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Why Did Johnny Depp Refuse A Role In Face/Off? (Photo Credit – Wikipedia)

Back in the wild ride that was ’90s Hollywood, a truly bizarre casting twist almost changed the face of one of the biggest action movies of the decade. Turns out, Johnny Depp was close to starring in Face/Off, the 1997 guns-blazing thriller that ended up pairing Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. But Depp, being Depp, said “no thanks” to the role. The reason? He thought the film was about hockey.

Screenwriter Michael Colleary spilled the beans on this almost-too-weird-to-be-true moment. “After finally reading the script, however, Depp refused to take part. Having read the title, he thought the film would be about hockey. He was disappointed when he discovered that it was not about hockey. He was out,” Colleary said, according to Looper.

Depp was originally being considered to play FBI agent Sean Archer, the role that eventually went to Travolta.

It is quite possible, circa 2025, that there are a greater number of North American film institutions than North American citizens who actively watch films. It thus behooves those centered on an increasingly marginalized medium to grease the wheels; one of the surest means is (somewhat paradoxically) dipping into coffers for an event that boasts famous attendees and those with money to donate. For servicing cinematic interests in one of America’s largest cultural centers, the Portland Art Museum faces challenges and incentives no different than New York or Los Angeles. I was nevertheless surprised that Friday, May 30’s Cinema Unbound Awards would turn into an auction whose attendees––of which I was one, with my own placard hiding under a couple different plates the entire night to combat fears that I could just lift it up and ruin my financial life––would make donations up to $50,000 to preserve the Museum’s mission and community efforts.

By 1993, Sylvester Stallone's career was in a precarious place. The "Rocky" and "Rambo" star hadn't yet reached the stage where he could be described as washed up — a point he arguably reached by the early 2000s before reviving his career with the excellent "Rocky Balboa." But the early '90s were a tricky time for Stallone. His last "Rambo" movie, 1988's "Rambo III" had failed to make as much as its predecessor and his last "Rocky" movie, 1990's "Rocky V" was a historic low point for the franchise that originally made Sly a star. Once Arnold Schwarzenegger tricked Stallone into starring in the 1992 flop "Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot," the man's career was in serious jeopardy.

In 1993, however, Stallone had somewhat of a mini comeback, starting with mountain climbing action thriller "Cliffhanger," which was not only a commercial success but managed to impress enough critics that it seemed...

To say Berlin is a big city by European standards is an understatement — it has the largest population in Germany with 3.8 million residents and spans 23 miles.

Thus, you should never tackle Berlin without a plan, especially due to its unpredictable weather, which ranges from sunny and cold to overcast and cold to rainy and chilly in February.

THR presents six spots we love that provide a new layer of knowledge about the city’s troubled history, incredible art renaissance and natural beauty.

Outdoor: Street Art at Artpark Tegel

Neheimer Str. 4

Drawing influence from the U.S. cultural wave of the 1970s, street art became a way of life in Berlin during the 1980s and transformed into Germany’s graffiti capital. The city’s walls are its greatest gallery and tell its story, just as the history books do — plastered with stickers, graffiti and murals covering everything. Don’t miss Artpark Tegel,...

Like Jaws to shark movies and The Exorcist to possession flicks, any dinosaur-related media will inevitably be compared to 1993’s Jurassic Park. While this makes a lot of sense, with Spielberg’s classic bringing the prehistoric beasts to life in new and exciting ways that previous filmmakers could only dream of (and that future filmmakers would struggle to recreate), it also means that some truly interesting dinosaur stories have been overshadowed by Jp‘s legacy.

In the past, I’ve recommended some fun dinosaur films that aren’t Jurassic Park, but today I’d like to discuss something a little less cinematic – Hallmark and Rtl’s forgotten miniseries adaptation of James Gurney’s Dinotopia. So if you’re in the mood to revisit a quintessentially 2000s yarn about shamanistic reptiles and the naive humans that live alongside them, read on to discover why I think this family-oriented production might also appeal to horror fans.

Take the toughest, most ruthless cop and pit him against the most brutally sadistic criminal in a near-future Los Angeles—a hellish vision of the city that presupposes that the 1992 riots never stopped—and you’ve got a quintessential early-’90s Hollywood action film setup. Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man starts in 1996, but after John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) and Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) are frozen in a cryogenic prison after a deadly square-off, they awaken again in 2032, only to be greeted by a sanitized, peaceful “utopia” in which swearing, smoking, meat-eating, “gasoline, uneducational toys, and anything spicy” have been banned.

With the population effectively neutered, even the cops have been reduced to enforcing petty tickets, mere shells of their former hyper-violent selves. “We’re police officers. We’re not trained to handle this kind of violence,” Rob Schneider’s Erwin asserts upon seeing the freshly unfrozen Simon take out six cops who are armed,...

