"The Book of Life" composed of a voice cast led by Channing Tatum

           Director Jorge R. Gutierrez's love for family, tradition and storytelling created a truly singular, a first of its kind animation in "The Book of Life" where it will reveal never-before-seen characters and will take the audience in three fantastical worlds - the town of  San Angel, The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten.

        "The Book of Life" is also about remembrance and cherishing memories composed of a voice cast led by Channing Tatum, Diego Luna and Zoe Saldana, along with multi-talented actors Christina Applegate, Kate Del Castillo, Ice Cube and Ron Perlman. In the movie, following Maria’s (Saldana) return to San Angel, she is reunited with her best friends Manolo (Luna) and Joaquin (Tatum) at the bullfighting arena, where Manolo is preparing for his first match.  Manolo, like all the Sanchez men who preceded him, battles bravely and skillfully.  But unlike his forebears, when the moment comes for Manolo to finish the bull, he refuses.  The whole town turns on Manolo, including his father who feels terribly let down.  Moreover, Manolo fears he may have thrown away his chance to woo Maria.

              As if bucking family tradition wasn’t enough of a barrier to Manolo’s romantic pursuits, two other principals have thrown themselves into the romantic triangle, and they’re betting it all on who ends up with Maria’s hand.  The battling husband-and-wife deities La Muerte (Del Castillo) and Xibalba (Perlman) have made a wager, and the stakes for all of them couldn’t be higher.  Resolute in her belief in the fundamental goodness of mortals, La Muerte puts her faith in Manolo.  If he succeeds in winning Maria’s hand, then La Muerte will remain the beloved ancient god who oversees a wondrous world called The Land of the Remembered, and Xibalba must stop his meddlesome ways with humans.

           
            When La Muerte and Xibalba's wager started, Manolo gets swept up in the parade of his ancestors, who to Manolo are superheroes he’s been hearing about his entire life. But his joy is tempered when he discovers that Maria is not there – and indeed never made the journey to The Land of the Remembered.  With the support of his ancestors, Manolo embarks on an extraordinary mission to find La Muerte, who is the only one who can help him return to San Angel.
                But first, he must travel to a portal, the Cave of Souls, between all the magical lands. There, Manolo meets another spirit, the Candle Maker.   With a body made of wax and a beard made of clouds, the Candle Maker is a larger than life – and kind of nutty – ancient god.  He makes billions of candles, with each candle representing a life.   “The Candle Maker looks over – and geeks out over – humanity,” says lead animator Eric Dobrile.

                Though he’s supposed to be hands-off with mortals, the Candle Maker bends the rules a little to help Manolo.  “He sees something special in Manolo,” says Ice Cube, who makes his animated feature debut voicing the Candle Maker. “The Candle Maker has never seen blank pages in The Book of Life, so this is an exciting thing for him.  Also, it’s The Day of the Dead, which provides some license for him to break a few rules.”

                Manolo’s feisty and quick-witted great-grandmother, known simply as Grandma (voiced by Grey Griffin), is sure to become another audience favorite. Short in stature but long of whisker and tough to boot, Grandma is more than a match for the men in her family – past, present and future.  “Grandma’s kind of seen it all and been through it all, and she’s kind of our Peanut Gallery,” says producer Brad Booker, who adds that she’s his favorite character in the film.

                "The Book of Life" (2D and 3D) opens nationwide in cinemas on October 16 (Thursday) from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

“THE BOOK OF LIFE” FLIPS THROUGH THE PAGES OF FRIENDSHIP, TRUE LOVE AND STRONG FAMILY VALUES

                Reel FX Animation and Reel FX Animationopen the pages of “The Book of Life” and present a grand mythology set in visually spectacular worlds never seen before. The film brings together director Jorge R. Gutierrez’s unique visual style and a crowd-pleasing mix of adventure, action, comedy, romance and music with a voice cast as lively as their animated characters – Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Christina Applegate, Diego Luna,  Ice Cube, Ron Perlman and Hector Elizondo.

“The Book of Life,” a vibrant animated fantasy-adventure, tells the legend of Manolo (Luna), a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds in order to reunite with his one true love Maria (Saldana) and defend his village.   But Manolo and his equally courageous best friend Joaquin (Tatum)are not your typical Prince Charmings; the object of their affections is far from being your average princess; and “The Book of Life” is a fairy tale that doesn’t go by the book.

Its journey to the big screen began with, appropriately enough, a friendship.  Producer Brad Booker, a Reel FX development executive, had known Gutierrez (known for the multiple Emmy and Annie winning series “El Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera” for Nickelodeon which he created with his wife) for over a decade, and after hearing of the project, Booker believed Reel FX would be a great home for it.  The independent animation studio knew that the film needed the perfect creative partner to help guide its path and development.  Gutierrez’s first choice: legendary director, producer and author Guillermo del Toro, who like Gutierrez hails from Mexico.  Gutierrez felt del Toro’s authentic perspective and unique aesthetic sensibility were a perfect match for the film.

