Electric Shadow

Kiefer Sutherland as Solid Snake →

Polygon reports on the controversy of the day in gaming and voice casting. As I noted a little over a month ago, a Metal Gear  game without David Hayter as the voice of Snake is a tough pill to swallow for fans who've followed him in the role for 15 years. I've yet to see anyone thrilled about Solid Snake suddenly sounding like Jack Bauer.

"The themes are a little different from previous games in the series," Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima said of Sutherland's casting. "We're taking on some heavy subjects, like race and revenge. As a result, I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice, rather than words."
The Phantom Pain takes place in 1984, Kojima said, and the developer wanted an actor who could "genuinely convey" Snake as he would look and sound in his late 40s.
"It's different from anything we've done before," Kojima said, explaining that he turned to producer Avi Arad for assistance, who referred him to Sutherland. "I felt that he was the perfect fit, in terms of age and performance," Kojima added.

Maybe this is a fake out, which Kojima has done before. Maybe the "primary" Snake Sutherland plays is yet another clone or something.

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New Site, Same Site (but Different and Better Than the Old Site)

I've migrated the site to Squarespace Version 6, which offers a ton of under-the-hood improvements. New features in the platform make it possible for me to do a great deal more with the same sort of clean, minimal design template I had previously, and in less time.

To be honest, I absolutely hated SS6 for the first few hours that I played around with the new interface. I'd gotten so used to the SS5 backend that I'm convinced I had a form of UI Stockholm Syndrome. Now I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner. I'll waste less time doing some redundant things that will free up time to do more in general. As minimalist as the site design already was, I think this is a great deal more handsome.

I'll be noodling with a lot over the next week: trying new widgets and whoosits, tinkering with line spacing and maybe typefaces. Anticipate things breaking in ways you will likely never see. Eventually, that "logo" banner will get redone properly.

A few notes:

Blu-ray screen grabs are now 1000 pixels wide (25% larger). The source images from DVDs max out at 853 pixels wide in their most raw form.

I may eventually end up making the 1000px grabs thumbnails that click through to lightboxed and watermarked full-res PNGs. I need to automate that process as much as possible, or it isn't worth the time I put in to it. I also have more plans for the renamed "Frame" posts beyond playing with their frequency. Galleries and video are both on the table.

Drill-down menus in the sidebar nestle away all of the category links that were there before and then some. If you want to go looking and clicking, you can. To those who want as uncluttered an experience as possible, you've got it. I need to go back and tag/categorize eight years of content with some of the new (and currently empty) categories.

I might be adding another contributor soon. This is not an open call for more writers. We were talking about something else, and he mentioned wanting to write something specific on a regular/semi-regular basis, but still maintain certain freedoms that he hadn't been offered elsewhere. He wasn't even fishing. I held out a net and said, "jump in if you want". We'll see what happens.

Full disclosure: Squarespace has sponsored episodes of podcasts that I host. I've also been a paying customer since well before then. They didn't pay for this post, directly or indirectly.

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Frame 150: The Last One

My wife and I met Peter Beagle a few years ago when he came to town for a screening of The Last Unicorn . The 1982 movie is based on the book of the same name, which Peter wrote. The 2011 Blu-ray looks much better than the remastered DVD that preceded it, which, in turn, beat the pants off the pan & scan DVD that was around for so long. The DCP they're screening for their regional tours is yet another step up, but I can't estimate how big an improvement, having not sat through the whole thing.

Whenever they do one of these shows, the house is packed with both kids and adults. Hidemi Kubo's fingerprints are all over the still-stunning animation design.

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Frame 149: Around Every Corner

In an alternate universe, Baldwin starred in a series of four Shadow  movies.

This week's new Blu-ray doesn't look as dark in contrast as I would want...but this is how it looked in 1994. The color timing is too cool at times for my taste, but again...this is how it looked. The disc has zero extras, and will probably be $5 before end of year.