One of the best action movies, not only for action icons Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, but of all time, is now available stream for free. So, if your Halloween fever has now passed, it might be worth pushing the memories of ghosts and ghouls away with Stallone and Snipes at each others throats in the future.

The movie is, of course, 1993s action movie masterpiece Demolition Man. Starring the perfect one-two punch of Rocky and Rambo star Sylvester Stallone and Blade actor Wesley Snipes, the movie tells the age-old tale of a no-nonsense cop from the 1990s who finds himself tracking his nemesis, the psychopathic criminal Simon Phoenix, across time after they are both cryogenically frozen. Directed by Marco Brambilla and starring Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt, and Denis Leary alongside Stallone and Snipes, Demolition Man is now available to stream for free on Tubi. You can check out the official synopsis below.

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-3 Vinyl from Mondo

A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors’ soundtracks are available on vinyl for $40 a piece from Mondo.

Each expanded 2xLP album features the original soundtrack on the first disc and additional themes and cues on the second disc. Shipping in November, they feature artwork by Mike Saputo.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is composed by Charles Bernstein. It’s pressed on 140-gram “Boiler Room Blast” colored vinyl and housed in a gatefold jacket with liner notes by Bernstein.

Freddy’s Revenge is composed by Christopher Young. It’s pressed on 140-gram...

The 1993 action movie classic, Demolition Man, is due to be released on 4K Uhd just in time for Christmas. The new release of the sci-fi action outing will reportedly be available from December 10 in the U.S. and December 9 in the U.K., courtesy of Arrow, according to X/Twitter user Dawn of The Discs. Starring action movie icons Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, this tale of a cop from the past who finds himself tracking a familiar criminal in the future has achieved newfound popularity thanks to how much the present-day world seems to be aligning with the movie's vision of tomorrow.

You can check out some of the special features that will come with the Demolition Man 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition release below.

- Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Marco Brambilla

- Includes both the domestic...

So much for the seashells…1993’s sci-fi actioner and cult favorite Demolition Man will be getting the 4K treatment courtesy of Arrow Video, as revealed in the lineup of their December slate. Arrow isn’t skimping, either – we just hope the future is big enough for the entire set.

This Demolition Man release boasts a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, which has been approved by director Marco Brambilla. It, too, has Dolby Vision/Hdr. Outside of the technical specs, the Demolition Man 4K will offers two new audio commentaries: one with Brambilla and screenwriter Daniel Waters, and another with film historian Mike White (of the Projection Booth podcast). There is also an archival commentary with Brambilla and producer Joel Silver. Also included are new interviews with the likes of production designer David L. Snyder, stunt coordinator Charles Percini, special makeup effects artist Chris Biggs and body effects set coordinator Jeff Farley.

16 years ago this month, The Film Stage was born in city of Buffalo. For those living in or near the Western New York city, the Buffalo International Film Festival is certainly on your radar, curated by Artistic Director John J. Fink, also a long-time contributor to The Film Stage. The 18th edition of the festival has now announced its lineup, featuring over 200 feature films, shorts and episodic works from over 30 countries, running in person October 10-17th. Festival screening venues in Buffalo include the historic North Park Theatre, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo Toronto Public Media (Wned Studios), Burchfield Penney Arts Center, Journey’s End Refugee Cinema.

“We’re so excited to welcome everyone to our expanded edition of the Buffalo International Film Festival, which features a rich assortment of local, regional, national and global fiction and nonfiction works that we hope will delight, inspire, and challenge our audiences to...

Forget about Rambo and Rocky, because Sylvester Stallone’s best role was as Sergeant John Spartan in Demolition Man. It’s been nearly 31 years since the Marco Brambilla-directed feature was released, and it’s shocking that Demolition Man 2 (which should see Stallone and Wesley Snipes return) hasn’t happened yet. A Sci-Fi Classic Sylvester Stallone versus Wesley […]

Demolition Man 2: Sylvester Stallone & Wesley Snipes’ Sci-Fi Sequel Needs To Happen Written by Sergio Pereira for Fortress of Solitude...

Marco Brambilla's 1993 film "Demolition Man" has a pretty wild premise. In the near-future of 1996, a wildly destructive criminal named Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) is at large and taking hostages in Los Angeles. The cop sent in to apprehend Pheonix is John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), an officer so reckless that he's earned the nickname of Demolition Man. When Spartan finds and confronts Pheonix, he explodes the building they're in. They both escape, but an investigation reveals the bodies of the hostages in the rubble. Oops. Spartan didn't handle that operation very well.