Del Toro was equally impressed by Gutierrez’s passion for what would become “The Book of Life.”  “Jorge is his movie,” he says, “and the movie is an imprint of his personality.  Jorge’s ideas for “The Book of Life” started with his connection to his homeland of Mexico, and presenting an exciting, never-before-experienced depiction of that country, its people and its traditions – all in a way that would be accessible to audiences around the world.”

Adds producer Brad Booker:  “Guillermo brings an authenticity and passion for this world and story.  He’s a visionary filmmaker and has been tremendously supportive of Jorge’s ideas.”  “The Book of Life” brings together Gutierrez’s perspective of his native country with a story to which everyone can relate.  He explains:  “This is a very personal movie. The inspiration comes from my family history and childhood experiences.”

Still, Gutierrez admits he embellished some elements.  “My grandfather Luis used to tell me, ‘Jorgito, don’t ever let the truth get in the way of a good story!’  And that was the moment I fell in love with storytelling.”  Gutierrez’s passion for the story, characters and their world points to the film’s broad appeal.  “If you’re telling a story and want it be universal, then you have to be specific,” del Toro explains.  “If the filmmaker loves the story and characters, then audiences will love it.  And if a filmmaker feels it’s powerful, more people will love the story he or she is telling because it’s powerful.  And that’s exactly what Jorge has done with “The Book of Life.”

“The Book of Life” opens October 16 in cinemas (2D and 3D) nationwide from 20th Century Fox thru Warner Bros.

“GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY” GROSSES P104-M TO ITS 4TH DAY!

           The heroic misfits of the universe took the Philippine box-office by storm as Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” opened at No. 1 nationwide with an otherworldly gross of P104-M in just four days (July 31 to Aug. 3). This was announced today by a spokesman of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International which distributed the film.

            Capitalizing on solid reviews and positive word-of-mouth, "Guardians" built on its P15.94-M opening day gross July 31 to achieve the sixth-biggest opening of the year, making it ahead of recent blockbusters “Godzilla” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

            The space adventure of quirky, unique heroes including Drax (played by Filipino-American Dave Bautista) also now holds the record for all-time fifth-biggest opening weekend for a Disney/Marvel title in the country.

            In the U.S., the Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures release set a new August opening record with an estimated $94 million. The previous August record of $69 million was held by Universal Pictures' “The Bourne Ultimatum” back in 2007, which itself beat “Rush Hour 2's” $67.4 million from 2001. There have not been a lot of big movies that opened in the first weekend of August in a number of years and "Guardians" perfectly capitalized on Marvel and Disney's solid record with moviegoers to set what may be an unbeatable August opening record.

            Back in the Philippines, SM Mall of Asia generated the biggest opening receipts with P5.30-M, followed by SM North EDSA with P5.22-M and SM Megamall, P4.90-M.

            In the Top Ten with outstanding sales are Glorietta 4 (P3.47-M), Trinoma (P3.46-M), SM Cebu (P3.11-M), Power Plant (P2.81-M), SM Aura (P2.63-M), Greenhills Promenade (P2.58-M) and Greenbelt 3 (P2.47-M).

            Eastwood (P2.37-M) claimed the 11th rank, followed by Shang Cineplex (P2.13-M), Alabang Town Center (P2.08-M), SM Southmall (P1.99-M), Ayala Cebu (P1.83-M), Newport City (P1.80-M), Gateway (P1.69-M), Bonifacio High Street (P1.44-M), Fisher Mall (P1.37-M) and SM Clark (P1.30-M).

            From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team--the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits--Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand--with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

            Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which first appeared in comic books in MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael and Benicio del Toro as The Collector.


            James Gunn is the director of the film with Kevin Feige producing, and Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. The film is written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman.   Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" is now showing in Philippine theatres.

            In addition to "Guardians of the Galaxy," Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including "Avengers: Age of Ultron" on May 1, 2015; "Ant-Man" on July 17, 2015; and the untitled "Captain America 3" on May 6, 2016.

Dave Bautista invites his fellow filipinos to watch "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Fil-Am professional wrestler Dave Bautista who plays Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, invites his fellow filipinos to watch Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie is digitally re-mastered in IMAX format. Director James Gunn consulted with the company to optimize the space epic for later conversion. 

Watch Dave Bautista"s invite here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPLU2hv-pzE

Check schedules of the movie here;

http://smcinema.com/movies/details?movie-code=GOTG-IMAX

THE UNIQUE HEROES OF MARVEL'S “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY”

“I think ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ has one of the best ensemble casts for an origin movie that Marvel has ever had because it is so eclectic,” producer Kevin Feige says on the approach to casting the unique characters in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

We didn’t set out to cast a relative unknown for the lead nor movie stars for the voices of Rocket and Groot, it just evolved liked that, again, because we had the freedom to say ‘anybody’s on the table’ for this one.”

