Tag: Dreamworks

Puss in Boots Funny Story Featurette

As Puss in Boots continues to storm the US box office, Paramount has released an official Australian featurette called “Funny Story”. It is filled with clips from the film, and sund bites from Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, director Chris Miller, Billy Bob Thornton and Zach Galifianakis.

Way before he ever met Shrek, the legendary Puss In Boots goes on a heroic journey, teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It’s the adventure of nine lifetimes!

The animated spin-off of Shrek has held onto the Number 1 place at the US box office for two consecutive weeks, as has already taken $118 million at cinemas around the world.

Puss in Boots is released in Australia on 8 December 2011 from Paramount.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF5DhAunbE0

November 10, 2011
Puss in Boots Humpty Dumpty clip

DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots may not reach Australian shores until December, but it is out this week in the US. Paramount has released a new video from the Shrek spin-off, in which Puss (Antonio Banderas) encounters his old friend Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis).

Way before he ever met Shrek, the legendary Puss In Boots goes on a heroic journey, teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It’s the adventure of nine lifetimes!

Puss in Boots is released in Australia on 8 December 2011 from Paramount.

Puss In Boots-Humpty Dumpty by Paramount_Australia

October 26, 2011
Puss in Boots: Casting call and Lady Gaga’s Americano videos

DreamWorks’ Puss in Bo0ts campaign has been played incredibly well, using the knowledge that the Internet is full of cat lovers incredibly well. The latest two video uploaded to the official YouTube channel not only feature cute kittens and cats doing incredibly adorable things, but one of them features Lady Gaga’s “Americano”. Do these people known the Internet community, or what?

Way before he ever met Shrek, the legendary Puss In Boots goes on a heroic journey, teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It’s the adventure of nine lifetimes!

Puss in Boots is released in Australia on 8 December 2011 from Paramount.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwMrO5aF6CE

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udEoIshpy3c

October 22, 2011
Real Steel Featurette: Charlie and Bailey

Disney has sent over a featurette for DreamWorks’ Real Steel, out this week in cinemas around the world. Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lily talk about the complex nature of their characters’ relationship and about Charlie’s (Hugh Jackman) journey toward redemption.

Real Steel is an action drama about a former boxer (Hugh Jackman) who, against all odds, gets one last shot at a comeback when he teams up with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) to build and train the perfect contender for the new high-tech sport of robot boxing.

With Transformers: Dark of the Moon having taught us all the hard way that big shiny things don’t count for squat unless there is a real human heart at the centre of it all, director Shawn Levy has assembled a perfect group to bring the fleshy elements to life in this robo-drama. As a result, Real Steel is a boxing film for the whole family.

Real Steel is produced by DreamWorks and is released on 6 October 2011 in Australia by Disney.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWYfP9zQ15w

October 8, 2011
WINNERS: The Hunter, Norwegian Wood and Real Steel Giveaways
We’ve had so many giveaways running and closing all at once this week, we thought we’d announce them all at once. Triple your pleasure, triple the fun.

To celebrate the release of THE HUNTER, in cinemas October 6, together with Madman Films we pffered you the chance to win one of 5 double passes to the latest film from the producers of Animal Kingdom.

Directed by Daniel Nettheim, THE HUNTER stars Academy Award® nominee and stars Willem Dafoe (Spider-man, The English Patient,Platoon), Frances O’Connor (Blessed, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Mansfield Park) and Sam Neill (The Dish, Jurassic Park, The Piano).

In cinemas 6 October 2011!

www.madman.com.au and www.facebook.com.au/madmanfilms

To be in the running, all you do was name the Academy Award® nominated star of THE HUNTER. The answer, of course, was Willem Dafoe. The winners are:
- Merryl Donn
- Brock Wedding
- Tess Howard
- Alison Saville
- Elisabetta Wyres
Curious Film is offering 10 readers of The Reel Bits a double pass to seeNORWEGIAN WOOD, the latest film from French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung.

Published in 1987 and since translated into 33 languages, NORWEGIAN WOOD is a story of loss and heartbreak in a time of global instability. Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel is brought to the screen by Tran Anh Hung (Golden Lion winner for Cyclo and Academy Award nominee for The Scent of Green Papaya) and features Japanese rising star Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City) and Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) alongside newcomer Kiko Mizuhara.

