Lo Svarione degli Anelli

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In memory : Paul Newman 1925-2008

Otto Preminger & Saul Bass

If any one person can be credited with having introduced the idea of "high concept"—the single striking image or pithy phrase that immediately sums up a creative work—to the movie industry, it would have to be Saul Bass. Not that the term existed when Bass, then known as one of America's brightest graphic designers, was called in to create the poster and title design for Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones. Bass preferred to talk in terms of Single Appropriate Image, in contrast to the then prevalent style of selling films, which he drily summed up as "the See! See! See! approach. See the missionaries boiled in oil, see the volcano destroy the island, see the virgins of the temple! The theory was that if you talked about a film in pieces, there would be something for everyone." Instead of crassly duplicating the function of the trailer, Bass saw his task as "finding a metaphor for the film, rather than an actuality from it."

The single image he created for Carmen Jones was a rose, in flames; taken with the title, that said it all. His design for Preminger's next film, The Man with the Golden Arm, was yet more audacious: the jagged diagram of an arm groping downward, contorted with agony. Like so many of Bass's concepts, it relied on the simplest and most effective style of design, a silhouette. Initially Preminger wanted a static image for the title sequence, but after "some towering discussions" Bass won his battle to animate the arm, making it jerk in torment to the rhythm of Elmer Bernstein's doomy, small-hours jazz score. Not for the last time, Bass's title sequence packed a more formidable punch than the movie that followed it. The prowling black alley cat that prefaced Walk on the Wild Side was so patently the best thing in the film that, once word got around, people would come to see the credit sequence, then get up and leave once the film started.

Knowing that nothing is more universally recognizable than stylized images of the human face or body, Bass drew on this primal source for some of his most memorable designs. The paper cut-out doll, suggesting at once childish innocence and the lethal sharpness of a blade, introduced the kidnap drama of Bunny Lake Is Missing. For Exodus, clenched fists grasping at a rifle: anger, desperation, revolt, revenge, all in one charged outline. A voluptuous pair of bare female thighs (in a style borrowed from Matisse) heralded the sophisticated sex comedy Such Good Friends. Bonjour Tristesse was evoked by a made-up face (a nod here to Picasso) decorated with a single fat tear. Most famous of all was the sectioned human body that suggested both a chalked forensic outline on the ground, and the title of the film: Anatomy of a Murder. So potent was the concept that it has been widely plagiarized ever since.

A look back at the Goldfinger credits sequence

The blonde is Margaret Nolan, a forgotten 1960s starlet. The man in silhouette is Robert Brownjohn, one of the most innovative, expensive and downright difficult art directors of the 60s - reports The Guardian.

Nolan is being filmed for the title sequence of Goldfinger (1964), the third James Bond film. She was painted gold from head to toe and images from the film were projected on to her body, creating a hallucinogenic effect that was ahead of its time. Brownjohn had succeeded in turning a title sequence - generally an afterthought - into high art. Had he not died in 1970 from a heart attack aged 44, he would have received greater credit for his innovation.

Robert "Bj" Brownjohn had already made a name for himself as a designer in 1950s New York when he arrived in London in 1960. He claimed that he came over for the city's creative energy. His girlfriend, the super-chic fashion designer Kiki Byrne, remembers it differently. "You could get heroin on the National Health back then," says Byrne. "And Bj did have a problem. But he was also terribly gifted, so he quickly established himself as one of the key figures during a very special period in history."

Brownjohn was at the heart of swinging London when he got the call from Albert "Cubby" Broccoli to design the title sequences for From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Having been given £850 for the first film, he demanded £5,000 for the second, a huge amount at the time. "We quoted £5,000 and it cost £5,000," remembers his assistant Trevor Bond. "You never made a profit on Bj." Byrne designed the bikini for Nolan.

