Wonder Woman (4/4) | DC finally cracks the MARVEL code... or does it even better?

So far, it's almost been uncontested that MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is far better than DCEU (DC Extended Universe). But finally comes a film, that not only questions that, but almost reverses the position. Wonder Woman releasing this Friday, is a marvel in many ways (pun intended!). A major studio superhero film, lead by a female superhero - Wonder Woman, and directed by a woman - Patty Jenkins. This makes Wonder Woman the first summer tent pole superhero film directed by a woman, and Jenkins is the first woman to direct a superhero film with a female protagonist. And so far, it's the highest rated superhero film on Rotten Tomatoes , at 94%, beating all previous DC and Marvel films. 

In the film, American pilot Steve Trevor crashes on the island of Themyscira and tells Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) about World War I, Diana leaves her home to try to stop the war and becomes Wonder Woman. Sounds simple, for a superhero origin story? It is. But it's also truer to its origin material, aka the DC comics. The setting from World War II, is changed to World War I. And it follows the new storyline to tell that Diana is daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. There is a reference to her being made from clay, and given life by Zeus, to honor the original storyline, and it also serves as a plot device. Her life-mission is to stop and destroy Ares, the god of war. So she spends the film searching for him, eventually finding him and fighting him, and maybe destroying him.

What makes this film stand out is the tone of the film first. Thankfully it doesn't follow on the footsteps of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel or Batman v Superman. Patty Jenkins proves that DC films can be cool, funny, spirited, and not-superdark but still full of kickass action & fun. She sets up a new tone and new standard for DC films. This film is reminiscent of the first Captain America film or even Avengers, in that sense. The storytelling is crisp, with lot of humor, emotion and amazing action. There is frequent commentary on several social issues from gender bias (the amazing scene with Diana trying several dresses in UK, or going into parliament, or springing to action in war), racial issues (being brown or indigenous) , war and peace etc etc. The film does not become preachy though, but just presents those issues as part of the narrative.

Witness the rise of a Warrior. Watch the NEW #WonderWoman trailer now! -- WONDER WOMAN is in theaters June 2, 2017. From Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Entertainment comes the epic action adventure starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright, directed by Patty Jenkins.

In the center of all this is our lead, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince. This is undeniably a shining star under her belt (pun intended, again!). Whether its being a fierce warrior, or naive princess, or a fresh off the boat immigrant in London, she rocks in every scene. Her performance makes the film better than what it already is.  Chris Pine as Steve Trevor is a close second. He's charming, worldly, impressive and definitely above-average (in his own words, seriously!). Rest of the cast is pretty well cast, and does a great job as well. The 2 actors to definitely point out will be Elena Anaya as Doctor Maru / Doctor Poison and Lucy Davis as Etta Candy.

Good:

  • Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Practically, the entire cast!
  • The humor. Thanks to good writing, and performances by Gal, Steve, Lucy and Said, to mention a few, the film is funny, really funny.
  • The action. Not surprising for a DC film, but it is good.
  • The social commentary. Not preachy, but important for film's spirit. Congrats Allan and Patty!

Not-so-good:

  • The accents of Amzonians. I mean, were they all immigrants with different accents? I guess so. But the accent also keeps changing, as they talk. Hello Robin and Connie?
  • The length of the film. At 141 minutes, it's not awful, but for some it maybe lil too long. I found it short though.
  • It's too damn good? Just kidding!

Watch the film if you enjoy good action films, with humor and a heart. Don't watch, if you want to miss one of the best superhero films.

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales | Javier Bardem is a ghost on quest to revenge on Jack Sparrow

There are some actors that could—literally—read anything and make it exciting. If they wanted to read the ingredients on a candy wrapper and make you weep, or quake in fear their natural abilities could and would produce their desired impact. Those thespians are rare: Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones spring to mind, and so does Oscar® winner Javier Bardem.

Right now Bardem can be seen as the vengeful, cursed undead, Captain Salazar in Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the fifth film in the now-iconic “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise, which returns Johnny Depp to his Academy Award®-nominated role as the outrageous, swashbuckling scoundrel Captain Jack Sparrow. Bardem is joined in this new adventure with Oscar® winner Geoffrey Rush.

Everything about the film is created to make it have that wow impact which includes the very look of the Captain Salazar’s (Bardem) ghostly crew and his particularly gnarly look, half spectral with a deterioration of corporeal flesh and fresh, red blood oozing from his mouth, taking charge of his doomed and cursed ship — The Silent Mary.

