Daily Variety articles from January 2008

Daily Variety archives from January 2008

Box office hits the bubbly: 'Treasure' pours it on to stir year-end B.O.
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The five-day New Year's frame continued the late-year boost to the film biz, with Disney sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" leading and 20th Century Fox's surprise hit "Alvin and the Chipmunks" overtaking...

Tentpoles tops o'seas.
January 2, 2008... International moviegoers played a starring role for Hollywood studios in 2007, driving foreign box office to record levels. Offshore biz remained robust throughout the year thanks to a combo of world wide franchise titles, midrange pics...

Par rides DreamWorks to pole position.
January 2, 2008... For the first time since 1998, Paramount ended the year No. 1 in market share, a victory made possible because it owns DreamWorks and distributes its movies. In another milestone, six majors crossed the $1 billion mark at the domestic box...

Letterman deal brings latenight wakeup call.
January 2, 2008... The competition in latenight ratchets into another dimension this week, as the network mainstays return in an unprecedented haves and have-nots scenario. CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" and "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" go...

'Shot' fills MTV's glass.
January 2, 2008... MTV is bellying up to the bar for another "Shot at Love," the bisexual dating show starring MySpace phenom Tila Tequila that turned into the cabler's biggest hit in over two years. In addition to renewing "Shot," MTV has inked a...

Will latenight hosts strike out?
January 2, 2008... THE LATENIGHT TALKSHOWS sign on again this week and, as is so often the case, Johnny Carson's shadow looms large over them. Carson reluctantly returned to "The Tonight Show" in 1988--after staying away a few months because of that year's...

Republican pollster Frank Luntz literally wrote the book on communicating messages effectively: "words that work: it's not what you say it's what people hear.(FRANK LUNTZ )(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... REPUBLICAN POLLSTER FRANK LUNTZ literally wrote the book on communicating messages effectively: "Words That Work: It's Not What You Say It's What People Hear." So he tends to fixate on how words are used and what he sees as the unproductive...

Strike front at standstill.(WGA STRIKE)
January 2, 2008... With the writers strike headed into its third month, there's no signal of a cease-fire any time soon between the WGA and the majors. Even the holiday break saw hostilities break out as the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers...

Gov't issues coupons for digital converters.
January 2, 2008... With the start of the new year, the government began distributing millions of $40 coupons to help television owners who don't get cable or satellite service buy special converter boxes to receive digital signals. Beginning Feb. 18, 2009,...

Wal-Mart logs off pic biz.
January 2, 2008... With no fanfare and a barely noticeable posting on its website, Wal-Mart has exited the movie-download biz, less than a year after jumping in. The largest seller of DVDs in the U.S. posted a short message on the website of its...

27 Dresses.(Movie review)
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 20th Century Fox release of a Fox 2000 Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment presentation of a Birnbaum/Barber production. Produced by Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Jonathan Glickman. Executive producers, Bobby...

Passion to censor? Risque grows riskier for China pics.
January 2, 2008... Chinese censors say producers of erotic movies face being banned from the biz and will not be allowed to compete for any domestic film awards--an interesting development as porn, nudity and anything risque are already major taboos. ...

Big hopes for China Olympics.
January 2, 2008... For China, 2008 is the year of the Olympics, plain and simple, and the government kicked off the new year with stirring testimony to the positive changes wrought in the country because of the Beijing Games, which open Aug. 8. China says...

FCC OKs Citadel's buyout of Ion Media.
January 2, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The FCC on Monday cleared a private equity group's buyout of TV station operator Ion Media Networks, denying an investor complaint that would have stopped the transaction. The Federal Communications Commission approved the...

Wife accuses TV anchor.(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... China state broadcaster CCTV and media watchdogs are reeling from an Internet clip of the country's top TV sports anchor being lambasted by his wife and accused of having an affair at a high-profile Olympics press conference. Speaking in a...

'Trial' moving to top Spielberg's docket?(Inside Moves)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... Could "The Trial of the Chicago Seven" be Steven Spielberg's next picture? Spielberg has been developing the DreamWorks project, about anti-Vietnam War activists arrested at the 1968 Democratic Convention, for some time. Now it looks as if...

