Alexander Skarsgård

[BuckeyeChicago]

They're aiming this at the Star Wars crowd. So action, adventure, romance... and sfx, jungle-style. Six or so months from a release date is a long time, earlier than that is just a waste. People aren't paying attention and will forget. Sure I wanted to see something sooner, but WB was waiting for the right time.

Regarding the irritating negative comments, there are idiots who live for opportunities to trash-talk and naysay. They love to tedentiously sound off.

I'd take negative comments that are well informed, but a lot of what I've seen, and seems to be common, is being negative just for the sake of being negative.

I loved some of those comments! Jane doesnt have THAT colour hair in the Disney movie! This isnt the real story - in the Disney film he's wearing a loincloth!!!

*smh*

There's a book purist on the John Carter Files site who keeps insisting he won't see the movie because Alex's hair is blondish and Margot's is red, which is not in the books and is therefore an affront to him. If that's his primary reason for not seeing the movie he should probably reexamine his life choices.

Speaking as an outsider and someone who doesn't have a stake in Mr Skarsgard...

While the film is probably going to be a complete wash it does help to bolster Skarsgard's profile. Although I've been aware of Skarsgard's presence in various indie films that last few years he had begun to slip from my mind. Seeing him in the Tarzan trailer has reminded me he's still alive and kicking. Wether he can use it to secure interesting roles is another matter.




I have a strange affection for Neil LaBute's version of Wicker Man.

If there is a sign remakes have gotten out of control look no further than the supposed Memento remake... the remakes of remakes or remakes were killing me but to remake a film that is virtually perfect and less than two decades old.... W.T.F!

The fun thing about this business is we have no idea whether it's going to be a wash or not, not this far out. The one sure bet right now is Star Wars.

I was not enthused about a Jurassic Park sequel, and yet it's the highest grossing film of the year. And one of the biggest critical and financial hits of the summer was a film about NWA. There was skepticism about Ant-Man, and yet it did fine, both commercially and critically. And if you had told me three weeks ago I'd want to see a Rocky sequel I'd have laughed at you.

 

[FreeSpirit71]

The trailer was on the Australian Today Show this morning. The entertainment reporter, Richard Wilkins who is pretty well-respected here, thinks it's going to be a big holiday movie (his words). It will still be playing when schools go on holiday here.

 

[audiogirl]

While I can understand and agree with the lack of creativity and originality that Hollywood demonstrates with numerous remakes, reboots, and sequels, that doesn't automatically mean a movie is going to be bad. That will depend on the script, director, and actors, as well as the support and commitment of the studio and other producers.

A remake, reboot, or sequel can simply mean familiar, popular material that entertains the audience. The latest Star Wars, for instance, will be the seventh movie in the series, and while ostensibly a sequel, is also a reboot.

Not all cinema has to be deep and meaningful; sometimes fun escapist entertainment is what an audiences craves. The Star Wars movies, besides being a great diversion, always had the themes of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice, along with the over-aching theme of good vs. evil. While never deep, they did show the seductive power evil can have.

And, in the case of The Legend of Tarzan, besides featuring an iconic hero, spotlights the atrocities of the Congo Free State in the late 1800s, while using the backdrop of an action adventure story.

Alex has made a place for himself in indies that are creative and meaningful. But they also don't pay much. His father's career path has included numerous indies, sprinkled with occasional popcorn movies to pay the bills (including Pirates of the Caribbean and several Marvel movies).

I think Alex is following that path. Given his charisma and looks, he can also be the leading man in those commercial movies that will, in the end, also enable him to continue making interesting indies.

@Free Great to hear about the good review. Despite our obvious upside seasonal calendars, July 1st represents the start of summer vacation here too - on top of the big July 4th holiday weekend.

 

[FreeSpirit71]

There are other concerns as well. I do think those people who are rolling their eyes at yet another remake have a legitimate argument. I just hope The Legend of Tarzan rises above it.

It needs to offer something different in the re-telling, or do the original story justice - not this Disney-comparison BS that some commentators just can't shake.

That said (re the original story) some of that will need to be re-tooled to bring into the "now". There is concern in some parts that this will be a "white saviour" film. From the trailer we've seen it looks like Tarzan will be helped by at least one native tribe.

I'm hoping what we'll see is how Tarzan's love for where he came from is re-invigorated from his interaction with his environment, the friendly tribes and the apes. That he is part of them, not above them. Having said that, Alex has shown with his indie choices that he's sensitive to nuance in the script. And yes this is a big a$$ action/epic movie but it doesn't mean it can't convey that as well.