As punishment, Spartan and Pheonix are both subjected to a new prison experiment. Instead of living in cells, prisoners are cryogenically frozen for decades and fed subliminal rehabilitation messages. Spartan is thawed in the year 2032, where the world is now overseen by a benevolent (seeming) right-wing cult leader who has whipped Los Angeles -- now San Angeles -- into shape.

In a town — where on any given night — you can see the most downloaded pop artist of all time, the top Grammy-award-winning country artist of the last three decades, or the first artist to reach over three billion views on a music video on YouTube, deciding who to see is the toughest part of your next Las Vegas getaway.

In 2023, the Las Vegas residency competition is fierce with more than two dozen options from which to choose. And many artists are now extending their Sin City stays due to unprecedented demand, including U2 (who are now playing at the Sphere through February 2024) and Adele, who extended her residency at the Colosseum with 32 more dates through June 2024 (presale registration is now open on Ticketmaster through Oct. 23; the general sale is Oct. 26).

Find out who is performing up and down the Strip, what makes their shows unmissable and why these are the hottest tickets of the year.

Sphere, the innovative new concert venue in Las Vegas, opened on Friday night (September 29) with a performance from U2 and we have incredible photos and videos from inside the dome.

The new theatre is being billed as “the world’s most cutting-edge venue” and when you take a look inside, you’ll understand why.

The U2:Uv Achtung Baby Live at Sphere show utilized every part of Sphere’s LED screen, which is the world’s largest and highest-resolution screen. Bespoke art from renowned artists including Es Devlin, John Gerrard, Marco Brambilla, and Industrial Light & Magic was shown on the screen throughout the show.

Make sure to check out the set list for the concert!

Head inside to see videos from inside the venue…

If you don’t want to see a U2 concert or if you just can’t get your hands on tickets, you can still go inside...

Given U2’s reputation for pushing technical and creative boundaries with its live concerts, it seemed fitting that the band opened the anticipated Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday with its most ambitious and transportive live show ever: an electrifying live performance and visual odyssey that unfolds on Sphere’s enveloping 160,000-square-foot wraparound interior LED display.

Built for an estimated $2.3 billion, Sphere is a big gamble by Msg mogul James Dolan and Sphere Entertainment Co. (which was formed in April to combine Sphere and Msg Networks) on the future of entertainment. At 336 feet tall and 516 feet wide, the venue is now the largest spherical structure in the world, housing the largest interior and exterior wraparound LED displays. Inside, the enveloping LED display supports a high resolution of 16K, meaning that it delivers images so lifelike that it may make you feel as though you’re no longer in a Las...

In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we take a look at Kanye West's Power, directed by Marco Brambilla. Marco Brambilla is a curious director, in that he has made features, video installations and a music video, but that his major splashes in each area are quite distinct from each other. His sole hit as a film director, Demolition Man, is often remembered for its idiosyncrasies, but is also a fairly by the numbers Stallone sci-fi action vehicle. Even if the iffy politics hint at a larger satirical slant, its commentary is quite muddled. In any case, it is somewhat of a cult classic, precisely because its rougher edges hint at an...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

It’s been 26 years since Alicia Silverstone and Benicio del Toro worked together on Marco Brambilla’s (Demolition Man) Excess Baggage. Now, years after Silverstone played the role of a wealthy heiress opposite del Toro’s car thief, the pair are reuniting in Grant Singer’s upcoming Netflix thriller, Reptile. In a recent interview with the filmmaker, Collider’s Steve Weintraub picked his brain about what it was like working with the pair and when he knew he had magic on his hands.

The first trailer for Netflix's Reptile offers a suspenseful glimpse into the upcoming thriller, showcasing Justin Timberlake and Benicio Del Toro's mysterious characters. Detective Tom Nichols, portrayed by Del Toro, investigates the murder of a real estate agent who was married to Timberlake's character, hinting at hidden secrets and deceit. Reptile promises an unpredictable and dark storyline, with both Timberlake and Del Toro expressing excitement about their roles and the opportunity to work together again.

Is Justin Timberlake portraying a cold-blooded killer? The first trailer for Netflix’s upcoming murder mystery Reptile has dropped, but don't expect to find any spoilers or answers here. However, the suspenseful footage does give fans a very close look at both Timberlake and Benicio Del Toro’s ambiguous characters in director Grant Singer’s upcoming thriller. Check out the brand-new footage below:

Detective Tom Nichols (Del Toro) and his team are trying...

Imagine a future without violence, without disease, without much in the way of fear or worry. Now imagine that the future can only exist if people give up almost everything that makes life worth living. That's what happened in Marco Brambilla's 1993 science fiction action flick "Demolition Man," which stars Sylvester Stallone as John Spartan, a cop they call the Demolition Man because of his penchant for causing serious collateral damage, who ends up in a cryo-prison after an arrest goes horribly wrong. When Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), a super-criminal from the 20th century, is defrosted and escapes his parole hearing, the future cops thaw Spartan to try and bring him to justice. Spartan and Phoenix both come from an anarchic, violent time, and neither can fit into the sterile "utopia" they find themselves in. 