Goldfinger was to prove a high point in Brownjohn's career. In 1968 he designed the sleeve for the Rolling Stones' album Let It Bleed, an unhappy experience that he illustrated by featuring a smashed wedding cake on the back cover. By this time, heavy drinking and drug use had taken over at the expense of output. He broke up with Byrne the following year, and soon he was living alone in a basement bedsit. But once, as his friend and fellow designer Alan Fletcher remembers, "Bj was the right man, in the right job, in the right place."

posing

BondCola

Nine - the musical

Academy Award nominated director Rob Marshall (Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago) and The Weinstein Company are joining forces to bring the classic Broadway show Nine to the big screen. This marks the first time that Rob Marshall and Harvey Weinstein have collaborated since reviving the Hollywood musical with Chicago, winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Nine will be directed by Rob Marshall with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, composer and lyricist for the original 1982 Broadway production that won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and was written by Arthur Kopit. Marshall and John DeLuca (Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago) will choreograph. A writer will be announced shortly. The joint announcement was made today by Rob Marshall and Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company.

LUCAMAR Productions partners DeLuca and Marshall will be on board as part of the producing team. The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to produce Nine from Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston who will each serve as co-executive producer.

Nine was initially adapted by Mario Fratti with the book written for the stage by Arthur Kopit. Throughout its successful runs on Broadway, Nine has attracted such legendary talent as Raúl Juliá, Antonio Banderas, Chita Rivera and Liliane Montevecchi.

"Inspired by Fellini's personal, painful, and beautiful film '8 1/2,'" Marshall said, "'Nine' is a sumptuous and emotional work that translates naturally to the film musical genre because of its seamless relationship between fantasy and reality." He added, "Finding another musical to bring to the screen has been quite a journey and I am thrilled that it's 'Nine.' Harvey and I are looking forward to working together again, and I am excited to be taking on this challenging and provocative piece."

Harvey Weinstein stated, "Rob and I have been looking for another musical to make together ever since 'Chicago' and I nearly fell over with excitement when he first suggested 'Nine.' It's a brilliant and timeless masterpiece, and no one can stage sexier or more dynamic numbers than Rob Marshall. Teaming up with him and the tremendous cast he's putting together, will be something we've never experienced before. After the truly sensational job he did with 'Chicago,' I cannot think of a better filmmaker to bring this daring story to the big screen."

Nine is a sultry and enchanting musical that follows the life of world famous film director Guido Contini as he prepares his latest picture and balances the numerous women in his life including his wife, a producer, a mistress, a film star, and his deceased mother. The original 1982 Broadway production of Nine, nominated for twelve Tony Awards and winning five, including Best Musical, was directed by Tommy Tune, choreographed by Thommie Walsh, starred Raúl Juliá with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Arthur Kopit. In 2003, the Broadway revival of Nine, starring Antonio Banderas, received eight Tony Award nominations and won two, including Best Revival of a Musical.

The film will feature an impressive cast up to now:

Nicole Kidman ... Claudia
Kate Hudson ... Stephanie
Daniel Day-Lewis ... Guido Contini
Penélope Cruz ... Carla
Judi Dench ... Liliane La Fleur
Marion Cotillard ... Luisa Contini
Stacy Ferguson ... Saraghina
Sophia Loren ... Mamma

on his way to come.....

Michael Madsen talks about meeting George Lazenby

Actor Michael Madsen, who played Falco in the 2002 James Bond film "Die Another Day" with Pierce Brosnan, spoke to Empire magazine about meeting a previous incarnation of 007 - Geroge Lazenby.

Empire: Who is the best james bond?

Madsen: Sean Connery, of course. I met Lazenby once. It was really bizarre. I was in an airport on the way to do Die Another Day and this old guy walks up and goes, "Hey, Michael, how are you doing?" Shakes my hand. "Love your work". I'm like, "thanks very much." He stood there staring at me. I felt very embarrassed because I thought "this guy knows me and I don't know him". Five seconds later,it was like "Holy shit! You're George Lazenby." And he was like, "YES I AM!". I said "Wow, I'm on my way to do a Bond film right now!" He goes "Put a word in for me, woudya? I think I should be a bond villain - don't you think I'd be a great villain?". I said "I'll mention it to Barbra (Broccoli)".