The ship which was designed by architect/production designer Nigel Phelps, was inspired to make the ship a “floating Spanish castle” with turrets, swiveling cannons on deck, and statues of medieval knights in full armor adorning her decks and exterior.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is in theaters May 26, 2017 in 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D! Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales."

According to the press notes, The “cursed” version of the Silent Mary presented a fascinating contrast, a symphony of picturesque deterioration: large gaps in its rotting wood structure; seaweed crawling up the mainsail; kelp adorning the fraying ropes; turrets, cannons, statues, weaponry, all now covered in slimy green moss. The former pride of the Spanish Navy now a terrifying spectre, much like its cursed undead Captain Salazar.

Actors work with their surroundings. The more convincing to them, the better it plays to a world-wide audience. “Both ships are a work of art,” says Javier Bardem of the two versions of the Silent Mary, “but especially the ship that is cursed and becomes the ghost ship. It was mesmerizing and what I felt being on it was the sadness; this eternal pain I always imagined my character and his crew were carrying for so many years because of the curse. The pre-cursed one was the opposite. It was shiny and powerful and completely indestructible. And that’s what the character of Salazar is like when he’s alive. He’s very keen to be the king of the sea and the ship reflected that.”

Bardem is an unconventionally handsome man to get his ghostly look just right, it took him two to three hours a day in the chair under the artful care of Academy Award®-winning makeup and hair designer Peter King. “It’s pretty amazing what they’ve done with the makeup,” notes the actor. “Once it’s on, it really helps you to get in the mood. But also, it doesn’t kill your expression. My greatest fear was that I would not be able to show emotion or feeling with the prosthetics on my face, but that was not the case. I could do that, which is where you see the quality of those makeup artists. So yes, it was a long process of being in the chair every day, but also very rewarding because it helped me to see myself like that and to find the character.”

Describing Salazar and the ghost crew, Bardem notes, “I think they are people who have been abandoned and dead inside, but there is kind of a living rage, a flame of life that they are constantly seeking. They are not figures of death, but of life that could happen soon, and they are trying to reach it.” Adds Peter King, “Creating Salazar and his ghost crew took some three months of concept work, throwing ideas backwards and forwards between Espen and Joachim, Jerry and myself, and my team.”

Filmmaking is a team effort and to that end, director Joachim Rønning add this, “Part of the idea for Salazar and his crew was that on the day that they die inside the Devil’s Triangle, Jack had tricked them into sailing in there. They can still walk around but they may be missing part of their attire and limbs, and some are even missing half their heads. So it’s quite scary, but it’s also a little bit of fun in that they’re walking around with just half a brain.” They’re caught between the living and the dead.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is in theaters May 26, 2017 in 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D! Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales."

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” now playing.

Director Salome Mulugeta’s Favorite DP, Pedro Gomez Millan - One To Watch For!

Director of Photography (DP) Pedro Gomez Millan is one of the most favorite DP of Director Salome Mulugeta. Pedro's creative eye and passion for visual storytelling has made him one of the most sought after, new DP’s in the industry.  His role as DP is essentially, a creative force which helps shape what’s on screen and is just as influential as the film director. Together the director and DP create a unique visual language.

As DP of the indie film “Woven” directed by Salome Mulugeta and Nagwa Ibrahim, his powerful imagery—about an Ethiopian New York immigrant family facing lifes’ toughest challenges—has been bringing cheering audiences to their feet around the film festival circles. “Woven,” which took 15 years to finance and complete, has catapulted filmmaker, Salome Mulugeta’s creative career to an all time high and helped him, as a DP, bring his own look into the issues that immigrants face.

Mulugeta has also worked with DP Gomez on several high profile commercials including work for Ethiopian Airlinesand Coca-Cola Africa.  It was the experience of working for Coca-Cola, for the director, that helped her solidify their continued collaborative working relationship, shares Salome: 

“There are many attributes, as a creative, that make working with him [Pedro Gomez Millan] so enjoyable. To begin, he is a a very focused man and once you begin trying to explain, your vision, he researches anything that he might not immediately understand. He is such a gentle soul which makes working with him such a fun and productive experience. He understands how to help me, as a director, get my vision from the page to the screen. He is utterly collaborative and he is brilliant with color. 

For example, while working on the Coca-Cola commercial, their team allowed us to come up with our own creative ideas. It was exciting! The client wanted us to be creative and as a DP [Pedro] was totally game. In the commercial when you see me dancing with the group of brightly dressed kids, again, this was the result of us (being given creative freedom by the client) collaborating in a very spontaneous way.   And that very commercial for Coke (Coca-Cola Africa) was a hit and well received all over Africa. That’s just one example of why working with DP Pedro Gomez Millan is a joy which ends with exceptional product, project-after-project.”