San Angeles, the southern California mega-city that has replaced Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San...

1993 was an important year for Sylvester Stallone. After a long string of flops, Renny Harlin’s mountaineering epic Cliffhanger was the much-needed international hit Sly needed, with the film helping to reaffirm his position as one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood. But, before that movie had ever come out, Sly was shooting his second film of the year, once which, in the end, would make less money than Cliffhanger but would go on to achieve legendary cult status. Almost thirty years later, it remains Stallone’s most famous film featuring a character that isn’t named Rocky or Rambo. The movie, of course, is Demolition Man.

Flashback to twelve-year-old me walking into a movie theater in October of 1993 here in Montreal. Demolition Man would be my first Sly epic on the big screen. I vividly remember munching on my popcorn as the WB logo hit the screen while...

Director Marco Brambilla has spent most of his career involved in ambitious artistic video installation projects, often mixing recognizable pieces of pop media into abstract and self-aware metanarratives that invite the viewer to reconsider the way said media is consumed and perceived. Brambilla has made an installation named after Michael Cimino's "Heaven's Gate," made a supercut of cinematic war scenes called "Evolution" in 2010, and was one of the filmmakers featured in the 2006 sex-themed anthology film "Destricted." Brambilla has spent his career delving into new media frontiers and was an early adopter of concepts like living online and moving into the metaverse. 

It's curious, then,...

The post The Sandra Bullock Sci-Fi Love Scene We're Still Thinking About appeared first on /Film.

Demolition Man 2 may yet break free from its proverbial project cryoprison. That’s because Sylvester Stallone, who headlined the cheeky 1993 action/sci-fi cult classic, has dropped the intriguing news that the highly-hypothesized sequel is on the docket over at Warner Bros.

Stallone made the revelatory statement in a rather casual manner during a Q&a on his Instagram, answering a fan’s question about a potential Demolition Man sequel with a surprisingly potent—albeit brief—reveal of the project’s apparent position on the studio’s backlog. As Stallone answers of the sequel prospects:

“I think it’s coming. We’re working on it right now with Warner Brothers. It’s looking fantastic. So, that should come out, that’s going to happen.”

While that is the extent of Stallone’s sequel comment, it nevertheless adds fuel to the fire of Demolition Man 2, which has long been a topic of...

The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived as action movie icon Sylvester Stallone confirms that a sequel to 1993's seminal Demolition Man is now in the works over at Warner Bros. He recently dropped the Demolition Man 2 news during a Q&a on Instagram.

In a recent Q&a on social media, Sylvester Stallone revealed that a long-awaited sequel to Demolition Man is on its way, as he responded to a fan who asked whether there would be a follow-up to the Marco Brambilla-helmed sci-fi actioner. Though no doubt that the fan, and those fans watching, did not expect the joyful answer that followed. After all these years a sequel is finally happening, with the Rocky and Rambo star admitting that Demolition Man 2 is already being worked on.

"I think it is coming. We're working on it right now with Warner Brothers and it's looking fantastic,...

We have certainly entered a period of nostalgia, 22 years after Sylvester Stallone flexed his muscles in ‘Demolition Man’, he has confirmed a follow-up is being developed.

Stallone has been spending his self-isolation wisely recently by conducting a fan Q&a on his Instagram account. During the session, the burning question arose from one keen fan as to whether a sequel for the sci-fi actioner would ever get that sequel? To which Stallone confirmed that it will happen and that Warner Bros’ are actually working on it now.

“I think it is coming. We’re working on it right now with Warner Brothers and it’s looking fantastic, so that should come out. That’s going to happen.”

Also in news – Star Wars Day Mouth Off: What the Future holds for the Galaxy far, far away

The Marco Brambilla directed 1993 film tells the story of two men: evil crime lord Phoenix played by Wesley Snipes,...

Taco Bell is bringing back Nacho Fries for a limited time. That, in itself, is good news. The better, and far crazier news for fans of 90s action movies, is that the fast food chain has decided to promote the return of their Nacho Fries with a fake prequel to Demolition Man. Yes, Taco Bell has given us a glimpse of what happened prior to the events of Sylvester Stallone's 1993 action flick that led to a world in which only one fast food restaurant remains.

The trailer for the unfortunately fake movie is titled Web of Fries II: Franchise Wars and once again brings back Josh Duhamel to star. He was featured in the previous Web of Fries promotion, which played out like a hard-nosed dramatic thriller. This time around, it's his daughter at the center of the action, who is all grown up since we last saw her...

