At press time, a special screening of the feature City of Ember was slated for this week on the 20th Century Fox studio lot in Los Angeles. The movie opens nationwide on Oct. 10.
The film’s cast includes Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Tim Robbins, Harry Treadway (Brothers of the Head) and Martin Landau. City of Ember is a Walden Media and Playtone co-production produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. The script was penned by Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) based on a best selling novel by Jeanne Duprau.
While there was no word as to critics’ reviews of the film as we put this issue of SHOOT to bed, City of Ember merited this column’s attention because of its director, Gil Kenan, who graduated from Inner-City Filmmakers in 1994.
It was in the summer of ’93 that commercials editor Fred Heinrich and his wife, producer Stephanie Lipner, launched Inner-City Filmmakers, an organization offering free industry training to talented, disadvantaged high school students throughout Greater Los Angeles. The program has also helped secure paid entry-level jobs for many grads.
The May ’92 riots in Los Angeles served as a catalyst for Heinrich and Lipner, prompting them to form the group as a way to make a positive difference in the lives of youngsters who might not otherwise get the chance to become part of the film community. Fast-forward to today and the nonprofit organization has provided training and hands-on experience in different aspects of filmmaking to assorted graduates who have different ethnic backgrounds and come from low-income families.
Heinrich recalled that the purpose of Inner-City Filmmakers hit home for him during its first year, when students from Bell High School, in Bell, Calif., brought in their school video yearbook, which included five obituaries. “That underscored the fact that we need to somehow help create some opportunities for underprivileged young people living in the inner city,” he observed.
After completing his instruction at Inner-City Filmmakers, Kenan went on to become a graduate of the master’s class at UCLA’s film school. City of Ember is Kenan’s second theatrical motion picture. He made his feature directorial debut with Monster House which earned an Academy Award nomination for best animated movie in 2007. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, Monster House not only was directed by but also co-written by Kenan.
On the strength of the film, Kenan also earned an Annie Awards nomination from ASIFA-Hollywood for best directing in an animated feature production as well as a Chicago Film Critics Association Awards nomination as most promising director.
Kenan’s ascent to mainstream feature filmmaking represents the power of trying to do good, of Heinrich and Lipner taking an idea designed to help others and then working to make it a reality. It’s also a stellar example of how good, in this case the Inner-City Filmmakers program, can come out of bad, namely the rioting that broke out in the wake of the initial acquittal of police officers in the high-profile Rodney King beating case.
“Se7en” Turns 30, Gets A Special Restoration From David Fincher For Its Re-Release
For David Fincher, seeing “Se7en” in 4K was an experience he can only describe as harrowing. That or a high school reunion.
“There are definitely moments that you go, ‘What was I thinking?’ Or ‘Why did I let this person have that hairdo’?” Fincher said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He’s OK with the film being a product of its time in most respects. But some things just could not stand in high-definition resolution.
“It was a little decrepit, to be honest,” said Fincher. “We needed to resuscitate it. There are things you can see in 4K HDR that you cannot see on a film print.”
Ever the perfectionist, he and a team got to work on a new restoration of the film for its 30th anniversary re-release. This weekend the restored “Se7en” will play on IMAX screens for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, and on Jan. 7, the 4K UHD home video version will be available as well.
The dark crime thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a pair of detectives looking for a serial killer was somewhat of a career-reviver for Fincher, whose directorial debut “Alien 3” had not gone well. “Se7en” was not a sure thing: It was made for only $34 million (and only got that when Fincher managed to persuade studio execs to give up $3 million more). But it went on to earn more than $327 million, not accounting for inflation, and continues to influence the genre.
Fincher has over the years overseen several restorations of the film (including one for laser disc) but decided this needed to be the last. It’s why he insisted on an 8K scan that they could derive the 4K from. He wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t have to be repeated when screens get more... Read More