The Prisoner - Watch out Jim there's a big bouncing ball after you

Check out the first 9 minutes of the new series.

HOME

The Prisoner - 9 minutes of the new series and Rover is in it

Check out this footage of The Prisoner remake. It stars James Caviezel as Number 6 and Sir Ian McKellan as 2. Have a watch and let me know what you think. It is quite a bit different from the original series but nice and bizarre nonetheless.

HOME

Hobbit, Hellboy 3 and Frankenstein news from the mouth of Guillermo del Toro

Lots and lots of Hobbit goodness and it looks like Ron Perlman won't be Hellboy anymore. BBC radio's Simon Mayo had Guillermo del Toro on the show.

They were chatting about del Toro’s vampire novel The Strain, but they also discussed many of the films he's working on. /Film picked up on this first.

The Hobbit - We know it is going to be split into two films and del Toro mentioned that they will be expanding on some of the things mentioned in passing.

There is a whole other chapter, so to speak, which is the comings and going of Gandalf which are dealt with, people that know the lore know that Gandalf was delayed with a crisis… with a character that is very shady called the Necromancer that proves to be Sauron.

He was then asked if Andy Serkis would be returning which led to some cool news.

Yes [and] Ian McKellen is back, [and] Hugo Weaving in the roles they originated in the trilogy.

That's Gollum, Gandalf and Elrond. No news on who'll be playing Bilbo. He also mentioned that they have got the basics down for Smaug but it will take a good few months before they get it finished. Will Perlman or Doug Jones have a role in the film?

Hellboy 3 - Ron Perlman has said he no longer wants to wear the prosthetics, so Guillermo “guesses” it will never happen. I hope this gets changed though as I would love to see another Hellboy film.

Frankenstein - Doug Jones (Silver Surfer, Abe Sapien) has been cast as the monster. Guillermo will be directing it and they are starting make-up tests very soon. I can't wait to see what the Monster looks like.

The show is on BBC’s iPlayer for the next two days and the interview starts at the 1 hour 47 minute mark.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

The Prisoner - TV spot for remake of classic TV show

Finally we have a trailer for the new TV show, The Prisoner. It's a remake of the Patrick Macgoohan classic and this one stars Jim Caviezel and Sir Ian McKellan.

It doesn't really show much so I'm not sure how surreal and bizarre it will be. Will there be a Rover in it? Let me know your thoughts on it.

The Prisoner Promo

Source: Quiet Earth

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

HOME

The Da Vinci Code, 2006 - Movie Review

Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Ian McKellan, Alfred Molina, Paul Bettany, Jürgen Prochnow
Score: 7 / 10

This excellent review is by guest blogger, James Jacob of Basket Case.

With Angels and Demons being released next week, I wanted to re-watch and review the prequel / follow up - The Da Vinci Code. If you weren't already aware, the Da Vinci Code book is actually a sequel to Angels and Demons (they even reference it in the opening chapter!) but for the movie versions, this is reversed.

If you haven't seen the countless news stories already, The Da Vinci Code is based upon the cult phenomenon book by author Dan Brown about Harvard professor of religious symbology Robert Langdon (Hanks), who is called in by French detective Bezu Fache (Reno) to provide some insight into the death of a notable museum curator.

However, he soon discovers he was not there to help, but instead to become the prime suspect into the murder. With the help of the curator's granddaughter, Sophie Neveu (Tautou), they join forces to find out who killed her grandfather and why.

Meanwhile, we follow Bishop Aringarosa (Molina) and his own quest with the aid of albino monk Silas (Bettany) to find the key to... well, I won't ruin it for the one or two of you who don't know or haven't read the book.

The main thing that bothered me with The Da Vinci Code was the pacing. There are certain sections that flowed well, only to be undone with so much talking, explanation and lecture, I felt like I was back at University as my lecturers were giving a presentation. The pace was very much either on or off, no middle ground to move the plot along, it seemed if they weren't explaining the decisions made by Emperor Constantine then the main cast was on the run in a car.

Also disappointing to me beyond pacing, is the acting from such a talented cast. Firstly, Tom Hanks. As the leading man, and the one audience members follow, Hanks presents a character without much behind him. Most of the time, I can watch Tom Hanks get lost in his characters but here, I was looking at Tom Hanks, with a mullet, pretending to be a man named Robert.

And the same can be said for most of the supporting characters including Audrey Tautou, who is sorely miscast in a important role to play opposite an even diluted Tom Hanks performance, Jean Reno, Alfred Molina and even Paul Bettany (though I must admit, he was indeed pretty damn scary and certainly creepy).

For instance, and this is spoiler material here, Alfred Molina basically is a father figure to a psychologically disturbed Bettany, but I didn't feel the emotion between the two. Sure, Aringarosa was using Silas for the needs of the Opus Dei, but their outcomes had no resonance and therefore, the film as little impact in that area.