FX Networks today announced the arrival of The Legion Chamber, an artistic video installation inspired by the FX drama series Legion which allows fans to step inside a 360-degree micro-theatre featuring a one-of-a-kind presentation by the internationally-acclaimed Marco Brambilla Studio. Once inside, participants will find themselves disconnected from the outside world – literally – and fully entrenched in the hypnotic digital realm of Legion’s David Haller. Hosted at Goya Studios in Hollywood March 30 – April 1, this extraordinary visual art piece will take fans on a surreal journey through David’s altered states of reality forcing them to question what is real and what is not. Legion, the acclaimed drama series from creator and executive producer Noah Hawley, will return to FX on Tuesday, April 3 at 10 Pm Et/Pt.

“Our aim was to create an experience that would take the viewer through multiple levels of Haller’s altered states of schizophrenic consciousness,” artist Marco Brambilla said.

Everyone knows “Face/Off” isn’t about hockey. What a new oral history presupposes is…what if it had been? ShortList recently took a deep dive into the beloved, bonkers action flick starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta (or is it the other way around?), which was almost a very different movie with a very different star. “Demolition Man” director Marco Brambilla was briefly attached to the project, and Johnny Depp was considering starring — until he realized it wasn’t about hockey.

Read MoreJohnny Depp Rejected an Early Draft of the Upcoming ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Sequel Because it Had a Female Villain

According to co-writer Michael Colleary, the studio was only interested in casting Cage if they could also cast Depp. Just one problem: “After finally reading the script, however, Depp refused to take part. Having read the title he thought the film would be about hockey. He was...

As far as ’90s action trash goes, Face/Off is fairly sublime, combining a gleefully dumb premise with some great over-the-top acting from both John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. But the tale of Sean Archer and Castor Troy was almost a very different film—multiple times over—as revealed in a recent oral history courtesy of Ralph Jones at ShortList. Jones’ article tracks the multiple incarnations of the film, including the time it almost starred Johnny Depp—except he was too mad that it wasn’t about hockey.

The anecdote in question comes from a period when the film was briefly in the hands of Demolition Man director Marco Brambilla, when Paramount wanted Depp in one of the starring roles, opposite Cage. When Depp finally got around to reading the script, though, he realized that, contrary to what he’d thought, it wasn’t a hockey film, and he abruptly...

Many happy returns to Sandra Bullock, who celebrates her 50th birthday today!

The one-time action movie sidekick and Hollywood's favourite funny girl, Bullock has gradually refashioned herself as a bona fide A-lister thanks to her Oscar-winning turn in The Blind Side and last year's box office smash Gravity.

With such an eclectic back catalogue it's hard to single out any one movie. With that in mind, Digital Spy opened up the floor to staff to pose one simple question: What's your favourite Sandra Bullock movie? Here are the results...

Emma Dibdin, Features Editor - The Net

In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that it's been a good ten years since I last watched The Net. Viewing it now, in the cold light of the 21st century, it has not dated well. But aside from being hugely entertaining with a plot that falls just the right side of ludicrous,...

Liam Hemsworth is back on the scene. The Paranoia actor made his first red carpet appearance since announcing the end of his relationship with Miley Cyrus on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The 23-year-old Aussie hit up the Boss Columbus Circle flagship store opening in New York City, where he bonded with new dad Josh Duhamel. The event doubled as the premiere of Anthropocene by Marco Brambilla. The 6-foot-3 star didn't stop for interviews—presumably to avoid being questioned about Cyrus and Eiza González—but he did tell E! News in passing that he loves Hugo Boss' "suits" and "style." Inside the party, a source says Hemsworth was "doing a shimmie" near the DJ booth while listening...

Better after breakup? It certainly appears so! Since splitting from Miley Cyrus last week, Liam Hemsworth walked his first red carpet on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The 23-year-old Australian actor looked hotter than ever at the celebration of the Hugo Boss Columbus Circle flagship opening, featuring the premiere of the Anthropocene by Marco Brambilla video installation, in New York City. Hemsworth gave a sexy smile to photographers while posing in a black fitted suit with stripped shirt, black tie and white pocket square. An eyewitness tells Us Weekly [...]...

Ryan Lambie Nov 20, 2016

On this day in 1996, Sly Stallone's John Spartan was frozen in the action flick, Demolition Man. We take a timely look back...

Outside the crowd-pleasing safety of the Rocky and Rambo franchises, Sylvester Stallone’s career has seen mixed fortunes. Some of his movies were entertaining, but didn’t make huge amounts of money (such as 1981’s Nighthawks), while others were either critical or financial calamities – Stallone’s ill-advised forays into comedy, Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot spring to mind.

