David Fincher

Release Date, Cover Art For Criterion’s ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’

BrianTT — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:35:15 -0600

CHICAGO – Paramount/Criterion made a huge announcement today, revealing that David Fincher’s Oscar-winning “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” will be inducted into The Criterion Collection in its debut on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 5th, 2009. The Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett drama will arrive in a two-disc special edition DVD and two-disc Blu-Ray with over three hours of special features.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was named by over 150 critics as one of the best films of 2008. The film marks Fincher’s first inclusion in the prestigious Criterion Collection. Cover art below.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 5th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount Home Video

The official details:

“The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button two-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray boast over three hours of enthralling special features including interviews with stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with behind-the-scenes footage of their astonishing on-screen transformations, an in-depth documentary revealing the unusual journey of the film itself including the secrets of its award-winning visual effects and an exploration of the groundbreaking computer wizardry that brought the magical world of Benjamin Button to life.”

“The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button two-disc and single-disc DVD are presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Criterion Edition DVD and two-disc Criterion Blu-ray include the following special features:

o The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button—four-part documentary:
o Academy Award-nominated director David Fincher introduces the surprising beginnings of what would become an epic masterpiece including the casting of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, the decision to change the location of the story to New Orleans and more.
o Follow the production from day one including the challenges of aging Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, designing over five thousand costumes and creating the animatronic baby.
o Explore the incredible visual effects techniques created specifically for the film that allowed Brad Pitt to play the title character at virtually every age. Also includes a visit to the scoring stage with composer Alexandre Desplat.
o Walk the red carpet at the film’s premiere in New Orleans, with final thoughts from cast and crew.
o Audio Commentary by director David Fincher

There is also a single-disc DVD presentation that includes the feature film.

‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ will be released by Paramount Home Video and stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Jason Flemyng, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, and Jared Harris. It was written by Eric Roth and directed by David Fincher. It will be released on May 5th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Zodiac: Director’s Cut’ Perfectly Enhances Great Movie

BrianTT — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:59:38 -0700

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Those who chose HD-DVD during the next-generation format war already know the quality of Paramount’s “Zodiac: Director’s Cut” and now one of the most remarkable releases of the last few years has finally been imported to Blu-Ray.

It’s a must-own for not only fans of David Fincher’s excellent movie but anyone with a Blu-Ray player. Not only does “Zodiac” include one of the best video transfers that have ever produced for any format, but the special features are nearly as mesmerizing as this five-star movie. Fincher will get a lot of press this month for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” but history is likely to be even kinder to “Zodiac,” an already-great film made even better with one of the best Blu-Ray releases to date.

Zodiac: Director’s Cut was released by Paramount Home Video on January 27th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount

By now, I would hope that you’re familiar with “Zodiac” as a motion picture. As for the “Director’s Cut” material, it’s not as extensive as you might think. There are only a few changes to the actual film with the final product only running four minutes longer.

Photo credit: Paramount

If you haven’t seen “Zodiac,” it stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo in one of the most detailed period recreations in the history of film. Based on the true story of the Zodiac killer, a maniac who terrorized San Francisco in the ’70s, Fincher’s film is mesmerizing in its depiction of the procedure of crime-solving.

Every single detail, even the most minute, works together to create a film that feels both realistic and artistic. Fincher is a perfectionist, a fact documented in the great documentary, “Zodiac Deciphered” on disc two of the Blu-Ray release.

Here’s just one example: In the recreated offices of The San Francisco Chronicle, every single stack of newspapers around the office was recreated to be reprints of what they actually would have been at the time. You could walk on to the set of “Zodiac,” pick up any newspaper and turn to any page and it would look and read exactly as it did on the day of its actual publication.

That may sound like overkill, but it’s the attention to detail that makes “Zodiac” so stunningly mesmerizing and lends it to a format like HD. In 1080P high definition, Harris Savides’ amazing cinematography and Fincher’s great direction look even better than they did in theaters. It’s one of the most flawless video transfers in the history of Blu-Ray and the English 5.1 TrueHD track matches it.

As for special features, “Zodiac: Director’s Cut” delivers more than any fan of the movie could ask for. First, the commentaries are two of the best I’ve heard in a long time. For the first, the producers of the release wisely let Fincher speak for himself, giving an informative solo commentary.