However, it's our very own Gandolf, I mean veteran actor Ian McKellan that delivers the best performance out of the bunch. It's not to say it's anything magical, but he was the only one I even remotely was interested in and probably saved this film from becoming a complete dog. His character is eccentric, full of energy and seemed to be the only one involved with the story with any sort of grandeur or amazement.

The Da Vinci Code is not a bad film but instead more... disappointing. Taking a good 20-minutes off the standard version would've made the pacing better, though then Howard would alienate the book's core base. This is why adapting a novel is difficult as books hold so much information that it is nearly impossible to include everything needed, so one wonders if this was the case here. I consider Code to be disappointing, not the major stinker that some around have trashed it.

You really have to remember that this is just a film however and not spend hours surfing the net looking for refernces to Opus Dei, The Priory of Sion and the Holly Grail. Here in the UK, a very much unliked ex-Education Minister is also an Opus Dei member - so take everything with a pinch of salt!

Lastly - to get you properly in the mood, below if the trailer for Angels and Demons.

Thanks for the review James.

Leave a comment on this post below.

HOME

The Prisoner and The Day of The Triffids posters

Dougray Scott, Brian Cox, Joely Richardson and Eddie Izzard with a gun in this poster for the BBC's remake of The Day of The Triffids. I personally think it is a bit of a poor poster design, but I am looking forward to seeing the show.

I do like the poster for AMC's The Prisoner series. Jim Caviezel is Number 6 and Ian McKellan is Number 2.

Source: io9

Leave a comment on this post below.

HOME

The Hobbit pushed back to 2012

Just saw this on Yahoo news. Anyone have any idea what could have caused the delay? IMDB is saying 2011.

Lord Of The Rings fans will have to wait another four years to get their next big screen fix of the franchise - its prequel The Hobbit has been postponed until 2012.

Earlier this year it was announced Guillermo del Toro would direct the new film, based on JRR Tolkien's novel.

Lord of the Rings Oscar-winner Peter Jackson is producing the project, and he and del Toro will pen the screenplay.

Sir Ian McKellen has already signed on to reprise his role of Gandalf, and Andy Serkis is expected to play Gollum once again.

Shooting was scheduled to start in New Zealand this winter (08/09), but it has now been postponed until 2010 - with the release day pushed back to 2012.

The reason for the delay is unknown.

Home / Forum / Guestbook

The Prisoner Video Blogs - Sir Ian McKellen talks and we see some of The Village

Sir Ian McKellen plays #2 in the remake of The Prisoner. Here is what he has to say on the look of The Village, the prison that holds #6, James Caviezel

As we come to the end of our Namibian shoot, there is hardly a corner of Swakopmund that hasn't been used in the retelling of The Prisoner.

The fictional Village Shop that sells only maps is actually a corner emporium where you can buy for real anything second-hand, from old postcards to washing machines and used clothes.

The Palais Two, where my character (and his family) lives, is in reality the biggest hotel in town and once the railway station. We had intended to shoot scenes in the hotel forecourt doubling as Two's gardens but our schedule changed and these will now happen in the Cape Town studios.

My first glimpse of The Village before rehearsals was a striking photo of the A-frame holiday chalets on the outskirts of town, which are too regimented for comfort. In reality they are just as unprepossessing, not made any less so by a huge poster of Two declaring the opening of "More Village", an image that would be a telling advert for the series if hung aloft on Sunset Boulevard.

The quirky Solar Café, where momentous events propel the story along, is actually an imported set but looks so in keeping with Swakopmund that some entrepreneurial local asked to buy it as a souvenir of filming. As it has now been destroyed during the action, that wasn't possible.

Tourism to Swakopmund may never be the same again. There have been a number of international feature films shot here recently against the desert landscape. Apart from The Prisoner, there is rumoured to be a Bollywood musical larking among the dunes, but we have had neither sight nor sound of it. As The Prisoner has been shooting in the town as much as the sand, viewers of the series may well want to check out for themselves the realities of The Village location, much as Portmerion attracted fans of the original series.

After completing other films I have kept (or been given) mementoes of the sets. I have the panels from the underground assembly room in Richard III. I have the keys from Bag End and Gandalf's sword. I have James Whale's easel and paintbrushes -- though these are the genuine articles, bought on Ebay. What to retain from The Prisoner? Two's tie-pin? one of the Village logo's? a bottle of black pills from the safe?

You might tell from my posts that I am no spoiler, so revelations about plot and character are few. All I can promise is that hidden within this dispatch is mention of something so vital to understanding what The Village is all about, I'm surprised that I've been allowed to mention it....

There are lots of other cool things to see on The Prisoner blog. I'm just curious to see what Rover will look like.
HOME / FORUM.

Ian McKellan in The Hobbit

Sir Ian Mckellan was at Wimbledon today and was interviewed by Radio 5 Live. He confirmed he was travelling to New Zealand next year to make the 2 Hobbit movies.

I'm glad there will be some (reverse) continuity between the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.