Createasphere's Insider View

Behind the Scenes of Battleship with ICG Magazine

High action on the high seas with Tobias Schliessler, ASC and director Peter Berg. By Kevin H. Martin. Photos by Frank Masi/ILM/Universal pictures.

As Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean and other films adapted from the unlikeliest of sources – toys, theme park rides and the like – have shown, high recognition factor at the box office pays off.

Battleship, directed by Peter Berg, occasionally gives a nod to its source material, a century-old board game that became popular in the 1960s when Hasbro introduced a plastic pegs version. The movie even incorporates principal strategies of the game, with the besieged heroes creating a grid of X-Y coordinates for the surrounding waters to aid in locating and engaging the unseen enemy. But in the film, the world’s naval fleets are pitted not against one another but against hostile aliens seeking global annihilation.

Cinematographer Tobias Schliessler, ASC, who has lensed three of Berg’s last four features – Hancock (2008), Friday Night Lights (2004) and The Rundown (2003) – says the actor-turned-director brings strong visual ideas to each of his films.

“Pete said he wanted to feel like it is really happening,” Schliessler explains. “But he also wanted aspects of heightened reality, stressing the sense of adventure for audiences.”

Read the rest of the article on ICGMagazine.com.

Presenting five out of 22 films vying for the Festival's most prized prize, the Palme D'Or, the U.S. is enjoying its strongest showing in years as the red carpets prepare to roll in Cannes. Even with some notable names missing from the roster, there's little doubt that this is a great presentation for the Americans. With nearly a 1/4 of the films in competition, hopes are high for some high-profile attention on U.S. entries. The Festival De Cannes kicks off on May 16th, with screenings, parties, and paparazzi rolling through the French Riviera cinema hot spot until May 27th.

It's the jury of the 65th Festival de Cannes that will have to decide between the 22 films in competition, and the Festival has gathered an international and multi-disciplinary group to weigh in, presided over by Italian director, actor and producer Nanni Moretti.

The jury includes; Hiam Abbass (Palestinian actress, director); Andrea Arnold (British director and scriptwriter); Emmanuelle Devos (French actress); Diane Kruger (German actress); Jean Paul Gaultier (French designer); Ewan McGregor (British actor); Alexander Payne (American director, scriptwriter and producer); and Raoul Peck (Haitian director, scriptwriter and producer).

The winners will be announced on stage during the Closing Ceremony of the Festival, May 27th, and the culmination of the evening is the announcement of the Palme de Or.

Films in competition are:

• Wes Anderson - Moonrise Kingdom
• Jacques Audiard - De Rouille Et D'os (Rust And Bone)
• Leos Carax - Holy Motors
• David Cronenberg – Cosmopolis
• Lee Daniels -The Paperboy
• Andrew Dominik - Killing Them Softly
• Matteo Garrone – Reality
• Michael Haneke - Amour (Love)
• John Hillcoat – Lawless
• Hong Sangsoo-Da-Reun Na-Ra-E-Suh (In Another Country)
• Im Sang-Soo -Do-Nui Mat (The Taste Of Money)
• Abbas Kiarostami - Like Someone In Love
• Ken Loach - The Angels' Share
• Sergei Loznitsa - V Tumane (In The Fog)
• Cristian Mungiu-Dupã Dealuri (Beyond The Hills)
• Yousry Nasrallah - Baad El Mawkeaa (After The Battle)
• Jeff Nichols – Mud
• Alain Resnais - Vous N'avez Encore Rien Vu (You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!)
• Carlos Reygadas - Post Tenebras Lux
• Walter Salles - On The Road
• Ulrich Seidl - Paradies: Liebe (Paradise: Love)
• Thomas Vinterberg - Jagten (The Hunt)

Even with a strong lineup of English language films, there are over 25 languages spoken in the films at Cannes this year and it’s a premier international event. That said, Festival Artistic director Thierry Frémaux commented to Deadline, that this year he feels a renewed “presence of a certain type of American cinema that we no longer had.” It’s come back strong, he says, “but I also hope it’s a new existence for great American films on an international level.” In addition to the Palme d'Or competition, films will screen out of competition in Un Certain Regard, at midnight screenings, special screenings, and in other special events.

The closing night film is “Therese Desqueyroux," a French film directed by Claude Miller.

For complete updates of Cannes events, films and news, visit www.festival-cannes.fr/en.html

AMC's new series elevates the reality genre

Presented by Studio Lambert, "The Pitch" follows two advertisement agencies that are competing over the opportunity to create a promotional campaign for a major brand.  The personalities of each agency’s development team are revealed during the "pitch" development as they invest every moment of their lives into the creative process.  Joel Stillerman, Senior Vice President of Programming at AMC, felt the exploration of this process and the way it manipulates the people responsible for it was a perfect fit for the "Story matters here" channel.

Photo courtesy of: David M. Russell/AMC

Experience Immersion Technology with Ed Lantz

Ed Lantz, Founder of Vortex Immersion Media and a major voice in immersive and full dome production, will share his visionary perspective. This Keynote presentation in the Vortex Dome included a showcase of immersive projects as well as conversation with content creators and experience makers that combines live action, VFX, 3D, and more.

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Part 7

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Part 9