Spoiler thread is up...

http://texags.com/forums/13/topics/2554693/replies/41148674

Great article. Sorry if already posted, but I don't want to ready any opinions of the film itself if I can help it. Trying to go in there untainted.

Christopher Nolan: the man who rebooted the blockbuster

This is particularly interesting to me:

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He also brought along Warner Bros, even though the project had been initiated by Paramount. "He doesn't have a deal with Warner Bros, and it wasn't like he was obliged to make sure they were a part of it," Brad Grey said. When he met Nolan to hear the pitch for the script, complete with a potted explanation of relativity "which for a showbiz guy like me was a little hard to follow", Grey added the director said that he wanted Warner Bros to be a part of the deal, as an acknowledgment of the support they had given Nolan after a lone gunman walked into a packed theatre showing The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, killing 12 audience members and injuring 70 others. The studio had closed ranks around the film-maker, pulling him from a European press tour, withholding grosses, and donating money to a charity benefiting the victims. "He felt a real sense of loyalty because of what they had just been through," Grey said. "When he explained it to me I said yes on the spot."

The deal that Paramount and Warner Bros negotiated was anomalous to say the least. For the right to distribute Interstellar internationally, Warner Bros traded the rights for two of their franchises, Friday the 13th and South Park, plus "a to-be-determined A-list Warners property", while its subsidiary, Legendary, agreed to trade Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for a further piece of the pie. To say this disregards the reigning economic logic of modern Hollywood is not quite right it reverses the normal logic by which Hollywood operates. Franchises are the lifeblood of the studios. For Warner Bros to hand over the rights to two of its well-known properties, representing money in the bank, for the opportunity to take a spin on an original idea a film with no sequel potential and few merchandising opportunities, based on the dimly understood recesses of quantum physics speaks both to the value placed by the studios on Nolan, and also the extent to which he has become a franchise unto himself. Like Spielberg and James Cameron before him, Nolan is one of only a handful of film-makers who can walk into a studio with an idea and exit with $200m to make it. Nolan's movies have grossed more than $3.5bn worldwide, and his last four films have come in under budget. When Interstellar was finished, Nolan returned what he called a "substantial" amount of money to Paramount.

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Warner Bros gave up their rights to Friday the 13th, South Park(!), a piece of Batman v. Superman, and another A-List project to get in on Interstellar with Paramount and Nolan. That's amazing.

Nolan and Marvel are similar. It could be some completely unknown idea (Inception/GotG) and the crowds are going to flock to it on name only. Good relation to Cameron and Spielberg.

Nolan, Cameron, Spielberg, and Tarantino will get my ass in a seat, no questions asked.

Actually not 100% on Spielberg, never saw Lincoln. But the rest for sure.

I'd add

• Michael Mann
• Coens
• Scorsese

Ridley Scott used to be on that list as well.

Fincher

Fincher, absolutely. He's probably my number one. I'd add Paul Thomas Anderson to the list as well, and take Mann off. Public Enemies was super underwhelming, and Blackhat just doesn't excite me at all. Coincidentally, I'm seeing Interstellar tonight with Mann's old assistant, who never has great things to say about him either.

In order of absolute must-see no matter what, I'd probably go:

Fincher
Nolan
PTA
Coen Brothers
Scorsese
Soderbergh
Wes Anderson

Followed by highly-anticipated, but on a movie-by-movie basis:

Spielberg
Malick
Cameron Crowe
David O. Russell
Mann

Btw, GREAT article, MW03. Thanks for posting.

Edgar Wright

Got tickets for cinemark IMAX in Dallas tomorrow at noon, don't care what the critics say, can't wait!!

In the seats:


I'm freaking out!

Been awesome needing out with you guys.

HOLY...CRAP...

SEE THIS MOVIE...

So it was decent?

In seats. Tomorrow work will suck. Hopefully its worth it

That.Was.Awesome. Gravity meets Inception. Definitely go see this.

So....was there a episode VII trailer?!

No trailer for me.

The movie is good. Definitely a must see.

But it is not GREAT./OMG/AWESOME movie.

It is just really good.

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No trailer for me.

The movie is good. Definitely a must see.

But it is not GREAT./OMG/AWESOME movie.

It is just really good.

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Concur

I thought it was great, though I'm biased...

Spoiler free version of what I just posted in the other thread...

This one's going to take a lot longer to process than I previously thought. I LOVED the majority of it, but the final act didn't quite work for me. I just don't feel like it all quite came together in the end like Nolan was hoping. It was like he was trying to one-up the end of Inception, but went a bit overboard in the process. I need to see it again before analyzing it anymore. But honestly, I don't have that immediate desire to do so and figure it all out like I did with Inception. I almost don't care enough to try and truly understand it. Again, there was SO MUCH great stuff in this movie, but a lot of missteps as well. It definitely doesn't feel to me like the home run some are claiming it is. Maybe a really exciting in-the-park-home-run, but one where the guy is ultimately thrown out at home. Definitely going to need to sit with this one for a while.