Specialty deliveries: 'Juno' sees jolt as kudo contenders rise.
January 2, 2008... The awards race has just gotten more exciting--at least in terms of box office. In a year-end surge, a handful of awards hopefuls found their stride at theaters during the extended holiday frame, including Fox Searchlight's "Juno," which...

WBTV ups marketing VEEP.
January 2, 2008... Warner Bros. TV has upped Sonia Borris to senior VP of marketing and operations for its worldwide marketing group. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the newly created post, Borris will oversee the group's daily operations, including marketing,...

Patriots' streak rallies trio of nets.
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The New England Patriots' pursuit of perfection produced more boffo ratings Saturday night, as the team's final regular-season contest scored nifty Nielsens on a trio of networks. Unprecedented simulcast on the...

'Dirty' dances at B.O.(LEGIT BITS)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Echoing its blockbuster success in Sydney, London and Hamburg, Germany, the North American premiere production of "Dirty Dancing--The Classic Story on Stage" has broken box office records in Toronto. The musical...

How to Look Good Naked.
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] (Reality; Lifetime; Fri. Jan. 4 at 9 p.m.) Filmed on location in California by RDF Media for Lifetime Television. Executive producers, Riaz Patel, Alex Fraser, Jim Sayer, Jo Rosenfelder, Greg Goldman, Chris...

Blackbird.(Theater review)
January 2, 2008... (Wharf Theater I, Sydney; 364 seats; A$73 ($64) top) A Sydney Theater Company presentation of a play in one act by David Harrower. Directed by Cate Blanchett. Set, Ralph Myers; costumes, Myers; lighting, Nick Schlieper, original music Max...

Lissi and the Wild Emperor.(Movie review)
January 2, 2008... (Lissi und der wilde Kaiser) (Animated--Germany) A Constantin Film release of a HerbX Film production. Produced by Michael Bully Herbig. Executive producer, Michael Waldleitner. Directed by Michael Bully Herbig. Sceenplay, Herbig,...

Top This Party: Orange County.(Television program review)
January 2, 2008... (Reality; Lifetime; Fri., Jan. 4, 10p.m.) Filmed on location in California by Intuitive Entertainment for Lifetime Television. Executive producer, Mechelle Collins, Kevin Dill; co-executive producers, Blake Levin, Jennifer Colbert;...

Matched in Manhattan.
January 2, 2008... (Reality; Lifetime; Fri., Jan. 4; 9:30p.m.) Filmed on location in New York by Markmark Productions for Lifetime Television. Executive producers, Mark Efman, Mark Farrell, Sara Chazen-Leand; co-executive producer, Amy Kohn; supervising...

Movie music's banner year, sans gold trim: tune-driven pix roared in '07 but much of their fuel cannot light Oscar's torch.(V PLUS: EYE ON THE OSCARS: SONG AND SCORE)
January 2, 2008... Once upon a time, Oscars were routinely given to music directors who supervised the transition of musicals from Broadway to the movies (think "West Side Story," "The Sound of Music") or for the use of existing musical material as a score (the...

The rules they are a-changin'.(V PLUS: EYE ON THE OSCARS: SONG AND SCORE)
January 2, 2008... Exactly how to recognize excellence in adapting pre-existing music for the film medium has plagued the Academy music branch from the very beginning. No category in Oscar history has been so endlessly tinkered with, undergoing near-constant...

And in the end ... the days are numbered for the closing credit song as shameless marketing tool.(FITTING CODA OR ANTICLIMAX?)
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When the filmmakers behind Disney's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" were looking for a song to play during the film's end credits, they commissioned an original song from rocker Daughtry. But when "Feels Like...

Bending the rules: marketers get creative in face of Acad restrictions.(END AROUND)
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Where there's a will, there's a way. When NBC Universal music chief Kathy Nelson wanted to tout "Do You Feel Me," the Diane Warren-penned track in "American Gangster," she combined homevideo footage of crooner...