Millan is now in pre-production on a two projects: an untitled action Netflix series to be shot in Mexico City with director Manolo Caro and “ADDIS ABEKA” to be directed by Salome Mulugeta, who also serves as executive producer and produced by Stephanie Allain and Mel Jones to be shot, in Ethiopia, this fall. 

Here is excerpt from chat with Pedro Gomez Millan

Q: What do you love about being a D.P.?

Pedro Gomez Millan: When I was in High School and had to make a decision on what to study in college, I was completely overwhelmed because I was interested in every single subject, from physics to literature to genetics to political science. I had the hardest time choosing what to do. I ended up studying philosophy and communication and later on did an MFA in Film. I realized that working in film gives me the chance of studying all those other topics I couldn't do before. I'm fascinated about life and filmmaking gives me the chance of learning something new about it in every project I do. 

Q: A DP’s life requires travel and keeping up with everything that’s happening fast in the tech side of making movies. Yes?

PGM: Being a DP is a very particular lifestyle and personally I think is the best job in the world. I'm mesmerized by images and love to watch beauty in all it's manifestations. Whenever I'm making a film I think about one word: epiphany. I work towards creating a mood and an environment for an epiphany to happen to a character or somewhere in the story. I love being able to create images and tell stories that eventually could help my community to make a better life. Basically my work is to create imaginary able to generate epiphanies in people that watches it. I know, pretty ambitious!

Q: Describe the D.P. and Director relationship? 

PGM: It's the most intense and closest relationship I've experienced in my working life. It feels a lot like dating, you meet, you decide to like each other and give it a shot, you get to know each other under pressure and stressful times and then you finally break up. Maybe you liked each other so much that you decide to come back and do it again.

Q: Do you work closely with directors or do you act like “church” and “state?”

PGM: I've really had very close relationships with most of my directors and we've became good friends. I've directed before and I'm very aware of all the trust the director puts on a DP's shoulder when they decide to work together. And I can say that the feeling is mutual. I also think on Director and DP relationship like two blind people crossing together 5th Avenue right when it becomes green light. It's all about trust and knowing that the other person is gonna be there for you and that he or she won't throw you under the bus. Director and script are the most important things for me when I choose a new project.

Q I first saw your incredible work in “Woven” at the LAFF (2016) where I met Salome Mulugeta.  What an incredible person and what a journey to get the film from an idea to the big screen: 15 years is no joke!

PGM: I got connected to the script because it's a story about immigrants. I was born and raised in Mexico City and at the time I just finished film school and had been living in the U.S. for 4 years. So I'm an immigrant living in New York and felt like this script was made for me to shoot it. I didn't know a lot of Ethiopian culture but I could personally relate to the soul and core of the story. I felt like it was a story that people in New York would appreciate and I was very excited to visually contribute to tell the story as a DP. 

Q: Describe your choices in making “Woven” look so good. Why did you use what you used? 

PGM: I decided to shoot the movie mostly on the Angenieux Optimo 15-40mm. We shot on locations on tight apartments in New York and I wanted to feel the space as much as possible so I tried to use wide lenses whenever I could to avoid shooting faces against walls all the time. 

I shot [the character] Elenie with her family mostly handheld, we wanted to give a sense of urgency to Elenie's motivation in the story. It was very important to the directors to point out the rich culture of Elenie's family who comes from Ethiopia. We decided to visually tell that part of the story with warmer tones, opposite to Logan's which has a cooler vibe. Also we wanted both worlds (Elenie's home vs Logan's home) to feel very different. Whenever we shot at Logan's house the camera stayed locked off on the tripod more like a witness and definitely less active than the camera at Elenie's who's restless after the loss of her brother.     

I was very lucky to shoot this film on the Alexa which was my first choice. We had no money and I had to pull many favors to get a decent camera and G&E package (and anything I could get my hands on) to make this movie. Guy Jaconelli from Video Evolution gave us an unbeatable deal on a Alexa package.

Q: What’s next from your lips?

PGM: I am working with Salome, again, with the next feature film in Ethiopia. Really hope our schedules work out! I'm about to shoot the first season of a new series for Netflix. It's a 5 months commitment and is my first experience shooting television. I'm pretty excited!

More About Pedro Gomez Millan
www.pedrogomezmillan.com

Amir Motlagh - "There has never been a better time to start than now!"