An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan (Lee Pace), a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

The film's main protagonist Peter Quill is played by Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Moneyball”). Quill is an interstellar adventurer who was abducted from Earth at a young age. After recovering an ancient artifact, Quill must rally an unlikely team of cosmic misfits to prevent a powerful villain from destroying the galaxy.

Zoe Saldana (the “Star Trek” and “Avatar” film franchises) plays Gamora, an orphan from an alien world who was raised by the mysterious Thanos to become the perfect weapon. As Thanos’ personal assassin, Gamora has earned a reputation as a formidable warrior. Gamora now seeks redemption for her past crimes.

A physical brute, Drax is played by Filipino-American former professional wrestler Dave Bautista (“Riddick”). Drax has a personal vendetta against Ronan, who killed his family. Now fueled by pure rage, Drax will stop at nothing to take his revenge on the most dangerous being in the galaxy.
Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) descends from a race of walking flora and resembles a sentient tree. Despite his strange appearance and limited communication skills, Groot proves to be a valuable ally and a loyal friend—not only to his fellow bounty hunter Rocket but to the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy as well.

Finally, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is a bounty hunter and mercenary whose mastery of weapons and battle tactics make him a formidable warrior, despite being a genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced, talking raccoon. The result of traumatic biological experimentation, Rocket is a genuine gun-toting badass and mechanical genius who has a huge chip on his shoulder.
Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” opens across the Philippine on Thursday, July 31, 2014.

“GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY” FROM COMIC BOOK TO BIG SCREEN

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of “Iron Man,” “Thor,” “Captain America” and “The Avengers,” comes a new team — the “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.

To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

Directed by James Gunn (“Slither”) from his screenplay, with a story by Nicole Perlman and Gunn, the all-star cast includes Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty”) as Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek Into Darkness”) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (“Riddick”) as Drax the Destroyer, featuring Vin Diesel (“Fast and Furious”) as Groot, two-time Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper (“American Hustle”) as Rocket, Lee Pace (“The Hobbit”) as Ronan the Accuser, Michael Rooker (AMC’s “The Walking Dead”) as Yondu, Karen Gillan (BBC TV’s “Doctor Who”) as Nebula, two-time Academy Award® nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Gladiator”) as Korath, with Academy Award® nominee John C. Reilly (“Chicago”) as Rhomann Dey, six-time Academy Award® nominee Glenn Close (“Fatal Attraction”) as Nova Prime Rael, and Academy Award® winner Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic”) as The Collector.

Created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, the Guardians of the Galaxy were introduced in 1969 as a team of heroes in the 31st century—each member the last of his kind. The idea of creating a cinematic project from that concept had much going for it—not only a remarkable group of characters, operating within an amazing universe, but also an opportunity to explore another side of the Marvel Universe, contemporaneous with The Avengers, maintaining the scope, action and humor, as well as a sense of the high stakes at its core, which made that film such a success.

There was strong interest at Marvel Studios to do a space epic and to expand their Cinematic Universe in a new direction, despite the risks involved. Says Producer Kevin Feige: “‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is the riskiest movie we’ve done since ‘Iron Man’ but in many ways that makes it the most exciting movie we’ve done since ‘Iron Man.’ It means we can surprise people and exceed expectations. I love the notion of being able to introduce some originality, although all of it is based on the great work that was done in the comics yet few people are aware of them. I hope it feels like something very new and very fresh.”

Getting the tone right was of paramount importance to the filmmakers, who wanted a balanced mix of humor, emotion and action. This desire informed their search for the right director for the material. Explains Feige, “It is important to us that a filmmaker bring a vision and have a handle on the characters and be able to bring them to life in an unexpected and unique and three-dimensional way. We wanted a director who could bring those elements and a slightly skewed sense to the film, and James Gunn has that voice and that vision.”

After meeting with Kevin Feige, director James Gunn was hooked. “I could see the film in my head, how it would look, what the shooting style should be,” says Gunn.

Gunn was also excited at the prospect of introducing the characters into Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, and introducing a global audience to the Guardians. Acknowledging the freedom he had since they were relatively unknown, Gunn remarks, “I think ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ gave me more freedom simply because there aren’t as many rabid fans of Guardians as there are of say The Avengers, or as many Guardians comic books, and so I have been able to recreate the Guardians more for the screen without worrying that the audience will have a different expectation of the characters.”

While there have been several incarnations of the Guardians over the years, Marvel had planned from the early development stages to draw from the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning run of the comic 2008 for the film. Gunn embraced that direction and comments, “We’re using the characters that Abnett and Lanning used and their tone is both humorous and dark, an interesting mix, which I think we have in the film too.”

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” opens in Philippine theaters on Thursday, July 31, 2014.