See related The Walking Dead season 7: synopses and titles for episodes 6, 7 and 8 The Walking Dead: how will the show end? The Walking Dead season 7 episode 4 review: Service The Walking Dead season 7 episode 3 review: The Cell

In fact, Stallone’s entire career is studded with alternating hits and misses; 1987 arm-wrestling drama Over The Top under-performed, but Rambo III came out the following year...

British film-maker to follow up 2011's acclaimed Attack the Block with dystopian tale set in a Us governed by corporations

Attack the Block director Joe Cornish is to follow up his cult sci fi debut with an adaptation of Neal Stephenson's 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, according to a report on Deadline.

Snow Crash is set in a dystopian Us of the near future, where government has broken down and the country is controlled by competing corporate entities, each with its own territory. The narrative follows a hacker called Hiro Protagonist who investigates a potent drug, Snow Crash, which also operates as a computer virus that infects users' minds.

Plans for a film adaptation were announced shortly after the novel's publication, with directors such as Marco Brambilla and Vincenzo Natali previously expressing interest, but nothing materialised.

Despite Attack the Block's minimal commercial success (it had a worldwide box office take of $5.8m,...

The Vimeo Festival and Awards (which wrapped its second edition on Saturday, June 9) is definitely not your average film festival. Technology panels are interspersed with workshops on lighting, sound and editing; videos often run in the sub-five-minute range; and unpacking the unique challenges of being a maker in the digital age is always at the foreground of conversation. Which is to say that the focus is pretty much everywhere but the classic 90-minute-ish film you'd see in the movie theater. 'Limited Editions in the Digital World' was one session I watched with avid interest. It featured Museum of Modern Art curator Barbara London and video artist Marco Brambilla, talking about the peculiar challenges of applying notions of 'collectability' to digital works when YouTube and Vimeo make video so ubiquitous. Coming from the fine art world, they were interested in cultivating scarcity. As someone who provides digital strategy consulting to creative individuals,...

Demolition Man

Directed by Marco Brambilla

Written by Daniel Waters, Robert Reneau and Peter M. Lenkov

USA, 1993

When Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931, he wanted to warn the present of an impending dystopia. Filled with ignorance, ostentation, and a blatant disregard for humanity, Huxley foresaw the future as being grim, and if he ever lived to see Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man, he surely would’ve felt vindicated, if not prophetic.

Loud, kitsch, and surprisingly empty, Demolition Man aimed to use Brave New World as a foundation for its statement against executive abuses of power, but instead, it destroys Aldous Huxley’s magnum opus by becoming the exact thing it warned of.

Set in 1996, Sergeant John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) is one of Los Angeles’ most prolific and notorious cops. Dubbed the ‘Demolition Man’, Spartan is renown for getting the job done, and causing a fiery cataclysm while doing so.

Our Deaths, in memoriam was the project title of Lav Diaz' Kagadanan sa Banwaan Ning mga Engkanto (2007). For the Ferroni Brigade, it became the motto of Venice 2011—specters of dear lives gone seemed to roam the event, the Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica as well as the Esposizione internazionale d'arte, and beyond.

We always commemorate the murder of Nika Bohinc and Alexis Tioseco on September 1st 2009, quietly, invariably in Venice; it was here that we heard about the crime; now, whenever we go to the press room to check our e-mails, deep down something inside us is afraid of getting another message like that one; fittingly, one of the last films we saw this year was Diaz' latest, Siglo ng Pagluluwal (Century of Birthing, 2011), which ends with a dedication to them, and talks about the way our loved ones, just like cherished ideas, notions and visions are essentially eternal,...

Now in its sixth year, the New Frontiers section at Sundance premiered yesterday at its new home at The Yard, in an unassuming building across from a snow-cloaked cemetery. Presenting the year’s crop of new media, transmedia and experiential video art to a room of press, Sundance programmer Shari Frilot explained her curatorial criteria, though not before a number of the pieces had to turn off their sound (a booming heart beat coming through the wall of Ho Tzu Nyen’s The Cloud of Unknowing on her left, the Wagnerian glory coming from Marco Brambilla’s Evolution (Megaplex) to her right.) “What will resonate and expand film culture?”

Speaking before the festival, Frilot expanded on the function she wants New Frontiers to serve for Sundance viewers. Whereas previous years have focused on how we use technology and new systems to blend our body and media, this year seems to...

Many—maybe too many, looking at this bunch of bone-tired warriors of Av-virtue—were the travels the Ferroni Brigade embarked on all through 2011: oftentimes for festivals all over Europe, sometimes for visits to this archive or that as part of our programming arbeit (to be read with a Japanese drawl). During those months in the dark, we saw a lot—some of which chimed and rhymed with new works we encountered in this multiplex back home or that gallery abroad, on this collector's Steenbeck or in that producer's private projection room (they still exist).