For a song: exposure on the mother of all kudocasts presents a win-win for artist and film.(WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING)
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An Oscar-winning best song walks the line between living a longer life than the fill it's being lauded for or working in perfect harmony with a movie's success. One of the gold standards of the latter synergy remains...

Scripter gets animated over scribes' respect: "Ratatouille' mastermind chafes at misconceptions about animation scripts.(TOON TITAN: BRAD BIRD)
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since Brad Bird is writer-director of three of the best animated films of the past decade, "The Iron Giant," "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille," it's no surprise to hear him extol the virtues of both Warner Bros....

Solving the screenplay puzzle: cinema's relentless ticking clock keeps the best scripts lean and lithe.(WRITER ON WRITING)
January 2, 2008... Michael Cunningham, novelist ("The Hours"), screenwriter and a teacher of writing, spoke to Variety features editor David S. Cohen for Cohen's upcoming book "Screen Plays: How 25 Scripts Made It to a Theater Near You--For Better or Worse." ...

Hard time for kids' crimes.(PARALLEL PICS)
January 2, 2008... Rarely has the race for the screenwriting Oscar seen two stories with parallels as strong as those between "The Kite Runner" and "Atonement." The jumping-off point of both stories is a terrible transgressive act by a child. In both films,...

The ultimate Oscar writer quiz: how much do you know about the Acad's history with screenwriters? Here are 21 questions to test your mettle.(V PLUS: EYE ON THE OSCARS: WRITERS ROUNDUP)
January 2, 2008... THAT THING YOU DO (1) Name the Oscar-winning screenplay suggested by each of the following lists: (a) Cigarette, tent, two shirts on the Same hanger (b) Briefcase, hypodermic needle, Samurai sword (c) Sleigh, X-ray machine,...

Stu Nahan.(Obituaries)
January 2, 2008... Longtime Los Angeles sportscaster Stu Nahan, also familiar to movie fans for his appearances in the series of "Rocky" films, died Wednesday in Studio City, Calif. He was 81. He had battled lymphoma since being diagnosed in January 2006. ...

Fred Dressier.(Obituaries)
January 2, 2008... Longtime cable TV exec Fred Dressler died Dec. 24 of pancreatic cancer in New Haven, Conn. He was 66. Dressler had recently retired as executive VP of programming at Time Warner Cable. An influential figure in the cable business, he was a...

Ruth Wallis.(Obituaries)
January 2, 2008... Ruth Wallis, whose naughty musical numbers between the 1940s and 1960s inspired the musical revue, "Boobs! The Musical," died of Alzheimer's-related causes Dec. 22 in Wallingford, Conn. She was 87. She sang in the Isham Jones and Benny...

Jeanne Carmen.(Obituaries)(Obituary)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... Jeanne Carmen, who became a 1950s pinup and actress and hobnobbed with Frank Sinatra and other stars, died Dec. 20 of lymphoma in Irvine, Calif. She was 77. Born in Paragould, Ark., Carmen picked cotton with her family before running away...

Jillian Kesner-Graver.(Obituaries)(Obituary)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... Jillian Kesner-Graver, actress and widow and collaborator of cinematographer Gary Graver, died Dec. 5 in Irvine, Calif., of complications of a staph infection, which she contracted after having been diagnosed with leukemia. She was 58. A...

Charles Tolep.(Obituaries)
January 2, 2008... TV distribution exec Charles Tolep died Dec. 16 of cancer in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was 70. Tolep attended Brooklyn College and went to work for Screen Gems, at the time the TV division of Columbia Pictures. He rose to director of...

Joseph Viertel.(Obituaries)(Obituary)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... Joseph M. Viertel, playwright, novelist, and father of Broadway producers Tom and Jack Viertel, died of complications due to kidney failure on Dec. 11. He was 92. Born in New York, Viertel graduated from Harvard and did post-graduate work...

U.K. tops format biz: U.S. makes market gains.(World News)
January 2, 2008... Blighty continues to dominate the global market in TV formats, but mainland Europe and the U.S. are catching up. The U.K.'s share of the market was 33% for the first nine months of 2007, according to research by FremantleMedia, whose...