When I was a kid, I think I watched this a few dozen times over a series of summers. It got me into the original radio dramas and pulps.

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Frame 147: Phone Work

One of the best parts of Mamet plays and movies is the phone work.

Glengarry Glen Ross has grown in popularity most during the last decade, during which our Always Be Closing culture has come to grips with the fact that Attention, Interest, Decision, and Action alone cannot save us.

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The lack of a Blu-ray edition has cost them bargain bin money. Many other movies of the time with less-recognizeable actors have been very popular $8 bin sellers. I suggest whoever has these rights now (Lionsgate?) go and do likewise.

On occasion, I tell the story of how I once directed an all-female cast in the Alec Baldwin/"Blake"-free play if we go to lunch. Go to lunch. Will you go to lunch? Will you go to lunch?

This whole post will confuse people who don't know the movie or David Mamet. C'est la vie. 

 

These posts are now categorized as "The Frame", with the frequency of posts appearing not daily, but as often as need be.

The "daily" thing was mostly to force myself to consistently post something new as close to daily as possible. Some days, you may get as many as seven of these, interspersed throughout other posts or in sequence for a reason.

Giant Size #25: Terry Moore in "Real Original Things"

I've made regular mention of having a "list of ten" pie-in-the-sky guests that I wrote out when I started Giant Size. I'm thrilled to check this particular name off that list. A fellow Texan (and raised in Dallas to boot), Terry Moore disrupted comics in the early 90's with a book that was about people who had no capes nor superpowers, and whom he plotted into what he calls a "mis-cast love triangle" in the interview. Moore's writing has been a major touchstone for me when it comes to writing balanced characters, and not just women, whom he's so well-known for writing so well. 

In the latest Giant Size, we talk about everything from his love of comedy duo Nichols & May to how he considers himself an out-of-work guitarist who makes comics. You also find out what he would think of a Broadway-style stage musical version of Strangers in Paradise. Pre-order the Omnibus edition of SiP and get a limited edition print while you still can.

 

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WIZARD OF OZ 75th Anniversary Blu-grade on 1 October

Warner Bros. has just announced not only a big IMAX-sized 3D post-conversion of The Wizard of Oz, but a press release in my inbox provides details for a spread of new 75th Anniversary Blu-rays. The best news: the new transfer of the movie and newly-added extras are available on lower-cost, single-disc editions the same day that the enormous chocolate box-sized set arrives.


The new documentary is described thus:

The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz —This candid overview of how a troubled production overcame the odds to become an integral part of American culture features contributions from historians John Fricke and Sam Wasson, composers Stephen Schwartz and Marc Shaiman, critics Leonard Maltin and Michael Sragow, Bert Lahr’s son John as well as revealing interview clips with Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Margaret Hamilton and Mervyn LeRoy, among others.

The release notes that the doc and all previously-available extras will be included on all 75th Anniversary editions of the movie:

The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition will debut as a five-disc set that will include Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and UltraViolet versions of the film; a new documentary, The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; bonus features and premium collectibles ($105.43 SRP). Three more editions will be available separately: a two-disc 3D/Blu-ray ($35.99 SRP), a one-disc Blu-ray ($19.98 SRP) and a two-disc DVD ($16.95 SRP). All four will contain the new documentary and extra content.

As always, SRPs are higher than these end up selling for.

The only lingering question I have is how that'll all fit on one disc.

The original 2009 Blu-ray takes up about 41 GB of space on the 50 GB platter, and there was a second Blu-ray disc of extras. That second disc of stuff is mostly alternate filmed adaptations of Oz, alongside Victor Fleming and L Frank Baum mini-docs. The way the above is worded, my guess is the five-disc mega-set is where you get everything, so the discs you get break down to one 3D Blu, two 2D Blu, two DVD discs. That mega-set has the now-expected pile of tchotchkes:

NEW! Exclusive Collectible Memorabilia —A collectible 75th Anniversary journal; Sparkle RUBY SLIPPERS™ Globe; Noble Collection 3-piece enamel pin set, a Map of Oz and a 48-page hardcover book. Collection is limited and numbered.