On one of those trips, we were joined by our main Mubi-man, His Kasness a.k.a. the Kasest with whom we plunged one evening into a brainstorming on what The Festival would look and feel like (truth be told: it was more like a communal delirium—but what do you expect from folks sitting...

Sundance announced today the lineup for their annual New Frontier program, taking place Friday, January 20 through Saturday, January 28 as part of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. This year’s lineup features installations from multimedia artists such as Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then director Brent Green, 0100101110101101.org creators Eva & Franco Mattes, and indie gaming company Molleindustria.

Now in its sixth year, New Frontier provides a venue for innovative media installations, multimedia performances, transmedia experiences, and panel discussions. For the first time, the program will be taking place simultaneously at two locations: The Yard (1251 Kearns Blvd.) in Park City and the Salt Lake Art Center (20 South West Temple). It’s free and open to the public, so if you’re in the area this January (as I suspect many of you will be), check it out.

The full lineup:

Installations:

Bear 71

Artists: Jeremy Mendes and Leanne Allison (Canada)

Jeremy Mendes and Leanne Allison...

Rank the week of August 16th’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time: New Releases Jane Eyre

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #3143

Win Percentage: 55%

Times Ranked: 1594

Top-20 Rankings: 7

Directed By: Cary Fukunaga

Starring: Mia Wasikowska • Michael Fassbender • Jamie Bell • Judi Dench • Imogen Poots

Genres: Drama • Gothic Film • Mystery • Period Film • Romance • Romantic Drama • Romantic Mystery

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Something Borrowed

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #8753

Win Percentage: 40%

Times Ranked: 456

Top-20 Rankings: 3

Directed By: Luke Greenfield

Starring: Kate Hudson • Ginnifer Goodwin • John Krasinski • Colin Egglesfield • Steve Howey

Genres: Comedy • Comedy Drama • Drama • Romance • Romantic Comedy • Romantic Drama

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Priest

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #6278

Win Percentage: 43%

Times Ranked: 1274

Top-20 Rankings: 5

Directed By: Scott Charles Stewart

Starring: Paul Bettany • Karl Urban • Cam Gigandet • Maggie Q • Lily Collins

Genres: Action • Comic-Book Superhero Film • Horror • Monster Film • Religious Horror • Science Fiction • Sci-Fi Action • Sci-Fi Horror • Supernatural Horror...

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Agent 8 3/4 (1964)

Directed by: Ralph Thomas

Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Sylva Koscina, Robert Morley

Synopsis: Unemployed Czech-speaking writer Nicholas Whistler thinks he’s got a job visiting Prague for a bit of industrial espionage. In fact he is now in the employ of British Intelligence. His pretty chauffeuse on arrival behind the Iron Curtain, Comrade Simonova, is herself a Czech agent. Just as well she’s immediately attracted to 007′s unwitting replacement. [highdefdigest.com]

Special Features: Unknown.

Armed And Dangerous (1986)

Directed by: Mark L. Lester

Starring: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Meg Ryan, Robert Loggia

Synopsis: Dooley, a cop wrongly sacked for corruption, teams up with a useless defense lawyer in their new careers… as security guards. When the two are made fall guys for a robbery at a location they are guarding, the pair begin to investigate corruption within the company and their union.

Dueling festival lineups! It seems that for every announcement for the Toronto International Film Festival lineup comes a competing (and often overlapping)  one from Venice.  Here we're collecting the finalized Venice lineups so far. (Above image: Philippe Garrel's A Burning Hot Summer.)

Competition

The Ides of March (George Clooney, USA) (opening night) 4:44 Last Day on Earth (Abel Ferrara, USA) Alps (Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece) A Burning Hot Summer (Philippe Garrel, France) Carnage (Roman Polanski, France/Germany/Spain/Poland) Chicken With Plums (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, France/Belgium/Germany) A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, Canada) Dark Horse (Todd Solondz, USA) The Exchange (Eran Kolirin, Israel/Germany) Faust (Alexander Sokurov, Russia) Himizu (Sion Sono, Japan) Killer Joe (William Friedkin, USA) Life without Principle (Johnnie To, Hk) Quando la notte (Cristina Comencini, Italy) Seediq Bale (Wei Desheng, Taiwan) Shame (Steve McQueen, UK) Terraferma (Emanuele Crialese, Italy) Texas Killing Fields (Ami Canaan Mann,...

Hot on the heels of the release of the first wave of films announced to screen at the Toronto Film Festival, comes the main lineup for the 68th Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 31 to September 10. There are a few highly anticipated films that appear here that are not yet scheduled for Tiff including the spy thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy from Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson. Also on the list is Roman Polanski‘s Carnage and the latest film from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, whose film Dogtooth made our best end year list both in 2009 and 2010. Personally my most anticipated film is A Dangerous Method by my favourite filmmaker David Cronenberg.