And Malibu, I looked for you, but never could find the hat. I was on that same lower level, but on the other side, toward the middle isle, second to back row. Screen looked AMAZING, but man the audio was super muddled. Also, I thought for sure that cheesy announcer guy was going introduce Nolan and a cast member or two. Especially with those camera guys down low, and those five black Escalades parked right out front. Oh, well...

Still excited about this movie but my expectations are not nearly where they were a month ago.

What trailers did y'all get? Anyone get the final Hobbit trailer?

No trailers due to the length of the film is what we were told.

Saw 70mm last night at the Rivercenter IMAX in San Antonio. Did not have any trailers either.

I loved it but I am a Nolan fanboy. I think most people, as a few said before, will find this movie very good but not great. I definitely don't think this will have the same water cooler talk, cultural impact, youtube parodys, internet memes that Nolan's last few movies have had (not that those are necessary for a fantastic film).

By now we all kinda know what you're getting with Nolan. Heartpounding Zimmer score, emotional stakes that are a little schmaltzy, a few ingenious ideas and concepts that may or may not hold up if you look too closely and impressive visuals that don't seem gimmicky. Luckily his tropes and tendencies are in my wheelhouse so I dug it a bunch and will prob see it again.

I agree with most that it was good but not great. Visually spectacular but a movie I really don't ever care to see again, especially on the small screen where I don't think it will be nearly as good. As with all of Nolan's movies lately, there just seems to be a generally lack of emotion from the characters and I thought this was one of MM's worse performances ever. I would give the effects a 4/4 and the story a 2.5/4. I just don't think I'm in awe of Nolan's directing like I used to be. This is the second movie in a row (third if you count Man of Steel) that I walked away thinking the movie could have been so much better.

^ I actually thought McConaughey was phenomenal, but other than that, I'm right there with you, Marko. Nolan's go-to techniques/tricks/look almost started to feel stale here. Or maybe stale isn't the right word - maybe too familiar, and not in a good way. And while I really do love the "seriousness" of his movies (with genuinely great bits of humor sprinkled throughout his movies maybe more more than people realize), last night was the first time I truly realized - or can finally accept/admit - that ultimately I need more fun/pop/Spielberg-type adventure from my blockbusters. I can't believe I'm saying this - and these movies aren't necessarily better - but the '09 Star Trek, Armageddon, Jurassic Park, etc. really are starting to feel more and more like the types of blockbusters I ultimately prefer, in comparison to the uber-serious approach of this latest Nolan run (TDKR/Man of Steel/Interstellar, specifically). I just need a little more adventure, a little more fun, maybe a good pop music queue, etc. Don't get me wrong, The Dark Knight and Inception will forever be two of my all-time favorite blockbusters, and I LOVE their complexity/tone, but the lack of that Indiana Jones type touch of adventure is really starting wear me down with Nolan lately.

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And while I really do love the "seriousness" of his movies (with genuinely great bits of humor sprinkled throughout his movies maybe more more than people realize), this was the first time I truly realized - or can finally accept/admit - that ultimately I need more fun/pop/Spielberg-type adventure in my blockbusters.

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Exactly how I was feeling last night. I really enjoy serious movies, but having something a little more fun happen would really help Interstellar out, especially with as long as the movie is.

The reason why TDK was so good was Joker's craziness intertwined with Nolan's somewhat sterile directing. It was a match made in heaven.

Good not Great?...so you're saying wait for netflix...?

No. This is a movie for the big screen.

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Good not Great?...so you're saying wait for netflix...?

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I still recommend it in the IMAX. But just one time.

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Exactly how I was feeling last night. I really enjoy serious movies, but having something a little more fun happen would really help Interstellar out, especially with as long as the movie is.

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Exactly. Even something as simple as having a fun/exciting/familiar song playing on the truck radio while they were chasing that drone would have helped. To expand on a couple of the examples I used above, like when "Sabotage" plays over that car scene in Star Trek when we first meet a young Kirk. Or like in Armageddon, when Aerosmith's "Come Together" plays as they're rounding up the team for the mission. I know those are both somewhat cheesy uses of music, but they're FUN, and add life to the movie. I don't think that type of stuff could work in Batman, but of overall, going forward, if Nolan could learn to inject a bit of that type of energy into his movies, they would be about as close to perfect as possible.

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The reason why TDK was so good was Joker's craziness intertwined with Nolan's somewhat sterile directing. It was a match made in heaven.

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So true.

What TC is talking about is exactly why Marvel has been so successful in the past few years, IMO. The light, comic tone really makes the movies fun to watch, and makes them endlessly rewatchable. (Especially Iron Man, Avengers, and GOTG.)

They went for a little more dark and serious with Winter Soldier, and will probably continue with that tone in Avengers 2, I just hope they remember to keep them light.

This is also what made the original SW trilogy so great and what the prequels lacked (though I still enjoy them). Here's hoping JJ approached Episode VII that way.