BBC1 has a very merry Christmas.(World News)(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... A special Christmas edition of "Doctor Who," featuring a guest appearance from Kylie Minogue, cemented a strong festive perf for the BBC's flagship channel, BBC1. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nine of the 10 most popular shows on Christmas...

TF1 taps Canuck producer.(World News)(TF1 International)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... Top-rating Gallic broadcaster TF1 has tapped Canadian producer Andre Beraud artistic director of fiction. He will report to Takis Candilis, TF1's head of French fiction and entertainment. Beraud, who leaves Canuck production shingle Cirrus...

Sogecable picks Orange for pact.(SPAIN)
January 2, 2008... Spanish pay TV leader Sogecable has inked with Orange for Sogecable satcaster Digital Plus to become part of Orange's triple-play and 3G cell-phone offers in Spain beginning in early 2008. Gallic giant France Telecom's Orange will sell...

Indie fest cries Wolf.(ARGENTINA)
January 2, 2008... Sergio Wolf has been named director of the Buenos Aires Festival of Independent Film, the biggest film event in Argentina. He will replace critic-archivist-programmer Fernando Pena, who stepped down Monday. Wolf comes to the post from a...

Italo admissions get boost in 2007.(World News)(Brief article)
January 2, 2008... By NICK VIVARELLI ROME Driven by a local pic resurgence, Italo admissions are expected to close 2007 up 13% to 114 million, making it a benchmark year for the Italian industry. Seven Italo titles are among the 2007 top 20, with...

Mississippi Chicken.
January 2, 2008... (Docu) A Reversal Fills presentation of a John Fiege production. Produced by Fiege, Anita Grabowski, Victor Moyers. Executive producers, Jeffrey E. Cole, Dustin D. McCartney. Directed by John Fiege. Written by Fiege, Grabowski. Camera...

Timecrimes.(Movie review)
January 2, 2008... (Los cronocrimenes) (Spain) A KV Entertainment, ZIP, Fine, Arsenico production, with participation of ETB, TVC. (International sales: Magnolia Pictures, New York.) Produced by Esteban Ibarretxe, Javier Ibarretxe, Eduardo Carneros, Santi...

The Singing Revolution.(Movie review)
January 2, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] (Docu- US.-Estonia) An Abramorama (in U.S.) release of a Mountain View Prods. (U.S.) production in association with Allfilm (Estonia)/Northern Light Prods. (U.S.). Produced by Maureen Castle Tusty, James Tusty,...

Scribes' global warfare: guild stands firm on awards picketing.
January 3, 2008... So much for the Christmas spirit. The town's first day back at work started with reports that the Golden Globes would go on as scheduled thanks to a waiver from the striking Writers Guild. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Then the WGA was...

B'way on a roll.
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The tourist-fueled holiday frame lavished its usual gifts on Broadway's box office, with total grosses rocketing to $30 million and records broken left and right along the Rialto. Perennial top dog "Wicked"...

Specialty biz takes a dip in '07.
January 3, 2008... Sequels had their day in the sun in 2007, but specialty films found dwindling auds. Among studio specialty arms, total box office receipts for 2007 were down 4% from 2006, according to Rentrak. That's despite a 5% overall box office bump....

The chat is back.
January 3, 2008... Latenight's leading lights took up the WGA's cause in their return to the airwaves on Wednesday, with Gotham-based David Letterman and Conan O'Brien delivering the most overt statements of support to mainstream viewers since the strike began...

Oscar goes to tech titan.(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... David A. Grafton will receive the Gordon A. Sawyer Award at this year's Sci-Tech Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced Wednesday. He will receive the honor, an Oscar statuette, at the Scientific and Technical Awards...

Fox alters spring sked.
January 3, 2008... With no resolution in sight. Fox is bracing for a lengthy Writers Guild strike by tweaking its midseason schedule. Newcomers "New Amsterdam" and "Canterbury's Law," which had initially been given berths on Friday night--arguably Fox s...