In cinemas 6 October 2011!

www.curiousfilm.com and www.facebook.com/Curiousfilm

To be in the running, all you had to do was name the author of the novel that inspired the film. The answer was naturally Haruki Murakami. The winners are:
- Kellie Sincock
- Gillian Harriage
- Leigh Bonello
- Lanny Limas
- Cian O’Reilly
- Lisa Robbins
- Kate Mitchell-Collins
- Michele Piper
- Kerry-Anne James
- Donna Trickey
Last but not least, to celebrate the release of DreamWorks’REAL STEEL, in Australian cinemas on 6 October 2011, together with Walt Disney Studios Australia and New Zealand, we’re giving you the chance to win one of 10 double-passes to the film.

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, REAL STEEL stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.
- Janet Seabrook
- Sue Petrie
- Catherine Marston
- Lesley McCauley
- Christine Smith
- Brad Iverson
- Michelle Warwick
- Melissa Mitchell
- Justine Cashman
- Katrina Marshall
Congratulations! Keep an eye on your mail boxes, as your passes are on the way. The Reel Steel passes may be a little longer, as we have not received these yet.

Thanks again to Madman, Roadshow and Curious for providing these passes, and be and be sure to keep watching The Reel Bits for more exciting giveaways.
October 5, 2011
The League Presents: Interview with Hugh Jackman on Real Steel and The Wolverine

DreamWorks’ Real Steel had its Australian premiere in Sydney on 28 September, complete with an appearance by native Hugh Jackman, and The League were in the house to cover the event.

Mr. Jackman was very gracious with his time and answered questions ranging from what inspired him to make the film to what it was like working with boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, and his frustrations over missing his team Manly in the NRL Grand Final. We even got a pseudo update on The Wolverine and his preference of stage or screen acting.

To the latter, Jackman adds “We’re doing Les Mis[erables], and Wolverine straight after. We’re kind of ready to go now, but Les Mis precluded us starting. So, it’s been a frustrating year, because we’ve been waiting to go, and we had various mishaps”.

Once again, we need to thank Disney and Lantern Group for access to the red carpet and for making this opportunity possible.

For more photos and coverage, check out Geek Actually, Damn Good Cup and Spotlight Report.

Real Steel is produced by DreamWorks and is released on 6 October 2011 in Australia by Disney.

About The League
In the beginning there was chaos, a vast information network that provided few islands of hope. Then there was a light, a shimmering hope in the darkness. A portal for lovers of the wonders of celluloid and the entertainment industry. Then there came another, and another ushering in a golden age of wonders the likes the world had never seen. By day, they live out their lives as the humble David McVay of Geek Actually, Jorge Duran of The Spotlight Report, Richard Gray of The Reel Bits, Dave Longo of Damn Good Cup and Josh Philpott of Hip Hop Net. But when the signal goes out they come together as one! The League assembles! Tremble all who dare stand in its path!

October 5, 2011
DreamWorks reveals second War Horse Trailer

iTunes Movie Trailers has exclusively released (as least as much as anything is exclusive on the Internet) the second trailer for Steven Spielberg‘s War Horse, an adaptation of the 1982 children’s novel and stage adaptation of the same name.

DreamWorks Pictures‘ War Horse, director Steven Spielberg’s epic adventure, is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets – British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter – before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse – an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure.

War Horse is one of the great stories of friendship and war – a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is arriving on Broadway next year. It now comes to screen in an epic adaptation by one of the great directors in film history.

War Horse is released on 26 December 2011 in Australia from Disney.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPNyNr2Kp4w&hd=1

October 5, 2011
Review: Real Steel

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Real Steel (2011)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”220″]

Director: Shawn Levy

Runtime: 127 minutes

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo

Distributor: Disney

Country: US

Rating: Highly Recommended (?)

More info

[/stextbox]

If we have learned anything from Japanese manga and anime, or the films of James Cameron, it is that giant robots will either be things we ride around in for amusement/battle, or our unquestionable lords and masters. DreamWorks’ Real Steel provides ample reason for the robot apocalypse to eventuate, with a not-too-distant future in which TNA Wrestling has becoming boring and predictable, and humans have turned to giant mechanical creations to provide the no-holds-barred action and off-the-cuff acting skills that present-day wrestlers can never hope to achieve. Loosely based on the short story “Steel” by Richard Matheson, previously adapted as a Twilight Zone episode, Real Steel might just be one of the underrated gems of the year.

Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan) is a washed-up ex-boxer who struggles to piece together enough scrap metal to cobble a robot boxer to go against the bigger, flashier models. After hitting a new low, he teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo, Thor) to build a new champion robot. Although the scrapyard bot is nothing much to look at, and Charlie doubts its longevity, they soon find the robot they call Adam has some unique abilities, not least of which is bringing them closer together. Armed with his new champion, Charlie has one more shot at the title.

Real Steel will be widely labelled “Rocky with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots”, and for a large part it is. While this science-fiction yarn may not be in the same league as its heavyweight predecessor, it has the audacity to step in the ring and go toe-to-toe with the Balboa comparisons, and for this reason it is a contender. Just as Rocky without the boxing is a tale of some busted up people with broken down lives, so too is Real Steel. Strip away the worn-metal facade of the sci-fi robot elements, and John Gatins’ (Meet Dave) screenplay is a simple father-son story about two people unable to connect because they have channeled their frustrations elsewhere. In one of the rare eye-rolling moments, Max tells his dad “‘I want you to fight for me,” so this is precisely what he does, both literally and figuratively. That Gatins has so effortlessly woven in these elements of human drama into a story that is ostensibly about robots beating the circuits out of each other is a testament to the strength of the writing. Eat that, Michael Bay.

With Transformers: Dark of the Moon having taught us all the hard way that big shiny things don’t count for squat unless there is a real human heart at the centre of it all, Levy has assembled a perfect group to bring the fleshy elements to life in this robo-drama. Jackman is the consummate leading man for this kind of adventure, and his gruff exterior mixed with elements of pathos solidifies his reputation as a kind of 21st century Harrison Ford. While Evangeline Lilly, fresh from no longer being LOST, proves to be something more than the token female in the mix, making up for all the man-sweat and oil squirts being exchanged in this largely two-fister, it is the young Goyo who impresses with enough charm (and dance moves) to narrowly avoid being the moppet-headed cliche that has brought down so many family films before it.

While the exposition may occasionally draw out Real Steel needlessly, once the film steps into the ring, it really packs a punch (and other puns that couldn’t be ducked). Levy’s film goes pound for pound with some of the best sports films in the business, and while a suspension of disbelief may be required initially, you will believe a robot can box. Indeed, it will be difficult to not leap to your feet and cheer on the hulking metal beasts as the sparks fly in the nail-biting conclusion to this fun adventure.

[stextbox id=”custom”]Sparks will fly in a film that is not simply well-made, but has a beating human heart beneath the masses of gears and rivets. A boxing film for the whole family.[/stextbox]

Real Steel is produced by DreamWorks and is released on 6 October 2011 in Australia by Disney.

October 4, 2011
The League Presents: Hugh Jackman at Sydney Real Steel premiere

DreamWorks’ Real Steel had its Australian premiere in Sydney on 28 September, complete with an appearance by native Hugh Jackman, and The League were in the house to cover the event.

Real Steel is a gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, and the boxers are robots.

Below is a selection of photos from the night. We have lots more to come, plus a video interview with Jackman in the coming days where we grill the star on his one-man show, his stage and screen appearances, the current state of The Wolverine and his anguish over missing Manly in the Grand Final. Click on any photo to enlarge.

[nggallery id=3]

We need to thank Disney and Lantern Group for access to the red carpet and for making this opportunity possible.

For more photos and coverage, check out Geek Actually, Damn Good Cup and Spotlight Report.

About The League
In the beginning there was chaos, a vast information network that provided few islands of hope. Then there was a light, a shimmering hope in the darkness. A portal for lovers of the wonders of celluloid and the entertainment industry. Then there came another, and another ushering in a golden age of wonders the likes the world had never seen. By day, they live out their lives as the humble David McVay of Geek Actually, Jorge Duran of The Spotlight Report, Richard Gray of The Reel Bits, Dave Longo of Damn Good Cup and Josh Philpott of Hip Hop Net. But when the signal goes out they come together as one! The League assembles! Tremble all who dare stand in its path!

September 30, 2011
New poster for War Horse arrives

Entertainment Weekly has debuted the poster for Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, an adaptation of the 1982 children’s novel and stage adaptation of the same name.

DreamWorks Pictures’ War Horse, director Steven Spielberg’s epic adventure, is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets–British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter–before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse–an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure. War Horse is one of the great stories of friendship and war– a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is arriving on Broadway next year. It now comes to screen in an epic adaptation by one of the great directors in film history.

War Horse is released on 26 December 2011 in Australia from Disney.

September 27, 2011