I have a line out to WB for clarification both as to whether the 2D version is the same transfer as 2009, and how the content shakes out across discs. They sound quite confident of how great the conversion looks:

The 3D conversion was a long and complex project which Warner Bros. initiated with a very high resolution (8k) scanning of the original Technicolor camera negative. The restored 2D image was then transformed by creating a depth-map of each frame to construct 3D imagery and determine distances from the viewer’s vantage point. This was followed by the long process (with the use of a rotoscope) to further refine viewer distances and fully layer shapes and objects.

“People have asked for years about The Wizard of Oz 3D conversion. My answer was always, ‘We’re not doing it until it’s perfect.’ And now it is,” said Ned Price, Warner Technical Operations’ Vice President of Mastering. “As a kid, I was so enthralled by this film. Watching it, you just want to enter the frame, enter the Land of Oz. This new version will allow you to do just that.”

They did an 8K scan for the 2009 Blu-ray, so I'm not convinced they just did another one. Again, note for clarification is in, and they should get back soon. Check back or watch for an update. UPDATE 2:02pm CT: WB has confirmed to me directly that the 2D Blu-ray features the exact same transfer as the 2009 disc. This is not a bad thing, since that has long been one of the best reference discs on the market.

Disc News Digest: MEANING OF LIFE 30th, More Deep Catalog, and Even More Disney

• Just announced: Universal is releasing a 30th Anniversary Edition of Monty Python's Meaning of Life on 8 October. It retains all previous extras and adds a new hour-long reunion special with all surviving Pythons, plus a new Sing-Along mode.

• Criterion's July slate includes:

  • 9 July Kenji Mizoguchi's big international success The Life of Oharu, which stars legendary actress (who also worked with Ozu) Kinuyo Tanaka. The disc features a 2009 documentary about the star (The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka), along with an audio essay and commentary over the opening of the movie. 
  • 16 July a new edition of previous release The Lord of the Flies, complete with new extras and cover art.
  • 23 July brings both a Blu-grade of Ang Lee's The Ice Storm and long-antiicpated title Babette's Feast, which includes new interviews wirth the director and lead actress, a 1995 documentary about the source novel's author, and more.
  • 30 July another long-awaited and long-rumored title The Devil's Backbone takes spine #666. All previous DVD extras are retained, adding a 2010 intro to the movie and new interview material from by del Toro, along with a new interview with composer Sebastiaan Faber and new subtitles translated by del Toro himself.

• Well Go USA has sequel Tai Chi Hero on 2 July and powerful Korean gangster drama New World on 23 July.

• 20th Century Fox has another wave of vintage classics hitting Blu-ray throughout July, including Tyrone Power matador movie Blood and Sand (9th), The 300 Spartans (23rd), and a pair of Marilyn Monroe movies (Niagara and Bus Stop) and Elvis in Love Me Tender on 30 July.

• 2 July also brings a trio of great titles from Shout! Factory: The Producers Collectors Edition, Kentucky Fried Movie, and Tower Block, which had the unfortunate timing of being released with very close proximity to both The Raid and Dredd. 

• 2 July TV titles worth noting are Portlandia Season 3, the DVD-only North & South (the BBC one, with Patrick Stewart) and the astounding box set of The UP Series, collecting the over half century of work done across eight films

 

• 9 July brings a couple of more obscure releases: Taika Waititi's Boy from Kino, and Shout! Factory has 1989's Roy Scheider/Adam Baldwin-starring Cohen & Tate (an adaptation of O. Henry's Ranson of Red Chief, previously on MoD DVD from MGM).