Cashmere Mafia.(Televesion: Brian Lowry)(Television program review)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] (Series; ABC, Sun. Jan. 6, 10 p.m.) Filmed in New York by Darren Star Prods., Back East Pictures and Gall Katz Prods. in association with Sony Pictures Television. Executive producers, Star, Kevin Wade, Jeff...

Champian Fulton--David Berger and the Sultans of Swing.(Concert review)
January 3, 2008... (Birdland; 150 capacity; $30) Presented inhouse. Band: David Berger, Jay Brandford, Matt Hong, Dan Block, Mark Hynes, Carl Maraghi, Bob Millikan, Brian Pareschi, Irv Grossman, Tatum Greenblatt, Wayne Goodman, Ryan Keberle, Marshall Gilkes,...

Loins of Punjab presents.(Movie review)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] (India) A Horn OK Please Entertainment production. (International sales: Horn OK Please, Mumbai.) Produced, directed by Manish Acharya. Screenplay, Anuvab Pal, Acharya. Camera (color), Arvind Kannabiran; editor,...

Brit CD sales suffer as downloads soar.
January 3, 2008... Buoyed by a record sales week, the British music biz saw sales of individual tracks soar 47.8% in 2007 and sales of CDs slump by about 10%. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The British Phonographic Industry reported that 77.6 million songs were...

Westport's A.D. ankles.(Westport Country Playhouse )(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... Tazewell Thompson has ankled as a.d. of the Westport Country Playhouse due to "artistic and professional differences" with the board of the Connecticut not-for-profit theater. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, who...

Wolfe's new 'Blood': author parting with longtime publisher.
January 3, 2008... Bestselling scribe Tom Wolfe has left the nest of longtime publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux after the two sides were unable to agree on a price for his next book, "Back to Blood." Little, Brown and Co. said Wednesday that it has acquired...

Sony logs a tech honcho.
January 3, 2008... Sony Pictures has tapped Chris Cookson, Warner Bros.' top tech exec, to take on a newly created role as president of Sony Pictures Technologies. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cookson, a 15-year WB vet who has been chief technology officer...

Rachel Nichols.(Players)
January 3, 2008... Rachel Nichols has been cast in Stephen Sommers' "G.I. Joe" alongside Sienna Miller. She'll play a skilled martial artist who specializes in counterintelligence. Recent credits include "P2" and "Charlie Wilson's War." [ILLUSTRATION...

T.J. Thyne.(Players)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] T.J. Thyne has joined the cast of two films, "The Human ConWaet, written, directed and starring Jada Pinkett Smith, and "The Last Full Measure" starring Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. Thyne stars on Fox's "Bones."

Michelle Stafford.(Players)
January 3, 2008... Michelle Stafford has signed on for a lead role in the indie pic "3 Days Gone." playing a detective. Stafford's credits include "The Young and the Restless" and the Lifetime drama "Like Mother, Like Daughter." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Weekend stats.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... Domestic Box Office $186.1 million December 25-30, 2007 vs. last week vs. last year +16% +15% Daily Breakdown (in million of $) 59.9 63.6 54.2 FRI. SAT. SUN. vs. last weekend ...

Film box office Wrap: for the weekend of Dec. 28-30.
January 3, 2008... Box Office Wrap FOR THE WEEKEND OF DEC. 28-30 Reported This Last Title (Distributor/ Weekend Pct. Week Week Financier) Box Officce ...

Dusenberry was ace ad man.
January 3, 2008... Screenwriter and ad man Philip B. "Phil" Dusenberry, who co-wrote 1984's WGA-nommed Robert Redford baseball starrer "The Natural" and created such campaigns as GE's "We Bring Good Things to Life" and Pepsi's "The Choice of a New Generation,"...

Screen media digs 'boys'.(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... Screen Media is stopping at the trailer park on the way to its next and biggest lineup. "Trailer Park Boys," a Canadian mockumentary series about life in a neighborhood of Nova Scotia mobile homes, has become something of a pop culture...

Broadway top 10: Dec. 24-30.
January 3, 2008... Broadway Top 10: Dec. 24-30 Week's Prev Net Receipts Week's Show Potential Net (Theater)(Prod....

