comedy GROWN UPS, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider play best friends when they were young kids and are now getting together with their families on the Fourth of July weekend for the first time in thirty years. Picking up where they left off, they discover that growing older doesn’t mean growing up.

The real-life chemistry between the actors translated seamlessly to the characters they play on screen. In fact, many of the stars of GROWN UPS have known each other for years. Rock says, “Most of the guys met at ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I met Adam doing stand-up 20 years ago easily at Comic Strip in New York . We just hit it off when we were the younger funnier guys in the club. Spade I met at ‘SNL.’ Schneider I met at ‘SNL.’”

Adam Sandler also wrote the script, an irresistible idea for the cast and crew. “Adam’s whole idea was that everyone would bring their families and we’d all have a nice summer at the lake house,” remembers director Dennis Dugan. “It was one of the best summers of my life. Because everyone knew everyone else so well, it was like going to a really great party. Adam really wanted that kind of atmosphere to come across in the movie.”

GROWN UPS also stars Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, and Maya Rudolph. The film is directed by Dennis Dugan, produced by Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo and written by Sandler & Fred Wolf.

Opening soon across the Philippines , GROWN UPS is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and like the fanpage to get the latest movie news, video clips and contests.

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the men of INCEPTION

Aside from Leonardo DiCaprio, Warner Bros.’ new sci-fi actioner INCEPTION also features a top caliber group of exciting actors, lead by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“(500) Days of Summer”), Tom Hardy (“RockNRolla”), Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai”) and Cillian Murphy (“Batman Begins”).

In the film, Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction: stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption.

Director Christopher Nolan offers, “It was fascinating to watch the actors evolve as a group, very much the way the characters do in the story. It really brought a richness to their scenes together. As a writer, you hope for that kind of chemistry, but it’s not until you get on the set that you see the cast bring out their characters’ idiosyncrasies and interesting inter-relationships. That’s a vital part of any movie, especially a heist movie, and I think these actors really delivered that.

“The film follows a team of very different people, each with singular skills, who are brought together to accomplish a very special task,” Nolan continues. “If any one of them fails, it can spell disaster, so each individual is integral to their success. And we understand everything they’re going through because we are on that journey with them.”

Cobb’s longtime and most trusted colleague is Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. While Cobb is the master planner, Arthur takes care of the details. Gordon-Levitt asserts, “Arthur is the organized one, the one making sure everything is in its right place. But as fastidious as he is, Arthur didn’t want to apply his organizational skills to being a lawyer or doctor or any of the things he could have been because sharing dreams is fascinating. It’s not just a job for him. Ultimately, it’s not the money he’s doing it for. He wouldn’t risk his life for a good paycheck. He loves it.”

Tom Hardy plays the role of Eames, who, he notes, possesses surprising skills as a forger…and not just on paper. “In the dream world, Eames can project the image of anyone, so he’s actually forging an identity in a physical manifestation and can convince another person that he’s whomever the team needs him to be in order to aid their deception.”

Ken Watanabe portrays the role of Saito, a rich and powerful business magnate, who offers Cobb a very special job with a promise of payment more valuable than money. Simply put, if Cobb can give Saito what he wants, Saito will get Cobb home. There is only one condition: Saito wants to accompany Cobb’s team on the job to be sure he gets what he’s paying for. Watanabe observes, “At first, it’s only a business relationship, but as the story continues, Saito and Cobb develop an understanding and a respect. They need each other.”

The target of Saito’s business proposition is Robert Fischer, who is about to inherit control of his dying father’s multibillion-dollar empire. Cillian Murphy, who plays the part of Fischer, points out, “Despite his vast wealth, Robert is riddled with all sorts of insecurities, as one might expect of someone who has lived his entire life in the shadow of a hugely powerful individual. It doesn’t help that he has a very strained relationship with his father. So here you have a person who is about to inherit the world and is lacking for nothing except, perhaps, the thing he wants most: a proper relationship with his father.”

Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, July 15 in IMAX, Digital 2D and regular format, INCEPTION is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE

Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE based on the beloved Guardians of Ga’Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’ Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences—causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians—Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

The film features the voices of Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.

Snyder is directing LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE from a screenplay by Emil Stern and John Orloff, based on the Guardians of Ga’Hoole novels by Kathryn Lasky.

Warner Bros. Pictures is presenting the film, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures.

