“JUNGLE BOOK: ORIGINS” - Cast Announcement Release →

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, CATE BLANCHETT AND CHRISTIAN BALE HEAD THE ENSEMBLE OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES’ 3D ADVENTURE “JUNGLE BOOK: ORIGINS”

Young actor Rohan Chand to star as Mowgli in the cast, also including Peter Mullan, Tom Hollander, Naomi Harris, Eddie Marsan, and Andy Serkis 

BURBANK, CA – August 21, 2014 – Warner Bros. Pictures has assembled an impressive roster of stars for “Jungle Book: Origins,” its new big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book, marking the feature film directorial debut of Andy Serkis.  The action adventure, which will blend motion capture and live action, will be released worldwide beginning October 21, 2016.  The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. 

The actors performing the roles of the story’s central animal characters are: Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”) as the fearsome tiger, Shere Khan; Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”) as the sinister snake, Kaa; Oscar winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter,” the “Dark Knight” Trilogy) as the cunning panther, Bagheera; Andy Serkis (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”) as the wise bear, Baloo; Peter Mullan (“Hercules”) as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui; Naomi Harris (“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”) as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Eddie Marsan (“Ray Donovan”) as Nisha’s mate, Vihaan; and Jack Reynor (“Transformers: Age of Extinction”) as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf.  On the human side, young actor Rohan Chand (“The Hundred-Foot Journey,” “Bad Words”) will play the boy raised by wolves, Mowgli.

The film is being produced by Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the blockbuster “Harry Potter” films.  Jonathan Cavendish (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” performance capture producer “Godzilla”) is also serving as a producer.  The screenplay is by Kloves’ daughter, Callie Kloves, based on the stories by Kipling. 

The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India.  As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own.  All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan.  But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.

Source:  Warner Bros. Pictures

92 Million And Growing: “I didn't think I could direct Godzilla.” —Director Gareth Edwards

The most revered monster in cinematic history, since 1954, Godzilla scored a whopping $93.2 million on its opening weekend, far outpacing tracking guestimates! That is just domestic receipts. 

The experts are enjoying a happy box office surprise, but Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull, had confidence in director Gareth Edwards despite his age and was won over my his passion, persistence and intimate, self-taught knowledge of special effects married with old fashioned human emotional story structure.

It was Edwards' tiny cult hit "Monsters" which was the result of a mino, miniscule budget and a large measure of blood, sweat and tears, which captured the producing team. 

Never in his wildest of wild dreams did he think that "Monsters" would get any attention in Hollywood circles or lead to an invitation to play in the big leagues.

Self-doubt. Director Gareth Edwards was riddled with self-doubt which we discussed at the press junket, held at a swanky NYC hotel, with a food spread that could be best described as "lush."

His crisp, British accent was delivered in a soft tone giving me the impression that he wasn't faking, Edwards' is modest. He is also sincerely sitting in the state of disbelief that his career, which could accurately be described as non-impressive two years ago, is about to rocket into the mega stratosphere.

If it wasn't for his failures and his lack of access to technology, paradoxically, Edwards would not be sitting at the winner’s seat. 

Here are a few interesting tidbits that director Gareth Edwards shared with myNewYorkeye: 

myNewYorkeye: Did you have a connection to Godzilla?  Love, hate, indifference?  Growing up in Europe did you have any awareness of the 1954 classic?

Gareth Edwards: Godzilla is 60 years old.  Go around the world with a silhouette of a giant dinosaur looming over a City, everyone knows exactly who it is---I was so nervous that Thomas (Tull) would trust me with such a big opportunity.

I mean it's Godzilla!

I'm self-taught in the SFX world.  My fascination started early, I read every book on the subject and then it was trial and error.  At times more error but every mistake was a lesson. 

myNewYorkeye: Producer Tull, shared that when he saw the "sizzle" reel he was ready to pull the "money" trigger and go full-frontal; he had zero regrets on letting you helm the project. 

Gareth Edwards: That was a pivotal, life altering moment for me.  Thomas gave me access to some of the coolest SFX toys, and our team got to create, create and create.

It was a tremendous feeling. 

The behind-the-scenes team was impressive, that included Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel (the “Lord of the Rings” films); Oscar®-nominated director of photography Seamus McGarvey (“Atonement”); production designer Owen Paterson (“The Matrix” trilogy); Oscar®-nominated costume designer Sharen Davis (“Dreamgirls,” “Ray,” “Django Unchained”); and the score by Oscar®-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat (“Argo,” “The King’s Speech”).

myNewYorkeye: Impressive collaborators my new, best friend (hint, hint-wink wink)! 

