Just a quick note to our regular readers that we’ve gone ahead and updated out Transformers 3 page, in the sidebar to the right (or on the logo above). We’ve scabbed some videos from Michael Bay’s official site showing some of the shooting in Chicago a while back, some gob-smackingly awesome practical effects and epic, oh so epic explosions done for real in the middle of a major US city. Only Michael Bay could have pulled this off. Check out those videos, and we’ve also updated the cast list a little. For those of you keeping score on TF3, there’s less than a year to go!!

We  look at Hollywood’s fascination with the Man vs Machine story, and why these films are so successful…

It’s a strange paradox that’s evolved since the birth of the World Wide Web, where humans have become closer than ever before while gradually losing our ability to connect. Social networking has become the buzzword of the first decade of this new century, with major websites MySpace and Facebook leading the way, often to the detriment of actual human interpersonal relationships. The fact that we now have the ability to connect with anybody, anywhere in the world, at the click of a mouse button, has led to a dilution of social depth filled with Tweets and Status Updates no longer than a paragraph at best. Rather than a handful of real, actual friends with whom we have genuine bonds and interaction, we’re left with a gaggle of world wide networking “friends” that have no meaning in our lives save for bolstering our increasingly bloated “friend list”.

The fact that social networking on the web has led to a fracturing of actual relationships, rather than an improvement of them, is indicative of the apparent human desire to live our lives in a world of electronic bytes and disconnected “pokes”. We’d rather update our status than go out and meet people. Apparently.

The closer we get, the further apart we grow?

Using this kind of new age thinking, it’s appropriate that we dissect a current thematic trend in Hollywood over the last decade. Recently, I had the pleasure of perusing a couple of similarly themed films, Gamer and Surrogates, and it struck me that Hollywood has really embraced the concept of a humanity so isolated from itself that we resort to a kind of avatar lived lifestyle. The Matrix (1999) took us into an alternative world where humans lived in a state of induced hallucination. For many fans, the idea that we could live in a world where bullet time existed was almost too much: and the film asked the question of us… are we indeed living in a world run by our minds? Recent films such as Gamer, which had a psuedo-Crysis style theme of humans controlling others via a web-based mind link, and Surrogates, where humans lived in their houses and controlled robotic representations of themselves out in the world, have tapped into the theme of living our lives through some sort of fantasy. Even Avatar, James Cameron’s most recent blockbuster, swam with the theme of living a life outside your own body via a machine connected to a constructed body: so the themes of externalising our lives have really taken hold in recent years. Robin William’s role in Final Cut even went to the extreme of having our memories recorded and edited down upon our death for our loved one’s edification – admittedly no direct “machine” interaction occurred here, but the film portrayed our lives as being little more than a series of adventures recorded on a machine in our brains.

For the sake of argument, we’ll focus our arguments on a few films which capture the essence of the man-machine theme in film: The Matrix, Surrogates, Gamer and Avatar. No doubt there are others we’ve forgotten about, but these in particular stand out in the public conscious.

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Recent news out of Hollywood is somewhat disturbing: MGM Studios, the guys who have the rights to the James Bond franchise, and a 50% stake in the upcoming Hobbit films, have cancelled production on the next Bond film, which was to be the 23rd instalment. Due to MGM’s financial difficulty, they can’t afford to make another Bond movie right now. So what does this mean for The Hobbit movies? Are they, too, due to be consigned to the almost-ran scrapheap of unrealised movie dreams? Unlikely, although perhaps they may have to be put on hold for a while, until things are sorted out.

The nutshell version of the back-story is this: MGM are currently in administration (read: nearly bankrupt) and the administrators are trying like hell to sell the studio to pay off the debts. The main problem with all this is that they want more money than anybody is prepared to pay. Which leaves any and all projects currently funded, or co-funded, by MGM, up in the air. So, for both Bond and The Hobbit to move forward with any certainty, somebody rich is going to have to shell out some serious coin for the deal to take place. Fanboy consensus around the web indicates that perhaps the administrators are being a tad greedy in what they’re asking for, perhaps they should try selling the studio at a realistic price (hell, Time-Warner owns half of everything on planet Earth, so why not MGM?) and get this whole messy situation sorted out. Reading between the lines, I tend to think the snouts in the trough are keeping this from becoming easier, instead trying to play hard-ball and feather their own nests. Which isn’t against the law, but it is holding up production on The Hobbit.