I do think the trailers as we go along may need to address this, otherwise we're going to have to wait for the critic's reviews eons away to see how this part of the story plays out.

 

[audiogirl]

Ignoring the appallingly racist tone of the earlier Tarzan books, he was always a part of the jungle, another creature in harmony with the environment. What was interesting was how alien modern civilization felt to him.

Later Tarzan books did feature less racist presentations of Africans, including deep frienships and positive presentations of subsistence, agrarian people. Even then, there were references to how the Congo Free State devastated an entire culture.

Since the plot of the movie includes how the Congo Free State oppressed and abused the people, it will definitely address modern sensibilities. And I'm certain Tarzan will not simply be a white savior. It looks like he'll stage a rebellion, with the help of the local peoples and his ape friends (and maybe some other jungle animals).

Jane's voiceover in the trailer already describes him as a force of nature, a part of the jungle. I think future trailers will show other textures of the film. But in the end, trailers are still designed as lures for general populace. They won't get all that deep.

 

[BuckeyeChicago]

While I can understand and agree with the lack of creativity and originality that Hollywood demonstrates with numerous remakes, reboots, and sequels, that doesn't automatically mean a movie is going to be bad. That will depend on the script, director, and actors, as well as the support and commitment of the studio and other producers.

A remake, reboot, or sequel can simply mean familiar, popular material that entertains the audience. The latest Star Wars, for instance, will be the seventh movie in the series, and while ostensibly a sequel, is also a reboot.

Not all cinema has to be deep and meaningful; sometimes fun escapist entertainment is what an audiences craves. The Star Wars movies, besides being a great diversion, always had the themes of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice, along with the over-aching theme of good vs. evil. While never deep, they did show the seductive power evil can have.

And, in the case of The Legend of Tarzan, besides featuring an iconic hero, spotlights the atrocities of the Congo Free State in the late 1800s, while using the backdrop of an action adventure story.

Alex has made a place for himself in indies that are creative and meaningful. But they also don't pay much. His father's career path has included numerous indies, sprinkled with occasional popcorn movies to pay the bills (including Pirates of the Caribbean and several Marvel movies).

I think Alex is following that path. Given his charisma and looks, he can also be the leading man in those commercial movies that will, in the end, also enable him to continue making interesting indies.

@Free Great to hear about the good review. Despite our obvious upside seasonal calendars, July 1st represents the start of summer vacation here too - on top of the big July 4th holiday weekend.

Which is why a movie like Jurassic World succeeded. It was familiar material and apparently escapist fun.
Star Wars also hits that, especially that it has such a loyal fan base that really wants to forget the last three movies ever existed.

There are other concerns as well. I do think those people who are rolling their eyes at yet another remake have a legitimate argument. I just hope The Legend of Tarzan rises above it.

It needs to offer something different in the re-telling, or do the original story justice - not this Disney-comparison BS that some commentators just can't shake.

That said (re the original story) some of that will need to be re-tooled to bring into the "now". There is concern in some parts that this will be a "white saviour" film. From the trailer we've seen it looks like Tarzan will be helped by at least one native tribe.

I'm hoping what we'll see is how Tarzan's love for where he came from is re-invigorated from his interaction with his environment, the friendly tribes and the apes. That he is part of them, not above them. Having said that, Alex has shown with his indie choices that he's sensitive to nuance in the script. And yes this is a big a$$ action/epic movie but it doesn't mean it can't convey that as well.

I do think the trailers as we go along may need to address this, otherwise we're going to have to wait for the critic's reviews eons away to see how this part of the story plays out.

I make the remake/reboot complaint as well, but it's also a knee jerk rejection, even when I do it. Especially when in making the complaint it's obvious who's aware of a movie's actual plot and who isn't.
I think the 'white savior' complaint is a legitimate concern, and we don't know how that's treated in the movie. I think Alex is attuned to that. Also I'd like to think SLJ and Djimon Honsou wouldn't do a movie where Tarzan is a 'white savior'.

Berlin announces it competitive line up tomorrow, and Variety has a wish list, including three that are of interest:

Other titles that are likely to be on Berlin’s radar include ... and Susanna White’s “Our Kind of Traitor,” which toplines Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard and Naomie Harris in an adaptation of John le Carre novel about Russian oligarchs, spies and gangsters.
Also on the Berlin wish list are likely to be John McDonagh’s “War on Everyone,” Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Commune,”

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/berlin-festival-lineup-scorsese-1201658688/

Our Kind of Traitor is not just Stellan, Susanna White was involved in Generation Kill. And The Commune has Fares in a supporting role.

