Tag: the mandalorian

“He’s radioactive, but can we keep him?”: BRIAN TRENCHARD-SMITH by Kent Hill

by Kent Hill, posted in Interviews

With a filmography as long as the tentacles of the giant octopus in It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), and a life just as rich, cycling in tandem, Brian Trenchard-Smith has allowed his love for the movies to carry him off on a grand adventure. Along the way he managed to help shape the peak of genre film-making here Down Under. But, taking his magic kit with him across the pond, BTS would continue with a long and diverse career tackling, as Brian himself says, every genre known to man. And even setting a benchmark for a few new ones.

Ozploitation, the rise and fall, has been captured most deliciously by filmmaker Mark Hartley with Not Quite Hollywood. While this is an important document showcasing the exploitation boomtown we once were, it only scratches the surface of those dedicated few with the courage to commit the preposterous to celluloid. But, with Adventures in the B Movie Trade, BTS gives fans, aspiring directors and even casual movie-goers a glimpse into a life spent in the pursuit of following your dreams.

Brian has worked alongside industry luminaries, told the Colonel he liked his chicken, been replaced in the director’s chair and even convinced a room full of suits with his natural visual flare, his wry sense of humor and his eloquent, gentlemanly grace to have an ALIEN homage, like no other, be the catalyst for one of a great IN SPACE movies one could wish to share a beer and pizza with.

The book is a fully customizable experience. The early chapters are dedicated to family history, Brian’s formative years, and best of all, the beginning of his romance with the cinema. From there he takes us through the films, genre by genre, sharing wonderful anecdotes and behind the scenes details which cineastes, cinephiles, or just an average, movie-lovin’ nerd like me, can rejoice in. You can hear him, if you’re familiar with Brian’s cadence, recount these trials and triumphs in a vivid splendor that is at once both enticing and enrapturing.

It’s probably clear that I am a fan, and I do LOVE this book, still, I highly recommend it as spectacular celebration of all things B Movie, obsessing cinema, film-making as self-expression, and if you never give up, have a little luck, surround yourself with those who share the dream, you may just find yourself happily manifesting visions whilst enchanting audiences as Brian has continued to do with his out and out genre gems.

So, listen along as the elder statesman of the B movie pantheon regales us with a taste of what’s contained on the pages of a book that could crush walnuts and kill flies. But, like Brian, I really hope you’ll have a read of it first, enjoy the majesty of the journey, and tales from the maelstrom in which cinema, the likes of which we may never see again, is born. At least until Brian is back in the director’s chair once more.

Paul Hirsch is here, the Force is with him by Kent Hill

by Kent Hill, posted in Podcast

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It is impossible to convey to those who weren’t there when STAR WARS was new – what it used to be like. For the third time since my existence began, I find myself faced with the end of yet another trilogy – the end of the Skywalker saga . . . ?

So it was with incredible nerves thundering tremulous throughout my body, that I sat down to talk with the man, and I want you to really think about this, who cut the scene in which Luke and Ben Kenobi discover the message hidden in R2. He cut Luke’s run, part of the final assault on the Death Star. He is even the man who suggested to George Lucas that Vader’s lightsaber be red and Obi-Wan’s be blue. As a STAR WARS fan . . . think about that. Think about the contributions of Paul Hirsch on the images that permeated our dreams and in some cases . . . shaped our destinies.

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On the eve of the Rise of Skywalker, it was a trip indeed to speak to and the read of the cinematic legacy of Mr. Hirsch. With his book A LONG TIME AGO IN A CUTTING ROOM FAR, FAR AWAY, Paul takes you back in time to a place when editors held the iconic images that flash before us on the silver screen…between their fingers.

My beloved Empire Strikes Back. Yes Paul came back for the sequel, but this is not merely an ode to the realm of Jedi’s and Rebels – it is a look inside the mind of a skilled craftsman of his art, and the journey which saw him mingle among the mighty company of the heavyweights of that last glorious era of Hollywood . . . the 70’s.

In a time when the men we would come to define as masters began their adventures in the screen trade: George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma (with whom Paul cut frequently), Francis Coppola – oh, what a time. And it is not only the holy trilogy that has passed beneath the keen eyes of Hirsch – the work of other magnificent filmmakers like John Hughes, Joel Schumacher, George Romero,Herbert Ross, and Charles Shyer have all benefited from Paul’s expert touch.

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It took George’s clout to get him into Kubrick’s editing room. James Cameron boasted to him (referring to Titanic) that he made more money than the ‘WARS’ and didn’t have to make a sequel. He cringed at the idea of editing the helicopter sequence in Apocalypse Now for six months when Francis suggested it . . . yes folks . . . the cinema that has moved us to tears and had us on our feet cheering, has been before the eyes of my guest. And may the force be with him . . . always.

Ladies and Gentleman, please seek out the book, but until you do join me and Academy Award Winner . . . Paul Hirsch.

Meet-and-Greez by Kent Hill

by Kent Hill, posted in Podcast

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Daniel Roebuck’s directorial offering Getting Grace made me cry like a baby. The end result however, is that I was able to chat with one of the nicest dudes in Hollywood.

Now he’s back . . . and he’s in Star Wars. Well, a Star Wars video game, which isn’t bad either considering how much the line between video games and movies are blurring – the gaming experience having been elevated to its current status which is, quite simply, a little like an interactive story. But unlike the experience you have sitting down and watching a film – here you, are a part of the story.

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From the soulless killer, Samson Toulette, in Tim Hunter’s acclaimed dissection of 1980’s teen anguish, RIVER’S EDGE, to his latest role as the irascible four armed pilot Greez Dritus in the highly anticipated video game release, STAR WARS: JEDI FALLEN ORDER (available on PS4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows).

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EA and Respawn Entertainment’s STAR WARS JEDI: FALLEN ORDER has already garnered a great deal of interest and the excitement is building for its November 15th, 2019 release. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, game director Stig Asmussen offered his thoughts on Roebuck’s character Greez, “He’s a member of a new species we’ve created. I don’t want to give away too much of his backstory, but like anybody you’re going to find during these dark times, he’s got demons. But he’s kind of like this loudmouthed little guy, he talks real big, he tells tall tales and most of the time they’re not true.”

Roebuck spent a few months working alongside of Cameron Monaghan, playing Cal, the young padawan and Debra Wilson who plays Cere in the game. “We had a wonderful camaraderie, the three of us,” said Roebuck. “Plus, we were performance directed by Tom Keegan who is truly a master director and always brings great insight into the process.” Keegan and Roebuck had worked together before on DEAD RISING 3.

During the performance capture process, the actors donned form fitting body suits covered with reflective balls and performed the game’s cinematic scenes in front of dozens of cameras. They also wore head gear fitted with cameras so that the animators could utilize the footage to animate the character’s facial features by directly correlating them to the actor’s reference video.

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STAR WARS JEDI FALLEN ORDER is on track to become one of the most successful video game releases of 2019. The game is one of a triumvirate of entertainment options being released by Lucasfilm LTD this fall. Its release coinciding with the original program from Disney +, THE MANDOLORIAN and STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, out this Christmas.