UPDATE…

Word has surfaced that the internet new services (and by default, us) may have been a bit premature to write off the James Bond franchise (as above), as this report from First Showing states. The new Bond 23 film is “delayed”, rather than “cancelled”, with director Sam Mendes (yes, American Beauty‘s Sam Mendes) and star Daniel Craig stating that they would wait for the MGM troubles to be sorted out.

Look, this whole MGM thing is getting out of hand. Won’t somebody please make a decision and sort it out?

Half way through 2010 already, and we thought it was time to let our regular readers know a little of what’s on the horizon here at the site.

Currently, we’re working on more reviews of the Aliens franchise, along with our intended look at the two original Predator films. We’re also tentatively hopeful that we’ll finally get our Matrix reviews done too, and considering we promised to get that done a few years back, it’s been a long time coming.

You can expect to see more Worst Films in our annual Worst Film Week event in late September, as well as this years annual “Worst Film Posters” update. This is one of our more popular articles, and we’ll be bringing you more shite from around the world then. Keep an eye out for that. Probably even a review or two of some true turkeys, including John Travolta’s gob-smackingly dreadful Battlefield Earth.

Christmas will no doubt sneak up on us all again this year, which is why we already have our line-up for the holiday season ready to go. This year, we’ll not be uploading a review on Christmas Day, instead putting up a couple of articles on the 24th, including a look at Jim Carrey’s turn as Scrooge in the Zemeckis CGI-fest A Christmas Carol.

Among other ideas flung about the office in the last few weeks, is the possibility of finishing reviews on the films from Pixar, a number of which we haven’t featured on the site yet. We’re also hoping to gain some more staff in the next 6 months, with another push to bring quality writing on board and broaden our outlook on all things film. Anybody reading this who is in any way interested, can contact us directly to nominate their intent.

We’ll be keeping you updated on all things Transformers 3, with our dedicated page set up to handle all news and articles on the next film from director Michael Bay. Not only that, but we’re also going strong on our commitment to follow the production of the two Hobbit movies coming to us thanks to Peter Jackson. We had word from Ian McKellan himself that the Hobbit flicks will start shooting by the end of 2010 at the latest. They ARE going to happen! At the time of writing this, though, there’s still no word on whether Mr Jackson himself will direct the films, or they’ll find somebody else. Stay tuned!!

As always, if you wish to remain up-to-date on all our articles and reviews, subscribe! We love having people subscribe to our site, so if you’re not among our many readers who’ve listed their info with us, do so so we can continue to provide you with the stuff you want! During May we snuck over the 700 post mark, and with around 300+ individual film reviews, we feel we can offer our readers a diverse and interesting blogging experience. Some of you have already noticed that we’ve tweaked some of our standard review stuff, such as listing any major awards films have won, as well as more relevant technical specifications. We’re trying to make our reviews as pertinent to each film as possible, and we hope this helps. We’ll also be linking to more external sites in the coming months, as we endeavour to bring you as many alternative views on a specific film as we can. We’re avoiding mainstream sites where possible, and aiming for more obscure, well researched blogging sites if possible. While you’re at it, you should really check out the action on our Friend websites, particularly with Bryce, Sherry and Co over at Movie Smackdown, while also stopping by The Bar None and saying hello to Al, the proprietor. They’d get a kick out of your visit, I’m sure!

Lastly, this September sees the HQ of fernbyfilms.com change, as Lisa and I are going to be moving to a new premises around that time. While this is happening, be aware that the website may not be updated as regularly with breaking news, but we hope to be back on track in early October should problems arise. There will be updates on this later in the year.

Thanks again to all our loyal readers for sticking by us, and we hope to continue bringing you interesting, controversial and entertaining stuff to read for a long time to come.

Regards

Rodney T – Editor in Chief & Director, Fernby Films.

Peter Jackson in talks to direct The Hobbit?

We said it here: Peter Jackson will direct the upcoming Hobbit films. And it looks like we were right: Jackson is reportedly in talks to direct the two films for the MGM/New Line backed project, which has been plagued by troubles over the last twelve months, including losing original director Guillermo Del Toro due to scheduling problems.

If Jackson does sign on the dotted line to direct, we think it’s a perfect outcome for both fans, the films, and the studios. Everybody wants Jackson to direct The Hobbit, and now it looks like we might just get our way.

MGM Studios, which are currently having all kinds of financial difficulty, own 50% of the rights to The Hobbit films, with New Line making up the other half. With MGM unable to raise enough cash to fund the project at the minute, negotiations are under way to somehow salvage the studio. An auction earlier this year failed to raise enough interest from other film studios to buy the legendary lion outright. At the minute, with no funding, the Hobbit films may be headed for bankruptcy court alongside the MGM-co-owned James Bond franchise, which would spell the end of the project for the foreseeable future. Whichever way this plays out, here at fernbyfilms.com, we hope like heck that things turn out okay.