 

[audiogirl]

I didn't think SLJ or Honsou would want to do a movie with a white savior either. And Waltz isn't playing your garden-variety bad guy. He's getting to highlight a great historical evil, largely forgotten in modern times. The movie will be a fun adventure, but the plot has some grit.

 

[audiogirl]

Normally people can figure out typos, but two of mine make no sense.

The Star Wars movies, besides being a great diversion, always had the themes of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice, along with the over-aching theme of good vs. evil. While never deep, they did show the seductive power evil can have.

No, I didn't mean a painful theme, I meant an over-arching (i.e. all-encompassing) theme.

@Free Great to hear about the good review. Despite our obvious upside seasonal calendars, July 1st represents the start of summer vacation here too - on top of the big July 4th holiday weekend.

No I didn't mean a calendar that isn't on the bottom side. I meant upside-down seasons between our hemispheres.

 

[FreeSpirit71]

ha! @audiogirl... I honestly didn't even notice them. In any case, I got the drift just fine

 

[BuckeyeChicago]

Ignoring the appallingly racist tone of the earlier Tarzan books, he was always a part of the jungle, another creature in harmony with the environment. What was interesting was how alien modern civilization felt to him.

Later Tarzan books did feature less racist presentations of Africans, including deep frienships and positive presentations of subsistence, agrarian people. Even then, there were references to how the Congo Free State devastated an entire culture.

Since the plot of the movie includes how the Congo Free State oppressed and abused the people, it will definitely address modern sensibilities. And I'm certain Tarzan will not simply be a white savior. It looks like he'll stage a rebellion, with the help of the local peoples and his ape friends (and maybe some other jungle animals).

Jane's voiceover in the trailer already describes him as a force of nature, a part of the jungle. I think future trailers will show other textures of the film. But in the end, trailers are still designed as lures for general populace. They won't get all that deep.

Which is why it's not a bad idea for WB to have something for Tarzan at Wonder Con, to show something longer than a trailer, to give a better idea of what's actually going on in the movie.

I've also seen plenty of complaints that 'there's a lot of CGI'. Of course there is, even if they'd had the budget to film on location in an actual jungle they'd still have lots of CGI. Were people expecting them to use actual apes?

I think we mentioned some of the CGI 'issues' when production started. They were going to use a lot of CGI, question would be whether it would be good CGI. Whether you'd look at it knowing it was CGI but it not being an issue, like Life of Pi, or the Planet of the Apes reboots, or it would look cheesy, like the Gods of Egypt trailer.
Based on the trailer, it looks fine so far.

 

[audiogirl]

Between regional warlords and scary diseases like ebola, filming on location in Africa isn't all that appealing. Never mind the kind of technical and crafts staff and infrastructure you need for that size endeavor.

You can't use real animals (or silly toothless lions and rubber crocodiles) so then there's just the jungle foliage and poisonous snakes and insects and insect born illnesses like malaria and sleeping sickness... and dangerous wild animals.

So they put the jungle at Leavesden, and made the CGI animals they had to make anyway.

 

[BuckeyeChicago]

Between regional warlords and scary diseases like ebola, filming on location in Africa isn't all that appealing. Never mind the kind of technical and crafts staff and infrastructure you need for that size endeavor.

You can't use real animals (or silly toothless lions and rubber crocodiles) so then there's just the jungle foliage and poisonous snakes and insects and insect born illnesses like malaria and sleeping sickness... and dangerous wild animals.

So they put the jungle at Leavesden, and made the CGI animals they had to make anyway.

I think when they were still thinking they had the budget for location shooting they were looking at Hawaii, which seems to be the standard location for jungle location shooting. I think the newest King Kong movie, Skull Island is doing filming there, as well as Australia.
Tarzan did send a film crew to Gabon to get footage, but that was a heck of lot cheaper than actually filming on location, even in Hawaii (which is one of the reasons I'm still not buying the implied 180 million shooting budget mentioned in the HR article).

I'd rather have very well done CGI animals than the old style rubber crocs.

