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Showing posts with label Jesse Eisenberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesse Eisenberg. Show all posts

Monday, March 21, 2016

Eisenberg character "Lex Luthor infuses sinister humor in Batman v Superman


Academy Award-nominee for his portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network,” Jesse Eisenberg plays one of the most fascinating anti-heroes in cinema – Lex Luthor, in Warner Bros. Pictures' new action-adventure “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Eisenberg infuses the character with a very sinister humor, one that arises from an illogical obsession with Superman.


“Lex Luthor has always been one of the great DC villains. And one of the most epic stories in the canon was when Batman and Superman squared off against each other,” offers producer Charles Roven. “As we sought an expansion of the universe with this film, we felt that bringing these characters together was natural.”
To carry Lex Luthor into 2016, Oscar-winning screenwriter Chris Terrio (“Argo”) recalls asking himself, “What would a capitalist gone mad look like today?” Looking for real-world inspiration from many of the world’s largest high-tech corporations, he found an environment that “often cultivates eccentricity as a virtue and rewards outside-the-box innovation.”

Adding those qualities to a damaged psyche, he re-imagined Lex as “a younger, brilliant, post-modern villain aware of his own villainy who has chosen to use his wealth and power to bring down one whose own power appears limitless.”


“If you look at Lex in the comics, there’s a brilliant absurdity to his scenes,” Eisenberg offers. “He’s always trying to concoct these very complicated schemes to kill Superman; it’s funny in the way that he is so focused on this one thing. And even though he might appear pretty serious, to me he’s this clever person who uses word play and puns to talk circles around people, to condescend to them. Lex uses his cleverness to his advantage in a dark way.”

The filmmakers were really pleased with this new interpretation. “We wanted a character who conveyed exactly what a young, compelling, constantly innovating, genius entrepreneurial businessman is like,” says Roven. “Somewhat mercurial, always magnetic; someone you can’t take your eyes off. Jesse was perfect for this. His performance is truly mesmerizing. He surpassed all our expectations.”

Eisenberg enjoyed playing with Luthor’s fanatical nature. “Lex thinks of Superman as almost an existential paradox—he cannot be all good because he’s so powerful or all powerful if he’s all good,” he hypothesizes. “On the flip side, Lex wants to be the most powerful person, but for him that’s okay because he is a person, he’s earned it, whereas Superman is this horrible alien interloper who doesn’t even deserve to exist. Lex is so myopic that he views his own morality as the only correct belief system in the world, and anybody opposing him is immoral and needs to be kind of destroyed.”
A good deal of Lex’s bad traits may stem from his dad, which he alludes to in the film.



From director Zack Snyder comes “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” starring Oscar winner Ben Affleck (“Argo”) as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent in the characters’ first big-screen pairing.

Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.

Opening across the Philippines in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 3D and 2D theaters on Black Saturday, March 26, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.


Thursday, October 29, 2015

“AMERICAN ULTRA” MASHES UP COMEDY WITH VIOLENCE, ROMANCE



L.A. Weekly describes it as “A bloody valentine attached to a bomb. It's violent, brash, inventive and horrific, and perhaps the most romantic film of the year.”
Boston Globe calls its stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, “Tender, forgiving, and sexy, they're the hottest couple on screen at the moment.”


They're talking about Buena Vista International's new dark comedy “American Ultra,” the trippy story of Mike (Eisenberg), a convenience store clerk and his girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart) whose sleepy, small-town existence is disrupted when his past comes back to haunt him in the form of a government operation set to wipe him out.

"The script is funny and scary and violent and sweet," producer Anthony Bregman says. "It makes you swing in so many directions emotionally, which makes for a great movie experience. [Screenwriter] Max Landis knows the action genre well, which allows him to make fun of it while living up to the conventions and expectations."
A large part of the humor comes from the fact that the filmmakers never lose sight of the idea that reclaiming his hardcore combat skills doesn't change who Mike is. "Mike is a bit of a dreamer and he never loses that quality," says producer David Alpert. "It's just that now people are trying to kill him. We always tried to maintain a connection to what it would really be like if the stoner guy in your town got these abilities."


Director Nima Nourizadeh, whose first film “Project X” has established him as an innovative new talent in Hollywood, impressed the producers with his ideas for maximizing both the action and the humor in the script. "Nima is a startling visionary in terms of how he sees a scene," says Landis. "He didn't change the script much, but the things he added made it even better. He structured the rhythms and beats in a way that is genuinely funny and fun to watch."


Nourizadeh brought a sharp sense of humor, as well as an authentic sense of danger and visual excitement to the script, according to Bregman. "He is better than anyone I can think of at establishing a really calm, stable atmosphere on screen that eventually explodes into a state of complete choreographed chaos. It's really fun to watch that build and ignite."