Go on, you know you want to....

Unsurprisingly non-committal, Peter Jackson has today hinted that were it required, he would step in and direct the planned two Hobbit films. Problem is, he currently has contracts with other studios to direct other films which may hinder this process. Yesterday’s news that Guillermo Del Toro was stepping down as director of the planned films has internet buzz and fan reaction going (as you’d expect) all kinds of bananas, but I think wise heads may prevail and eventually, everybody’s favourite Middle Earth Director will return to the world of Tolkien in a facet outside of mere “producer”. There’s too much money riding on this franchise for things not to work themselves out, problems with MGM aside. Check out this article on local NZ website for all the details.

Jackson and his team are currently in Hollywood chatting with the studio about who in the heck they can approach to take on this massive project, and word is expected sooner rather than later as to the result. We will, of course, keep you informed.

Guillermo Del Toro - Gone from The Hobbit... but not forgotten...

In a major bit of news today, word out of New Zealand is that Guillermo Del Toro, the acclaimed director the Hellboy franchise, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devils Backbone and Mimic, is leaving The Hobbit project after a year or so of development. This is a major blow to Tolkien fans, and leaves the project in something resembling a debacle. With the story initially broken over at theonering.net, we felt it pertinent to add it here for you all to read as well… and we’ll update our Hobbit page accordingly, very soon. Below, we’ve reprinted the statement published on TORN this morning.

“In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life”, says Guillermo. “After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wlsh the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director”.

“We feel very sad to see Guillermo leave the Hobbit, but he has kept us fully in the loop and we understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone’s control – has compromised his commitment to other long term projects”, says Executive Producer Peter Jackson. “The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years. Guillermo is one of the most remarkable creative spirits I’ve ever encountered and it has been a complete joy working with him. Guillermo’s strong vision is engrained into the scripts and designs of these two films, which are extremely fortunate to be blessed with his creative DNA”.

“Guillermo is co-writing the Hobbit screenplays with Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and myself, and happily our writing partnership will continue for several more months, until the scripts are fine tuned and polished” says Jackson. “New Line and Warner Bros will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for the Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work”.

Consider me disappointed, as I’d love to have seen Del Toro’s work on The Hobbit come to fruition. Knowing he’ll remain on board until a new director is found, to continue the writing and pre-production process, is good to know, as it will ensure a small amount of continuity going forward. But it’s disappointing nonetheless. Now I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out who’s up for the job! If I was a betting man, I’d be hedging for Mr P Jackson to assume the reins to see this thing done properly.

Rest assured, we’ll keep you updated is more news comes to hand.

Late Edit: here’s a link to the EW article expanding a little more on the situation…

You are DUMPED!!!

Astounding (but hardly surprising) news today out of Hollywood, that actress Megan Fox has been dumped a week into filming on Michael Bay’s Transformers 3. Reports over at Deadline are suggesting that Bay has sacked his female star due to her comments last year comparing Bay with Hitler, saying that working with the director was like working for the Nazi chief. You can read all the gory details on that page, including the variety of blog posts and magazine quotes which have led to this occuring. And like many, I don’t think Megan’s career can survuive this; after all, her other film ventures (Jonah Hex,  Jennifer’s Body) have all flopped commercially at the box office, leading many to speculate that she won’t be getting any major roles anytime soon.

Check out the report on Deadline here.

PS: Sorry for posting what is essentially “gossip”, but considering we have an entire page devoted to TF3 here at fernbyfilms.com, we thought it was worth mentioning.

Jessica Watson - Currently the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world.

Not quite movie related news today, but Australia has been abuzz with the news that Jessica Watson, the young woman from Buderim, in Queensland, has finally sailed into Sydney Harbour this afternoon, completing her 210 day round the world solo sailing adventure. Jess, who is only 16 (she turns 17 on Tuesday), has kept a blog going on her voyage, and I’ve been following it on a daily basis. Watching the wall-to-wall coverage of her return to our fair shores this afternoon on TV, I don’t think I’ve ever been as proud to call myself an Australian. Jess has achieved more in her short life than many cannot do in a long one. Prime Minister Rudd called her a national hero (which she disagreed with, politely, of course!) and I think he’s right. She is truly an inspiration. She’s flown the flag for Australia, and made us all proud.

So, to Jessica, from all of us here at fernbyfilms.com, congratulations on the completion of your epic voyage, and welcome home!

Rodney T – Editor, fernbyfilms.com

Jess’s blog can be found here.