Amir Motlagh is an actor, musician, filmmaker and storyteller. With a resume of over 15 films, his inspiration and zeal to make meaningful films that tell stories about human connection, is honest. When he saw the limited work he was getting offered in the entertainment industry, he decided to take matters in his own hands and start his journey as his own storyteller. He's currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Indigogo, looking for support from all film lovers. We had an opportunity to talk to him, and here are the excerpts.

· What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

A combination of things. First and foremost, my mother is a cinephile, and she absolutely adores the cinema and going to the movies as far as I can remember. It’s a passion of hers. She has quite a photogenic memory of movies she’s seen, along with names of actors, directors and anything related to film. This, of course, includes a love of foreign film, in the context of American dominant cinema.

Second, I trained as an actor, and at that time, I became fed up with the process of reading for certain types of roles, and also, I just was never that interested in the material that was available for me. The construction, the building of things was always more my interest, and so, I just gravitated towards things that I could structure myself. I’ve always been driven by the idea that It’s my responsibility to tell my own story, my own perspective on what the world is, and how the world works.

· What's the best thing you like about being a filmmaker?

My favorite thing about filmmaking is the power to craft your perspective about the world into a format that is a shared experience. Simply, it's our most advanced technology for communication in the arts at the moment. It probably won’t be in the nearing future, but for now, it's still our preeminent art. One the simple level, I love the collaborative process. There is not one single most important person in filmmaking. It’s a shared experience and this is what makes it unique.

· Talk to us about your latest projects.

I have two new feature films that I’m currently raising finishing funds on IndieGoGo. Principal photography and picture locked edits are in place for both films.  One is called THREE WORLDS and the other is MAN. These are a bit difficult to talk about in a straight sense since the universe they exist in is very much enclosed within itself. Meaning, they are just not that easy to reference in relation to more mainstream films. These two films are part of a series of works called THREE MARKS, TOO MANY SIGNALS. This includes the two feature films, and a visual album I released in 2016 called CANYON.  

THREE WORLDS is at the core, a drama that delves into a character's multiple perspectives in different points of space and time. Our main character is trying to find something, that perhaps he has lost at some point. The story is elliptical and takes place through a long span of time. It’s an experience-centric film, that unfolds itself to you without relying on usual tropes. This is how all three films in the THREE MARKS, TOO MANY SIGNALS series were built.

MAN is a semi-scripted, slice of life story told in a way that should feel both familiar, but very unusual. We explore a man’s relationship in the world that’s technology dominant. This is the more experimental of the three works.  

· Which films and filmmakers inspire you, and why?

Modern filmmakers & studios whom I really enjoy include Jacques Audiard, who has done films like, THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, A PROPHET and RUST & BONE among others. Anything STUDIO GHIBLI puts out, and dramatist masters like Asghar Farhadi. I really enjoy Denis Villeneuve’s work on the strictly technical directing sense, and Jeff Nichols, who is as close to an American version of an Auteur as we can get in the modern era. 

A bit of an odd mix, but, all present a cinema whose language is unique to their viewpoints about the world. This list would take forever though if I were to talk about the past as well, so, this is just stuff I’m joining currently, or that has held my attention for some time. Audiard is a mix of two of my favorite things about filmmaking.  His compositions start genre based, but his work has flexibility and they grow out of their tropes, and I really like that. In terms of directors overall

What are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion in Hollywood?

Diversity is something that will naturally happen as both a demographic shift and the fact that it’s a majorly discussed issue. If the pressure holds, change happens. It’s whether the timeframe that this shift occurs is a right one for the individual who wants to be involved in the business. An equal responsibility is shared by groups gunning for this diversity. We have the tools, so we should all get to work.

· What is your message to other aspiring filmmakers & storytellers?

You simply have all the tools at your disposal. You have distribution at your fingertips. You have possible money available through crowdfunding. There will never be a better time to start than now, and there has never been a better time to start than now. The landscape is changing in incredible ways. New mediums are on the horizon like VR/AR and platforms like Youtube and Snapchat are creating stars out of people who want to share with the world. 

Now, this might not necessarily look like the cinema of old, but the opportunity to tell stories is right at your fingertips. So, find your lane. If its Hollywood, that’s one way. But, there is many other ways to find your own lane nowadays. Test everything out and pivot. Don’t go to film school (for the most part). Make friends who are making movies. Build a team. Write. Shoot. Edit. Act. Have fun and keep doing. Write daily. Just do it. On the side, learn to code. You got a good escape plan. And still then, you can keep doing it.

Sounds like good advice. Thanks for talking to us Amir. And all the best!

Please visit the Indigogo page below to support Amir's upcoming projects
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/three-worlds-and-man-2-new-films-by-amir-motlagh-losangeles-drama#/