Check out the full list is after the break.

In Competition

The Ides Of March, George Clooney (Us) [Opening Night Film]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Tomas Alfredson (UK, Germany)

Wuthering Heights, Andrea Arnold (UK)

Texas Killing Fields,...

Just a few days after Tiff had announced its first 50 films from this year’s festival slate, the Venice Film Festival has announced their own lineup, and I must say, it’s one hell of a collective.

Criterion Collection nuts will have a field day here, as various directors from the collection will be bringing their new films to Italy this year.

First up, in competition, David Cronenberg will be taking his new film, A Dangerous Method, to Venice this year, making it one of the bigger fall festival season players this year. Steve McQueen’s Shame will play this year, as will Andrea Arnold’s (Fish Tank) Wuthering Heights. Roman Polanski will debut his latest film, Carnage, at Venice this year, as will Todd Solondz, who brings Dark Horse this year.

Out of competition, Chantal Akerman and Whit Stillman will debut their next projects, La Folie Almayer and Damsels In Distress respectively.

Carnage, A Dangerous Method, and the remaining film lineup for the 2011 Venice Film Festival has been announced. The 68th Annual Venice Film Festival “is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the “Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica”, the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice, Italy. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. It is one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice Biennale, a major biennial exhibition and festival for contemporary art.”

The 2011 Venice Film Festival will take place from August 31, 2011 to September 10, 2011. The full listing of the film lineup for the 2011 Venice Film Festival is below.

Venice 2011 Competition

The Ides Of March, George Clooney (Us) [opening film]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Tomas Alfredson (UK, Germany)

Wuthering Heights,...

The 68th Venice Film Festival has unveiled this years line-up of movies that will show during the festival which takes place from August 31st to September 10th. Judging by the line-up it looks like the 70s are back, with new films from directors that caused a huge splash during that decade, including David Cronenberg, William Friedkin and Abel Ferrara… The full line-up:

In Competition

The Ides Of March, George Clooney (Us) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Tomas Alfredson (UK, Germany) Wuthering Heights, Andrea Arnold (UK) Texas Killing Fields, Ami Canaan Maan (Us) (second work) Quando La Notte, Cristina Comencini (Italy) Terraferma, Emanuele Crialese (Italy/France) A Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg (Germany/Canada) 4:44 Last Day On Earth, Abel Ferrara (Us) Killer Joe, William Friedkin (Us) Un Ete Brulant, Philippe Garrel (France/Italy/Switzerland) A Simple Life (Taojie), Ann Hui (China/Hong Kong) The Exchange (Hahithalfut), Eran Kolirin (Israel) (second work) Alps (Alpeis),Yorgos Lanthimos (Greece) Shame,...

Hot on the heels of the release of a massive batch of films [1] that will appear in the Toronto Film Festival, we've got the main lineup for the 68th Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 31 to September 10. We knew that George Clooney's The Ides of March would open the fest (the trailer premiered last night and you can see it here [2]) and this list confirms quite a few films that we imagined would be playing Venice. Our very much anticipated spy thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy from Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson is on the list, as is Roman Polanski's tense closed-room drama Carnage, starring Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz. And there is Alps, the second film from polarizing Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, whose film Dogtooth shocked, entertained and angered festival audiences in 2009. The full list is after the break.

The Venice Film Festival has just announced its official line-up, and it looks to be an embarrassment of cinematic riches. As noted by Variety, the festival’s competitive slate includes new films from David Cronenberg (the Freud-Jung thriller A Dangerous Method), Marjane Satrapi (Chicken with Plums), Abel Ferrara (4:44 Last Day on Earth), Roman Polanski (Carnage, adapted from the play God of Carnage), and George Clooney (The Ides of March), not to mention Alps, the new film from Yorgos Lanthimos, who made the creepily hilarious Dogtooth. Possibly even more fun are the films opening out of competition, including Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion,...

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: The Venice Film Festival unveiled its full line up this morning, programming a number of big-ticket titles with serious awards dreams.

As expected, there is overlap between the 68th Venice Fest and the first wave of films announced for the Toronto International Film Festival, from Madonna’s King Edward VIII drama “W.E.” to David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method.” But Venice also boasts a few films that Tiff does not have on its schedule … yet. That would be Tomas Alfredson’s anticipated “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and Roman Polanski’s “Carnage.”

The fest will open on Aug. 31 with the world premiere of George Clooney’s political drama “The Ides of March.” We have a full roster of films in and out of competition for the Venice Film Festival below:

Venice 2011 Competition

The Ides Of March, George Clooney (Us) [opening film]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Tomas Alfredson (UK,...