More coverage of her mighty feat, and her return to Australia, can be found over at news.com.au.

Some of you eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed a new tab to the right of the page, entitled “The Hobbit”. You’ll be glad to know that henceforth, we’ll be following the progress of the Peter Jackson produced film project to bring us film versions of The Hobbit. Information on the film, the progress and problems, as well as up to date information, will not only be posted on the main page as it comes to hand, but we’ll update the page for a quick listing of every post we make on the subject. We’re dead keen to see the two Hobbit films, which are due to be released in 2012 and 2013, similar to the annual release schedule of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy back in 2001. In the coming weeks, we’ll also be trying to scour the internet to bring you the most up-to-date info on the project, including the rumoured delays due to the financial problems MGM are having that threaten to derail the project. In the meantime, enjoy our new page, and all the information it will bring you!!

Rodney T – Director, Fernby Films.

On this most solemn of days in Australian history, the entire fernbyfilms.com team wishes to convey their respects to those fallen Aussie soldiers, their families and friends, and to those who still serve in conflicts around the world…

“…And at the going down of the sun,

And in the morning,

We shall remember them.

Lest we forget.”

Not many people would be aware of this, but I love me some Doctor Who. I first encountered the Doctor and his TARDIS back in the mid-80′s at school, when I started reading the Target novelisations on his adventures, and then tuned in to the show on TV. My first memory of Doctor Who is the Tom Baker serial “Meglos”. From there, I’ve always had a soft spot for the wandering Time Lord. I, along with many, were enchanted and overjoyed with the 2005 reinvention of this classic series, and have enjoyed the saga continuing ever since. I thought Chris Eccleston, as the Ninth Doctor, was okay, but the series really took off with David Tennant’s toothy, cheerily intense portrayal. Now, we have our first look at the latest guy to take up residence in the blue Police Box, Matt Smith.

I like him.

Thanks to the power of the Internet (here in Australia, only the opening episode has been broadcast at this time), I’ve had the chance to see the three broadcast episodes (at the time of writing) so far, up to and including the latest, “Victory Of The Daleks”, and I have to say, while the adventures themselves are a little off-kilter, Smith’s portrayal of the Doctor is excellent. His companion, Amy Pond (played by Karren Gillam) is sexy hot, a great contrast to the new Doctor, and I look forward to their continued adventures together.

I’d like to offer a congratulatory doff of the cap to the current production team (led by Who legend Steven Moffat!) for continuing to bring the Doctors exciting adventures to the screen.

fernbyfilms.com will remain 3D-free: Here’s why!

People attending any multiplex over the last 12 months or so would no doubt have encountered, if not attended, a film presented in 3D. In the age of BluRay, streaming video online and P2P file sharing, film studios are looking desperately to reclaim some of the market share lost to the (increasingly inaccurately named) home video market. So they’ve come up with a new face for an old gimmick, 3D. And according to viewing figures (if they’re to be believed), 3D films make more money than regular 2D versions do. Of course, this is to be expected when the cinema chains charge an extra two or three bucks to rent some funky 3D glasses for an hour or so, per person per time. Avatar, currently the highest grossing film of all time, may not have been such a performer if it hadn’t had the filmic equivalent of a bottle of Viagra to help it out: 3D market share. Many pundits in the industry have said that Avatar wouldn’t have been as successful had it simply been another 2D film, and I have to say I agree with them.

To continue with the rest of this rant, click here!!

There’s been a lot of talk (again) this year post-Oscars about how boring the show is. Again we’re regaled with sub-standard humor, dance routines and music that do not mix well, tedious self-congratulatory waffling and many, many unrequired time fillers. The Oscars, the pinnacle of the US awards season, is the single most important of all the ceremonial moments in a calendar year to recognise the various films on release. With all that money, all that raw talent and history at the Academy’s disposal, how then do the Oscars rank on the entertainment scale somewhere alongside a cavity search?

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And so the Oscars are done with for another year. Ultimately uninvolving, only slightly interesting to see if James Cameron and Katherine Bigelow might duke it out Balboa style in the aisle (anybody else notice that the organisers slotted Cameron into the seat immediately behind his ex wife?) and genuinely devoid of any real controversy. Although, the story on the pushy producer who stole the microphone from Music By Prudence director Roger Ross Williams only gets louder the more you think about it. In light of the magnificent performances and artists involved, I thought I’d jot down some random, chronologically inept thoughts on the ceremony we’ve just witnessed.