Gareth, when Godzilla roared, I squealed like a tiny kid in a sweet shop. Didn't you listen to the audience at the screening?  They went nuts, me included. So is a sequel in the works?  You can share were new "besties."

Gareth Edwards: Thank you, you’re funny and oddly kind. Did you ask about a sequel?

A sequel, sequel?  Another one in the works, presumably with new monsters emerging from the Godzilla lexicon?

That type of sequel?

Well, I don't know let's wait and ask Godzilla.  Be patient he might be back! 

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures present a Legendary Pictures production, a Gareth Edwards film “Godzilla.”

"No Fear in making Godzilla rise" - director Gareth Edwards

Filmmaker Gareth Edwards, who hails from the UK and now calls Los Angeles home, didn't think he would ever come a successful film director less alone the helmer behind the big ticket film "Godzilla," opening May 9th.

"I've wanted to be a filmmaker since I was six," confesses the affable Edwards, "There weren't film schools in my hometown so I read the story of how Steven Spielberg began, dong short films, screening them then working as a television director and finally he becomes a Hollywood director so that was the path I imagined. It didn't happen that way." 

Gareth spent over ten years toiling in odd jobs and crafting short films that he happily admits weren't cinematic masterpieces. 

Then along came personal computers and access to animation software and he again, turned to books and immersed himself into learning this new craft.

"I knew that computers were the future," confesses Gareth."What and how I would become a director wasn't crystal clear but I knew I was getting closer.  I want into debt buying the computer and learning the software but my passion and curiosity won out."

Driven and visually motivated to share stories, the filmmaker worked tirelessly on a

BBC documentary "Hiroshima" which earned him a BAFTA award. All this from his modest LA apartment. 

"I knew the learning animation was going to change filmmaking,” states Gareth. “To that end I taught myself by trial and error. My work caught on and I decided to enter a sc-fi filmmaking contest and that changed my career path exponentially."

Inspired by his growing knowledge of sfx and trusting his guerrilla roots, the resilient director went on to make the sc-fi thriller "Monsters," about an alien attack as witnessed by a snarky American journalist, with a minimal crew, serving as director/cinematographer/and visual effects supervisor.

"I did what needed to be done," slyly confides Gareth.  "Monsters' earned rewards in unexpected places and when the calls from Hollywood started coming in, well, at first I didn't take much stock in that either."

Gareth continues his astute observation on getting a foot inside films' inner circle. 

"Understand that every young director gets those type of LA calls. It's like a revolving door with the seat your taking usually still warm by the recently exited, excited and hopeful filmmaker."

Then one day "that" career altering call came from Chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, Thomas Tull and the new chapter in the Godzilla legend was started.

"The experience was grand and what I leaned was almost immeasurable, " begins Gareth.  "This is the man and the company that has generated billions of dollars worldwide for movies like the "Dark Knight" Trilogy and the Zach Snyder's "300'" "Watchmen" and "300: Rise of an Empire" to site just a few.  The collaborative environment with all of the key creatives helped me push aside all fear."

The screenplay by Max Borenstein, with story by Davis Callaham, based in the character "Godzilla" which is owned by TOHO CO., LTD, was modeled by many hands but all agreed to keep the integrity of the 1954 masterpiece.

"In the end," summarizes the director, "All of us were genuine fans of Ishiro Honda's landmark film and as fans we wanted to be stimulated and entertained."

"Godzilla" opens May 9th. PG rating.  www.godzillamovie.com 

MARVEL'S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

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The new character posters for Marvel's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY are now available.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY opens in theaters on August 1, 2014!

Genre:                                       Action-Adventure

Rating:                                       TBD     

U.S. Release date:                     August 1, 2014 

Cast:                                         Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as

Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova   Prime and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector

Director:                                    James Gunn

Producer:                        Kevin Feige, p.g.a.

Executive Producers:      Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham,

 Nik Korda, Stan Lee

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Written by:                    James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

STORY SYNOPSIS:

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

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ONE-LINER:

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” finds space adventurer Peter Quill the object of a bounty hunt after stealing an orb coveted by a treacherous villain, but when Quill discovers the power it holds, he must find a way to rally the quartet of ragtag rivals hot on his trail to save the universe.

OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE:

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes, Issue #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector.

James Gunn is the director of the film with Kevin Feige, p.g.a., producing. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Nik Korda and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman and releases in U.S. theaters on August 1, 2014.