Zodiac: Director’s Cut was released by Paramount Home Video on January 27th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount

The second track is more trivia-based and fun and features two separate groups intercut - Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. on one and producers Brad Fischer and James Vanderbilt with the notorious crimehound James Ellroy on the other. Any release that features a commentary track by Ellroy is a must-listen. He’s a fascinating dude. If you’re not familiar with the author of “L.A. Confidential” and “The Black Dahlia,” you should be.

The commentaries, the video transfer, and the quality of “Zodiac” itself would be enough, but the second disc of special features push this release over the top.

It’s so refreshing to see special features that were clearly intended not merely to be superfluous or “bonus” but to actually enhance the experience of the film. That’s what the five extended features on disc two of “Zodiac: Director’s Cut” accomplish.

There are three featurettes related to the film itself. The nearly feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary “Zodiac Deciphered” and “The Visual Effects of Zodiac” are both presented in HD and they are rounded out by “Previsualization,” a split-screen comparison between animatics and the finished film for three of the murder sequences from the film.

What pushes “Zodiac: Director’s Cut” from a great release to one of the best on the format are the two documentaries about the actual killer himself.

“This is the Zodiac Speaking” is a feature-length documentary (produced and directed by David Prior) covering every aspect of the investigation, including interviews with the original investigators and surviving victims. Presented in HD, “Zodiac Speaking” could be sold on its own or released in theaters as a great true-crime doc. The fact that it’s included in the “special features” is remarkable.

Its partner, “His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen,” an examination of the main suspect, is nearly as good and also presented in HD.

There are only a few times a year, if we’re lucky, when a great film comes to Blu-Ray with features and a technical transfer that does it justice. “Zodiac: Director’s Cut” is one of those times.

‘Zodiac: Director’s Cut’ is released by Paramount Home Video and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, and Dermot Mulroney. It was written by James Vanderbilt and directed by David Fincher. It was released on January 27th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Taraji P. Henson of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ on Playing Brad Pitt’s Mother

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:11:14 -0700

CHICAGO – It turns out that skipping a “blowout” garage sale she was planning paid off for up-and-coming actress Taraji P. Henson after all, she told HollywoodChicago.com’s Adam Fendelman in a Chicago interview. Not being there netted an even grander sale for her acting career: Henson was cast as Brad Pitt’s surrogate mother in the Oscar-buzzing film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” star Taraji P. Henson in Chicago on Dec. 5, 2008.
Photo credit: Adam Fendelman, HollywoodChicago.com

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The film, which was adapted for the screen by Eric Roth and is based on the 1920s short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, stars Brad Pitt opposite Cate Blanchett with Taraji P. Henson and Tilda Swinton. It’s a curious film indeed about Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) who ages backward. He’s born old and grows youthful.

For Henson, auditioning for the part of Queenie (Benjamin Button’s surrogate mother) was as long of a shot for her as the Earth is to Pluto. But prior to the audition, the film’s casting director already had her in mind based on Henson’s 2005 performance in “Hustle & Flow”. That film won her a Black Movie Award for her supporting role as well as a Black Reel Award for the same. She won a BET Award in 2006.

Even if the industry still hasn’t recognized Henson for her “Hustle & Flow” performance, her 18 episodes of “Boston Legal” from 2007 to 2008 as Whitney Rome or her role in 2007’s “Talk to Me” with Don Cheadle, Henson says after this press tour and upon release of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” “you will surely know me now” and know how to pronounce her Swahili name, too.

Matthew Henson, by the way, is the co-discoverer of the North Pole and is Taraji P. Henson’s great great cousin. She jested: “That’s where I got my survival skills.” Henson has been talked about as a potential nominee for the upcoming Academy Awards in a relatively weak category for actresses in a supporting role.

Once Henson overcame the incredulity of landing a role she viewed as a moon shot, she describes the adapted script from Eric Roth (who also wrote “Lucky You,” “The Good Shepherd,” “Munich,” “Ali,” “The Horse Whisperer” and “Forrest Gump”) and the direction from David Fincher (“Zodiac,” “Panic Room,” “Fight Club” and “Se7en”) as having come to fruition through “bold choices”.