The writer and director first met in April 2013 to exchange ideas about future projects. Landis told Nourizadeh about “American Ultra,” a spec script no one outside of his team had read yet. "The script really exceeded my expectations," says the director. "Max is an intriguing storyteller. He feeds you information a little bit at a time until you are suddenly somewhere unexpected and completely crazy. His writing is always entertaining, but what separates this from other action comedies I'd read was that he nailed down the relationships between the main characters. It was the perfect second project for me."



Producers Bregman and Alpert agreed. "The combination of Max and Nima was irresistible," Bregman says. "Max's first feature script, `Chronicle,' is a favorite of mine. It was made on a modest budget with really interesting visuals that made it seem much bigger than it was. Nima's `Project X' was, in my opinion, one of the best movies of the last few years. It's another small film with a really big reach. Both were fun and entertaining and innovative, and at the same time dealt with big issues in a subtle way. It's exactly the sort of movie I want to see."

"Teaming Max and Nima up and then adding Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart to the mix feels like we're looking at the next generation of great Hollywood filmmakers," concludes Alpert.
American Ultra” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting Oct. 28.



Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Bruno Mars As "Roberto" Lends Voice to "Rio 2"

BRUNO MARS’ JUNGLE ADVENTURE IN “RIO 2”


There’s something that Jewel (Anne Hathaway) did not talk about with Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) in the first “Rio” family adventure outing – that is her childhood friend named Roberto (Bruno Mars).  In the upcoming adventure 3D movie “Rio 2,” Blu is suddenly pitted against Jewel’s childhood friend, Roberto who is the epitome of a Blue Macaw - a perfect specimen of a wild bird who charms everyone around him and makes Blu self-conscious.

Bruno Mars joins the vividly delightful and upbeat musical world of Blu and Jewel in “Rio 2” where director Carlos Saldanha brings the adventure into the wild thick forest of the Amazon.  With the success of “Rio” the call for a sequel came quickly.  Having already teased a new life together for Blu and Jewel – and their three new arrivals – in the film’s finale, Saldanha pitched his idea for a new story.  What if Blu and his family aren’t the last Blue Macaws, he posited.  What would happen to the family dynamic?

Saldanha decided to set his new story in the mammoth Brazilian wilderness.  “I wanted a setting very different from the one we explored in ‘Rio,’ he explains.  “I thought we should move away from the city.”   So, in “Rio 2,” it’s on…in the Amazon, not only visually, but musically.  “We wanted to look at different musical ‘flavors,’ sounds and exciting new beats that make the soundtrack for “Rio 2” even bigger than the first film’s,” says the director.

If meeting a critical father-in-law, Eduardo (Andy Garcia) weren’t enough, Blu must also contend with Jewel’s childhood friend Roberto, played by Bruno Mars. “Roberto is pretty much the opposite of Blu – all charm and suaveness – and he can sing like an angel,” says Hathaway.  Eisenberg notes that, “Roberto and Jewel have a history and an almost secret language.  So Blu feels not only threatened by Roberto, but is frustrated because Roberto seems like the perfect guy.  Everything he does is heroic – and he’s a great singer!”

Roberto owes his vocal prowess to the music icon who voices him: Bruno Mars. The Grammy winner, who has sold over 115 million records worldwide and has a catalog of 22 Hot 100 hits as a singer, producer and songwriter, enjoyed his first foray into feature animation.  “I like that Roberto has a good heart,” Mars explains. “He’s a genuine dude and he really has love for Jewel – genuine love.  They grew up together, so they have a bond that’s pretty special.”

The filmmakers considered a long list of candidates for the role, but a Mars appearance on “Saturday Night Live” helped sealed the deal.  “I saw a clip of Bruno acting on SNL, and I thought he was really funny,” Saldanha remembers.  Producer John C. Donkin notes that casting Mars “transformed our thinking about the character.   He added a unique quality we initially hadn’t envisioned for Roberto, which we came to embrace, and the character really blossomed.”

If Roberto’s looks, talent and friendship with Jewel weren’t intimidating enough for Blu, the songbird hosts the clan in his magnificent mansion, located in one of the Amazon’s most impressive trees.  Interweaving roots create open pockets, perfect for rooms housing Blu and his family.  As the family settles into this exciting new world, Blu finds his learning curve to be a steep one.

Bruno Mars lends his signature vocal stylings to the track “Welcome Back,” in which his character Roberto expresses his joy in reuniting with Jewel.  The song was written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and John Powell, and produced by Bruno Mars and John Powell.

Rio 2” (in 2D and 3D) will open April 9 (Saturday) nationwide in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

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