Opening in theatres and IMAX starting September 24, 2010, LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE will be presented in 3D and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

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PHILLIP NOYCE interview for SALT

Australian director Phillip Noyce has done it all, from acclaimed thrillers like “Clear and Present Danger” and "Patriot Games" to dramas such as "The Quiet American.” Now he's back in the chair for the much anticipated spy thriller SALT, which reunites him with his "The Bone Collector" co-star Angelina Jolie.

In this interview, Noyce takes time out from filming in New York City to talk at length about the film, how it changed from a Tom Cruise movie to a Angelina Jolie film, and working with the talented actress.

Question: This film went from a male lead character, then to a female lead character. And it went through a whole sort of casting process…

Philip Noyce: In the original script by Kurt Wimmer, the lead character was called, at that time, Edwin A. Salt. We discussed the film with Tom Cruise, we had a table read with various actors, including Samuel L. Jackson, who kindly played one of the parts, just so we could hear the script read.

After that table read, Sony Pictures decided they definitely wanted to make the film. Around that time Tom wasn’t prepared to commit to the script as it was – his main fears were that the character was too close to “Mission: Impossible’s” Ethan Hunt, being a rogue spy, with extraordinary abilities. So over many months, we tried to twist and turn the story to differentiate the character of Edwin Salt from Ethan Hunt. But, Tom had a valid point. It was kind of returning to an offshoot of a character that he’d already played. It’s like playing the brother, or the cousin, of somebody that you played in another movie.

Then the project was in hiatus for a couple of weeks. Sony’s Amy Pascal had been talking over the years and had often spoken to Angelina Jolie. They’d expressed their mutual respect for each other and also, their mutual desire to try and create a female spy franchise, so we sent the script to Angelina. Then that script was revised by Brian Helgeland, who basically did a character pass. Based on that script, Angelina committed.

Question: Is the basic script you’re shooting now the same as the Cruise script, in terms of plot structure, and that kind of thing?

Noyce: The script was always evolving. I think that it’s just been a continual process, obviously accelerated by changing the central character. But the locomotive of ideas that drives the movie are the same. An undercover CIA operative is accused of being a Russian mole, and has to go on the run to defend herself. That’s been the same since day one. The tone of the film has changed in this evolution. In the same way, as action thrillers have changed along the lines of the Bond films and the Bourne films. Bond used to be almost cartoonish but now, you can take those Bond stories very seriously, on a dramatic and emotional level.

Question: So, this has a more realistic edge to it?

Noyce: Yeah, it has evolved into a story where we hope at all times that the audience takes seriously the emotional interplay between the characters, and are very, very involved on an emotional level with the story. As well as getting enormous thrills and spills, and all the other popcorn elements that you’d hope to see in a summer movie.

Question: Are you in your element making this kind of movie?

Noyce: This movie is sort of a combination of every movie I’ve ever made, in a weird way. So, was I in my element? Yes. However, the major thing the audience is going to find is that the movie’s a showcase for the incredibly diverse talents of Angelina Jolie. When I say "incredibly", that’s not an understatement. Incredibly diverse. As we know, she’s a brilliant dramatic actress. Without a doubt. That’s been proven. But she’s also shown that she can kick ass as good as any man. In this film, she gets to do both and she does both in a way that I think will startle audiences. It’s highly dramatic, it’s highly emotional. It’s a thrill a minute. People are going to be very, very surprised by what they see, and by what they see her do. As I have been.

(Opening soon across the Philippines, SALT is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and like the fanpage to get the latest movie news, video clips and contests.)

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meet the new PETER PARKER

After a comprehensive worldwide casting search, Andrew Garfield has been chosen to portray Peter Parker when SPIDER-MAN swings back onto the screen in 3D on July 3, 2012. The new film will begin production in early December directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.

Today’s confirmation culminates what has been one of the most eagerly anticipated casting announcements in recent memory. Bloggers, pop culture speculators, and everyday fans have pored over and analyzed every conceivable online rumor in an attempt to discover the identity of the next actor to play Peter Parker. Garfield will immediately begin preparing for the coveted role.

The SPIDER-MAN franchise is one of the most successful in film history and the three previous motion pictures have collectively grossed more than $2.5 billion in worldwide box office.