• 16 July is extremely varied, with everything from Ralph Bakshi's Heavy Traffic and another entry in the Jackie Chan Collection (Battle Creek Brawl/City Hunter double feature) from Shout! Factory, just-announced discs for Sony's new Evil Dead movie (director/writer/cast commentary & featurettes) and WB's Bullet to the Head (with just a single, lonely featurette), a pair of Mario Bava Collection discs (Black Sabbath and Kidnapped) from Kino, and finally, at long last, a US edition of Michael Bassett's genuinely pulpy Solomon Kane, starring James Purefoy.

 

• The week of 23 July is one of the most interesting of the month, including another batch of Olive Films titles: Harlow (1965), Tennessee Williams adaptation Summer and Smoke, Once is Not Enough starring Kirk Douglas, and WUSA starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Music Box Films has The Silence , Magnet has Xan Cassavetes' Kiss of the Damned, and Drafthouse releases both Grace Land and Piéta. One of my favorite docs of last year, The Bitter Buddha, arrives on DVD only. Shout! also has a 4-DVD, 27th edition of their long-running Mystery Science Theater 3000 sets. Rounding things out is a two-DVD SE of a Korean baseball movie I'd never heard of called Glove. I really want to track that one down.

• 30 July is packed with more Shout!: George Romero's Knightriders and a Scream Factory release of John Carpenter's The Fog, and more Olive: Angel and the Bad Man, That Touch of Mink, and Bullfighter & The Lady. New releases include DC Animated's Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Filly Brown, and Francis Ford Coppola's Twixt. Kino looks to be kicking off a new auteir "collection" series for Erich von Stroheim with Foolish Wives.

• 30 July TV titles hit heavy with HBO's Banshee Season 1, and yet another sure-to-be-amazing pair from CBS: Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 4 and Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption, a "telefilm" cut of the Season 4 finale plus the concluding first episode of the following season. This worked well for The Best of Both Worlds, and I bet this will be interesting as well.

 

• Joining Oliver & Company on 6 August are Blu-rays of Disney's Robin Hood and The Sword in the Stone, as 40th and 50th Anniversary Editions. Both retain all previous extras and add new features in the form of an alternate opening (for S&tS) and a deleted sequence (for RH).

• 13 August brings both HBO's Girls Season 2 and Shout! Factory's the Luc Besson-produced The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec.

 

Disc News Digest collects recent, relevant, and upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release dates in one place rather than fill your feed with a ton of individual stories for individual discs.

Daily Grab 144: Anarchie Road

On 4 June, he lives for revenge.

The first movie is the exact same transfer, down to the data bits, as the previous MGM Blu-ray. It just comes with a new label. This is a good disc that I've not been crying over. The contrast isn't very dark, but I've never seen it very dark. To muck with it and artificially boost the blacks would be a bad move, and betray the accuracy of representing the movie's production values and original look.

Posting more of these today, between other articles.

This is the only sequence (a few seconds long) that shows very visible flaws in the scanned print. Doesn't bother me.

FINAL FANTASY 9: The Undiscovered Side Quest

I played through this game over Thanksgiving break right after it came out, but I don't remember much outside some of the major cutscenes. It was to be one part huge, sprawling adveture, and an equal part full of Final Fantasy series fanservice, in-jokes, and references. I would probably re-play it if they remastered it for HD.

I worked at a videogame store then called FuncoLand (now consumed whole by GameStop), where we actively advised against getting the strategy guide because it was utterly useless. The Final Fantasy IX Official Strategy Guide, as noted by Kotaku, told you to go to the (shortly-thereafter defunct) PlayOnline website for just about everything. 13 years later, a completely unknown side quest has been discovered (found by a NeoGAF poster), as seen in the video below. Go to the YouTube page for more info in the About description:

This is a side quest on disc 4 that was unknown to most FFIX players until yesterday when a topic popped up on the FFIX message board at GameFAQs. It was discovered by The_Kusabi_ (through the Ultimania guide) and confirmed by MysterPixel. Naturally, I had to check it out and I decided to record a video.