TV production chart.
January 3, 2008... PRODUCTION CHART KEY Abbreviations: SUPR EXP-Supervising executive producer(s); EXP-Executive producer(s); CO-EXP-Co-executive producer(s); SUPR PROD-Supervising producer(s); PROD-Producer(s); CO-PROD-Co-producer(s); DlR-Director(s);...

Showbiz stocks.
January 3, 2008... Showbiz Stocks Wednesday, January 2, 2008 YTD Name Tkr PE Last Chg % Chg AccessIT AIXD ... 4.29 -.18 -4.0 AcmeCm ACME...

A different light: D.p.s known for epic visions go intimate, and vice versa.(LENSERS AVOID TYPECASTING)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The year in cinematography included a lot of shooters doing what they do--but doing more of it. For instance, the ever-lyrical Roger Deakins getting positively poetic with "The Assassination of Jesse James by the...

Lighting master pulls off a stunning trifecta.(ROGER DEAKINS: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, In the Valley of Elah, No Country for Old Men)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There's a particularly dazzling sequence in the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" when Llewelyn Moss, the film's picaresque hero played by Josh Brolin, commits an act of folly that sets off a chain of...

For Van Sant's lenser, big-time crime pays.(HARRIS SAVIDES: American Gangster, Margot at the Wedding, Zodiac)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Harris Savides may be more at home in the arthouse than the cineplex, but that didn't keep him from lensing not one but two large-scale period crime films this year, "Zodiac" and "American Gangster." At first...

Capturing greed from two angles.(ROBERT ELSWIT: There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton)
January 3, 2008... Honoring past traditions while questioning established practice is perhaps life's, let alone filmmaking's, trickiest balancing act. But cinematographer Robert Elswit is living proof that it can be done, and with a flourish. He will go out...

Limitless mindscape within blink of an eye.(JANUSZ KAMINSKI: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ever since "Schindler's List," Janusz Kaminski has been Steven Spielberg's go-to guy, working exclusively with the director to shoot nine features in as many years. But after "Munich," a window opened when Spielberg...

From the soapbox to the lecture hall.(PHILIPPE ROUSSELOT: Lions for Lambs, The Great Debaters, The Brave One)
January 3, 2008... About the only thing "Lions for Lambs," "The Great Debaters" and "The Brave One" have in common is Philippe Rousselot, the Oscar-winning French cinematographer of "A River Runs Through It." And while each of these three films is indeed...

Kaleidoscope of styles rolled into one biopic.(EDWARD LACHMAN: I'm Not There)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was like doing six different films in one film," says cinematographer Edward Lachman of "I'm Not There," his latest collaboration with helmer Todd Haynes. "We'd go into one world for two weeks, and then we'd move...

Espionage painted in noir tones.(RODRIGO PRIETO: Lust, Caution)(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... One of the major challenges d.p. Rodrigo Prieto faced on Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" came toward the end of the film, on a street scene in which a golden sunset needed to be created. "We had to find a way to shoot toward the shade of the...

Plunging into heart of darkness.(PETER SUSCHITZKY: Eastern Promises)
January 3, 2008... For "Eastern Promises," d.p. Peter Suschitzky used the grizzled faces of actors who play Russian mobsters as his canvas, artfully manipulating light to achieve a chiaroscuro effect on their sinister mugs. "Light only becomes interesting when...

Doomed romance seen through filter of battle.(SEAMUS MCGARVEY: Atonement)(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Atonement" has one of those sequences that keeps movie buffs buzzing long after awards season: a 5 1/2-minute Steadicam shot that follows war-fatigued James McAvoy at the evacuation of Dunkirk. "It came about out of...

A fantasy of familiar and unfamiliar worlds.(HENRY BRAHAM: The Golden Compass)
January 3, 2008... The term "cold comfort" holds a very different meaning for cinematographer Henry Braham these days. Having earned an Emmy in 2002 for the A&E two-parter "Shackleton," which recounted the true tale of a South Pole expedition gone awry, the...