On selecting Garfield, director Marc Webb said, “Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”

Commenting on the announcement, Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, President of Columbia Pictures said, “Spider-Man is a classic superhero -- a young man who balances his responsibility to serve humanity and crush evil with the shyness and normalcy of someone struggling to find himself. The role demands an extraordinary actor. You need someone who can magically transform himself from Peter Parker into SPIDER-MAN. An actor who will depict the vulnerability of youth and the strength and confidence of a legendary figure at the same moment. We have found that actor in Andrew Garfield. From the first time we saw him in the upcoming film The Social Network, to his glorious screen test, which floored all of us, we knew that we had found our new Peter Parker.”

Producer Avi Arad added, “I’m incredibly excited about Andrew Garfield. In the SPIDER-MAN tradition, we were looking for a smart, sensitive, and cool new Peter Parker who can inspire us and make us laugh, cry, and cheer. We believe we have found the perfect choice to take on this role and lead us into the future.”

Producer Laura Ziskin said, “We are thrilled to have Andrew Garfield for this new incarnation of SPIDER-MAN under Marc Webb’s direction. We were fortunate enough to meet with a group of fantastically talented young men. In the end, we all agreed that in addition to being an extraordinary actor, Andrew had the right mix of humor, youth, and pathos, along with an underlying sense of strength and power necessary to bring Peter Parker and SPIDER-MAN to life on screen.”

The selection of Garfield was revealed at a press event in Cancun, Mexico for international journalists attending a media tour promoting upcoming films from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Garfield is fast becoming one of the most respected and sought-after young actors working in the industry today. In a short career, spanning only five years, he has already been directed by, and starred alongside, some of the greatest names and received a BAFTA for a role that won him international praise.

Garfield most recently worked with director David Fincher on the upcoming film The Social Network. He previously starred for Spike Jonze on his robot love story I’m Here, which premiered at Sundance this year. He plays the lead male opposite Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan in Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, due for release later this year.

Other notable screen credits include Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus playing opposite Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and the late Heath Ledger, Robert Redford’s Lions For Lambs, where he starred alongside Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep; Revolution Films’ Red Riding Trilogy – 1974 directed by Julian Jarrold, where he lead a stellar cast including Rebecca Hall and David Morrissey, and his unforgettable portrayal of a young ex-con in John Crowley’s Boy A, for which he earned the best actor BAFTA in 2008.

(The next installment of SPIDER-MAN will be distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and like the fanpage to get the latest movie news, video clips and contests.)

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MARTIN SCORSESE directs HUGO CABRET

Production has begun in London on Academy Award®-winner Martin Scorsese’s adventure film HUGO CABRET. The live-action film, to be photographed in 3D, stars Academy Award® winner Ben Kingsley (“Shutter Island”), Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat”), Asa Butterfield (“The Boy in Striped Pajamas”), and Chloe Moretz (“Kick-Ass”).

Also appearing in the all-star cast are Jude Law (“Sherlock Holmes”), Ray Winstone (“Beowulf”) and Christopher Lee (“Lord of the Rings”).

Based on Brian Selznick’s captivating and imaginative New York Times bestseller The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the screenplay is by John Logan and the film is produced by Scorsese, Graham King, Tim Headington, and Johnny Depp.

Executive producers are Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Charles Newirth and Christi Dembrowski.

HUGO CABRET, Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D, tells the tale of Hugo (Butterfield), an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. When Hugo encounters a broken machine, an eccentric girl, and the cold, reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.

HUGO CABRET re-teams Scorsese, King, and Logan, all of whom worked together on “The Aviator.” It also reunites Scorsese with several of his longtime collaborators, including director of photography Robert Richardson (“Inglourious Basterds”), production designer Dante Ferretti (“Sweeney Todd”), costume designer Sandy Powell (“The Young Victoria”), and editor Thelma Schoonmaker (“The Departed”), all multiple-time Oscar® winners, as well as casting director Ellen Lewis (“The Aviator”).

GK Films acquired the screen rights to THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET shortly after the book was published by Scholastic Press in 2007 and immediately became the #1 New York Times best-selling novel. The ground-breaking book was universally praised by critics and received several literary awards, including the coveted 2008 Caldecott Medal. It was a National Book Award finalist and was named the New York Times’ Best Illustrated book, among many other honors.

HUGO CABRET will be filmed at London’s Shepperton Studios as well as on locations in London and Paris. It is scheduled for a December 2011 release in North America and in the Philippines soon after.

HUGO CABRET is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and like the fanpage to get the latest movie news, video clips and contests.

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