As for what movie this trailer will first be seen in front of, it could be Heart of the Sea, which is WB, but then no one apparently wants to see it. It could still be HotS and Star Wars, here's a good article on why SW is the Super Bowl for trailers:

Couple that with the already offered glimpses of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Tarzan from Warner Bros./Time Warner TWX -0.68% Inc., Captain America: Civil War, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Finding Dory from Walt Disney DIS +0.00% (plus a possible second Jungle Book trailer still to come), Universal/Comcast CMCSA +1.69% Corp.’s Warcraft and The Huntsman: Winter’s War, and anything I might have forgotten, and it’s clear that we’re seeing what may be the biggest trailer drop period in modern history. For studios wanting prime real estate to show off their 2016 tentpoles, getting their theatrical trailers shown before screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is akin to the Super Bowl.
Actually, it’s better than the Super Bowl since the people seeing The Force Awakens in theaters will be arguably more primed to actually see a movie in theaters in the first place, and of course studios won’t have to fit their sell into a thirty-second spot. But yes, like the annual climactic football game that closes out each NFL season in late January/early February, Star Wars is the very best place to sell your movie to bazillions of moviegoers of all shapes and sizes. Next week’s release of J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars sequel is perhaps the most anticipated movie in recent years. And as such, there is no better place to tease your upcoming big-budget fantasy blockbuster than before The Force Awakens.
Just because Warner Bros. presumably shows off its latest Batman v Superman trailer with In the Heart of the Sea starting tonight doesn’t mean it won’t take advantage of that valuable pre-Star Wars ad space.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...awakens-is-the-super-bowl-for-movie-trailers/

 

[audiogirl]

I remember Hawaii was the first location choice, but it got shot down during budget cutting. Then they mentioned Africa, but they finally switched to Leavesden. Besides being safe and practical, I think it suited Yates better.

There is a tendency for studios to pair their own trailers with their films. But Star Wars really is the big-ticket event, and Heart of the Sea is tepid in comparison.

 

[BagBerry13]

Ignoring the appallingly racist tone of the earlier Tarzan books, he was always a part of the jungle, another creature in harmony with the environment. What was interesting was how alien modern civilization felt to him.

Later Tarzan books did feature less racist presentations of Africans, including deep frienships and positive presentations of subsistence, agrarian people. Even then, there were references to how the Congo Free State devastated an entire culture.

Since the plot of the movie includes how the Congo Free State oppressed and abused the people, it will definitely address modern sensibilities. And I'm certain Tarzan will not simply be a white savior. It looks like he'll stage a rebellion, with the help of the local peoples and his ape friends (and maybe some other jungle animals).

Jane's voiceover in the trailer already describes him as a force of nature, a part of the jungle. I think future trailers will show other textures of the film. But in the end, trailers are still designed as lures for general populace. They won't get all that deep.

I didn't think SLJ or Honsou would want to do a movie with a white savior either. And Waltz isn't playing your garden-variety bad guy. He's getting to highlight a great historical evil, largely forgotten in modern times. The movie will be a fun adventure, but the plot has some grit.

With an industry that just recently whitewashed that Egypt film and that Aloha film (and I'm sure other films that didn't get as much indignation), you certainly put a lot of faith into a blockbuster (that's what it wants to be) to address historical political conflicts enough to pay it justice. Just because Alex was walking around with a book about the Congo doesn't mean that WB took that and ran with it. We had that subject in class and even we didn't have enough time to get through it fully. So I doubt a 90 minutes film will do it.

Between regional warlords and scary diseases like ebola, filming on location in Africa isn't all that appealing. Never mind the kind of technical and crafts staff and infrastructure you need for that size endeavor.

You can't use real animals (or silly toothless lions and rubber crocodiles) so then there's just the jungle foliage and poisonous snakes and insects and insect born illnesses like malaria and sleeping sickness... and dangerous wild animals.

So they put the jungle at Leavesden, and made the CGI animals they had to make anyway.

Tell that to Cary Fukunaga. He didn't care and had less of a budget than Tarzan for Beasts of No Nation.

 

[BuckeyeChicago]

With an industry that just recently whitewashed that Egypt film and that Aloha film (and I'm sure other films that didn't get as much indignation), you certainly put a lot of faith into a blockbuster (that's what it wants to be) to address historical political conflicts enough to pay it justice. Just because Alex was walking around with a book about the Congo doesn't mean that WB took that and ran with it. We had that subject in class and even we didn't have enough time to get through it fully. So I doubt a 90 minutes film will do it.



Tell that to Cary Fukunaga. He didn't care and had less of a budget than Tarzan for Beasts of No Nation.

This isn't an historical film in that manner, though it'll probably be brought up in some way, considering who two of the characters are.

Comparing BONN to Tarzan isn't really fair, Cary probably had more freedom to do what he wanted without the constraints of a major studio. And, despite both being set in Africa, they're not the same type of movie. Not in subject matter, or in actual setting.
We know you don't like the blockbuster type movies, but that's being nitpicky for the sake of being nitpicky.