Robinov on the Way Out at WB?

THR reports that the primary contributing factor to Robinov being shown the door will end up being a fraught relationship with Legendary boss Thomas Tull. The power struggle with now-President (and former WB home video head) Kevin Tsujihara is quite secondary:

Given his track record, Robinov can make a strong argument for himself. After a rough start to the year, The Great Gatsby has crossed $200 million and Hangover III, though disappointing with a $63 million domestic opening, is not a disaster. More importantly, buzz is loud on the Christopher Nolan-produced Superman reboot Man of Steel that could launch a mighty Warners franchise and perhaps even a Marvel-style universe of films from its DC Comics division.

Robinov also has strong relationships with such talent as Nolan and Ben Affleck. And while not universally loved, Robinov's performance on the job leads one leading film agent to predict that he will remain at the studio. “The main thing you want is stability,” says the agent. “You’ve already got television in transition. Even with Jeff’s odd personality and quirks, I’d re-up him.” But this observer acknowledges that he is one of a minority wagering that Robinov will remain.

On the other side of the scale is the tension between Robinov and Legendary Entertainment, Warners’ partner on films including the Batman and Hangover trilogies. Sources say Legendary and Warners shared the decision to put Hangover III against Fast & Furious, but Legendary’s Thomas Tull has made it known that he feels disrespected and may move (mostly likely to Universal) when the company’s deal expires at the end of the year. (Some of his chagrin may have originated when Warners declined to sweeten Legendary’s deal on the third Batman, though such a decision would have been made above Robinov's level. While it was a 50-50 partner on the first two films, Legendary got only 25 percent on the third. Meanwhile, Warners has 25 percent of the risky Legendary project Pacific Rim, set for release July 12.)

WB needs Legendary. Without Legendary, WB's theatrical slate is anemic at best. From the outside, WB theatrical is embodied in the lackluster money-losers they've pushed into production and taking years to get anyone slapped onto things like the Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie. Look what happened when they did Green Lantern without Legendary.

If I were a betting man, Robinov even possibly being on the way out is a strong indicator that Tsujihara is doubling down on Legendary. Despite their own share of bombs, Legendary actually have a strong success ratio both critically and financially. Especially when comic book-scale action movies (The Avengers, Fast & Furious 6) are the big winners, you want someone who can do that sort of thing and do it well, especially if you want to make a Justice League movie.

KAFKA "Midnight Cut" Update

Tomorrow's issue of Empire is teased to contain a full "exit interview" with Steven Soderbergh. From the portion excerpted on their website today, we get an update on the new version of Kafka he's been working on, now dubbed the "Midnight Cut":

...“I’ve got a 35 page fax from (screenwriter) Lem Dobbs about it that I’ve got to wade into at some point,” Soderbergh tells Empire. “Lem and I have had this back and forth because I’m trying to alter the DNA of the whole movie. I think we want to put out a dual Blu-ray with both versions. I’ve been calling the new version the ‘Midnight Edition’ because it’s perfect for Friday or Saturday night shows.”

Kafka, Soderbergh’s sex, lies, and videotape follow-up, was made under the fierce spotlight that came with being a Palme d'Or-winning wunderkind, and its original issues have continued to nag away at the director. An oblique conspiracy thriller starring Jeremy Irons and Alec Guinness, it will get a German-language dub, “probably” a new score and a substantive reworking of the edit. The cuts will, as Soderbergh emphasises, “be bloody”.

“I was frustrated with Kafka – it had a mixed-to-negative reaction when it came out – and I’m trying to completely rethink it in the hopes of at least turning it into something that’s unified. The tone was all over the place – which is the classic young filmmaker’s mistake. I’d like to make it a little more abstract and more of a hardcore art movie. It’s not a tweak: it’s triage.” So a better-director’s cut of a director’s cut? “I hope so. It’s shorter.”

A new Soderbergh/Lem Dobbs commentary is like discovering a print of a great lost film.