Empire: Did You?

Masden: No.

The Stepford Wives (1975)

Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross) is a young wife who moves with her husband Walter (Peter Masterson) and two children from New York City to the idyllic Connecticut suburb of Stepford. Loneliness quickly sets in as Joanna, a mildly rebellious aspiring photographer, finds the women in town obsessed with housework and looking great, but with few intellectual interests. The men all belong to the clubbish Stepford Men's Association, which Walter joins to Joanna's dismay. Witnessing neighbor Carol Van Sant's (Nanette Newman) sexually submissive behavior to her husband Ted, as well as her odd, repetitive behavior after a car accident also strike Joanna as unusual.
Things start to look up when she makes friends with another newcomer to town, irrepressible Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss). Along with glossy trophy wife Charmaine Wimperis (Tina Louise), they organize a women's liberation consciousness raising session, but the meeting is a failure when the other wives hijack the meeting with cleaning concerns. Joanna is also unimpressed by the boorish Men's Club members, including intimidating president Dale "Diz" Coba (Patrick O'Neal), who stealthily collect information on Joanna including her picture, her voice, and other personal details. When Charmaine turns overnight from a languid, self-concerned tennis fan into an industrious, devoted wife, Joanna and Bobbie start investigating, with ever-increasing concern, the reason behind the submissive and bland behavior of the other wives, especially when they learn they were once quite supportive of liberal social policies.
Spooked, Bobbie and Joanna start househunting in other towns, and later, Joanna wins a prestigious contract with a photo gallery with some photographs of their respective children. When she excitedly tells Bobbie her good news, Joanna is shocked to find her freewheeling and liberal friend has abruptly changed into another clean, presumably conservative housewife, with no intention to move from town.
Joanna panics and at the insistence of Walter, visits a psychiatrist who recommends she leave town until she feels safe. When Joanna returns home, the children are missing; Joanna and Walter get in to a physical scuffle. In an attempt to find her children, she hypothesizes Bobbie may be caring for them. When a desperate Joanna stabs Bobbie with a kitchen knife, Bobbie doesn't bleed or suffer, but instead goes into a loop of odd mechanical behaviour, thus revealing herself to be a robot.
Feeling she might be the next victim, Joanna sneaks into the mansion which houses the Men's Association to find her children, but chances upon the mastermind of the whole operation, Dale "Diz" Coba, and eventually her own robot-duplicate. It is then suggested that the Johanna-duplicate strangles the real Johanna; in the final scene, the duplicate is seen placidly purchasing groceries at the local supermarket, along with the other "wives."
The film was shot in a variety of towns in Western Connecticut, primarily in Westport and Fairfield. Tension developed between director Forbes and screenwriter Goldman over the casting of Nanette Newman (Forbes's wife) as one of the wives. Goldman had wanted the wives to be depicted as model-like women who dressed provocatively. But after casting Newman this was not to be, as Goldman stated he felt that Newman's physical appearance did not match the type of woman he imagined, and as a result this caused a change in appearance in costuming for all of the other wives. Goldman has said that he found Newman to be a perfectly good actress, however. Goldman was also unhappy with some rewrites that Forbes contributed. In particular, Forbes toned down Goldman's "horrorific" ending. Actor Masterson, who was friends with Goldman, would secretly call Goldman for his input on scenes creating additional stresses.
Forbes purposefully chose white and bright colors for the setting of the film, attempting to make a "thriller in sunlight". With the exception of the stormy night finale, the film is almost oversaturated with bright light and cheery settings. All the locations were actual places; no sets were built for the film. The film's tone is reminiscent of Levin's earlier work Rosemary's Baby, where it is unclear whether or not the film's protagonist is truly threatened or merely paranoid; in both cases, the films make the threat more concrete.