Twin hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin fared okay, although most of their humour wasn’t the riotous laugh-out-loud stuff many previous hosts have given us. For goodness sake, bring back Whoopi, or even give Robin Williams a shot. I really enjoyed their somewhat forced opening duologing, targeting those celebrities in the audience who were awaiting their fate. But their “hosting” job felt shoehorned into the programme, they came and went on stage individually with barely a murmur, save to introduce the next star to traipse up and read the nominees. Martin, who I usually find as funny as a fart in an elevator, showed moments of genius (“I wrote that guy’s speech” for one flabbergasted and stuck-for-words winner was hilarious) but was overwhelmingly undone by the awkward looking Baldwin. I admit, I thought Baldwin was a great coup for the show, but I went unrewarded by what looked like a slightly inebriated (and ill-timed) host.

Generally, the Oscars this year went off with almost no surprises, at least in the major categories. Sandra Bullock won, described by Channel 9 “entertainment reporter” Richard Wilkins as a “career Oscar”. Boo, you wanker. Christoph Waltz got Best Supporting Actor, sweet as. Jeff Bridges won his own “career Oscar” for Crazy Heart, and almost cried. Almost. At least Sandra did cry. Mo’Nique was favourite to win Best Supporting Actress, and she won with aplomb.

Miley Cyrus and that other young chick did okay presenting for Best Original Song, but she looks so out of place at the Oscars! Stand up straight dear! So to Twilight’s Kirsten Stewart (minus R-Pat) and Taylor Lautner show up to do an homage to Horror films, which is kinda nifty if a little kitsch for Oscar. Nice to see bits from some modern stuff, as well as the tired old Carrie/Rosemary’s Baby/Exorcist reels trotted out. How Jaws became a horror film is beyond me, though. Not sure what Spielberg thinks of it.

Ben Stiller brought the evenings only true pastiche of the show to life, as a blue-hued parody of the characters from Avatar: James Cameron seemed to enjoy it, although we’ll never know what Sascha Baron Cohen would have brought to the moment. Could have sparked some life into it. I normally find Stiller a mildly bearable comedian, but considering the dearth of real laughs for the show, his was a highlight.

Speaking of celebrities being pissed off, what the hell was wrong with George Clooney? Looked like somebody just raped his cat! Cheer up fella, if you’re going to sit in row A at the Oscars, at least have the decency to smile and clap like the rest of them. I think I even saw a death-stare in there as Baldwin laid into him! There was a smile later, but it felt conciliatory.

Didn’t like: the multiple Best Actor and Actress introductions by various celebrities. Went on way too long, and some of those people speaking were appallingly ill advised in their comments. My favourite, however, was Tim Robbins anecdotal reminiscing of his time on set with Morgan Freeman, who was nominated for his role in Invictus. Sean Penn, who re-read the nominees for Best Actress, delivered some half-baked apology to the Academy that confused everyone in the room, and was so totally ad-libbed I can only imagine the hair-pulling backstage.

Didn’t like: The extended John Hughes obit, which carried on way too long, instead of the normally reserved and respectful obit sequence later in the show for all those who have left us. I know Hughes had a great legacy, but really? A full ten minutes?

Did like: Michael Giacchino’s score for UP. Loved his win, although the massive dance routine featuring segments of nominated scores was a complete “what the…?” The dancing was in no way related to either the music or the films the music was from. Some guy I saw doing street crumping to a jazz-inspired piece from UP, a film which in no way lends itself to urban street music. What on earth was Adam Shankman (who directed Hairspray, among other things) thinking when he put this shite together? Didn’t like that!

Bravo Win Moment: The Cove for Best Documentary. I saw a “making of” piece about this film a year or so ago, and thought it could be a serious contender. Glad to see it made it. Awful issues the film raises, but well made, by all accounts.

Did like: Neil Patrick Harris’ opening number was dynamite and hilarious, although there appeared to be some sound issues because it was hard to make out what he was saying at times. Love his work in How I Met Your Mother, and so not expecting him to open the Oscars. Great surprise.

Sigh, I do miss those film parodies Billy Crystal used to do.

Aside from feuding producer/directors storming the stage, this years Oscar ceremony went almost as everyone predicted: winners and all. There were virtually no surprises (aside from the sound guys from Hurt Locker winning over the more accomplished Star Trek, Transformers 2 and Avatar…. what the?) and consequently, the most unremarkable Oscars telecast yet. If this ceremony is remembered for only one thing, it’s Katherine Bigelow’s stunning win for directing Hurt Locker, the first female to do so in Oscars 80+ years. Our congratulations go to Ms Bigelow for this feat.

There’s my thoughts, random as they were.

Discuss.