“It was very bold for Eric Roth to choose to make Queenie an African-American woman who was the surrogate mother to Benjamin Button – a white character – which would have been very unusual at the time with what was happening in the country with race,” Henson said.

Taraji P. Henson (left) stars as Queenie with Brad Pitt (right front) in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.
Photo credit: Merrick Morton, Paramount Pictures

She added: “It was a bold choice for David Fincher, too, as it was something very different from what we’re used to seeing him direct. It was even a very bold choice for Brad Pitt in that it’s a not-so-glamorous role for him (even though some how he pulls it off).”

“That’s what intrigued me most,” Henson said. “I consider myself an artist who takes chances and risks in my work. I like to surround myself with people who do the same. I honestly didn’t think I had a chance to get this film.”

Taraji P. Henson stars as Queenie in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.
Photo credit: Merrick Morton, Paramount Pictures

Her “serious” garage sale had jewelry and racks of clothes with hangars she bought to hang up the garments. Henson even turned her tae bo kickboxing bag into a mannequin. While she initially was upset about having to stop what she was doing to audition for a role she thought she’d never get, after the audition Henson learned the film’s casting director had her in mind for this character from the beginning.

Still, she thought Fincher wouldn’t take her seriously, and even if he did, the studio certainly wouldn’t and would want a “bigger star”. Henson describes the all-too-common situation of a film and its studio seeking choices that’d most likely lead to financial gain for the picture rather than riskier choices that can help to assure a quality film.

“I’ve been in this game for a minute now. I’ve been down this road before. Big feature film. Big names. Big director. They want big names all across the name. They think I don’t have an audience because I haven’t been in a big blockbuster film. There are people in the industry who aren’t so creative. They’re number crunchers.”

She added: “You have not-so-creative people making creative decisions. I didn’t think I had a chance because I know the industry doesn’t consider me to be a name and I don’t have box-office draw.”

In describing the work ethic of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and her conversations with them between takes, Henson said she didn’t talk much with them about work. She added: “We’re all parents and we live in between takes. We talked about normal stuff then like kids and life. We didn’t talk about our acting processes.”

In terms of Henson’s preparation for her role, she said she didn’t do much research.

“I already am a mother and have always been a nurturer. Even when I was a child, I never played with Barbie. I couldn’t stand Barbie because she had too much,” Henson said. “But I liked playing with the baby dolls and being the mother. The animatronic baby I’m acting with in the beginning of the film was right up my alley because I was doing that as a little girl. It took three puppeteers to operate it.”

RELATED SLIDESHOW
27-image slideshow for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”.

RELATED READING
More writing from critic Adam Fendelman.

In terms of why we’re seeing so many adapted movie scripts these days based on beloved stories and fewer original screenplays, Henson again tags the reason as one that’s “safer” financially.

“They feel safer with best-selling books – like ‘Twilight’ and the Harry Potter films – because they already have an audience. They’re already seeing audience money. It’s harder for an original idea,” she said.

Henson added: “They don’t see money because it hasn’t been done before. You have to go in the back door and be the little engine that could to prove it – like ‘Hustle & Flow’.”

In retrospect, the opportunity cost of Henson’s audition paid off in spades. She concluded: “Thank god I canceled that garage sale.”

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which is directed by David Fincher and was adapted for the screen by Eric Roth based on the 1920s short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson and Tilda Swinton. The film opens on Dec. 25, 2008.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Slideshow: 27-Image Gallery For ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ With Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett

BrianTT — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:22:56 -0700

CHICAGO – This 27-image slideshow contains official press images for Paramount’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Jared Harris, Elle Fanning, Jason Flemyng, Julia Ormond, and Taraji P. Henson from writer Eric Roth and director David Fincher. The film opens on Dec. 25, 2008.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a modern fable based loosely on the F. Scott Fitzgerald story of a man who ages in reverse. Brad Pitt plays the title character and Cate Blanchett the woman who most changes his unusual life. The already award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated film is rated PG-13 and opens on Thursday, December 25th, 2008.

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos credited to Paramount Pictures and photographer Merrick Morton unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

BenjaminButton01: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Digital Domain
BenjaminButton02:Jared Harris stars as Captain Mike in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Claudio Miranda
BenjaminButton03: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Digital Domain/Asylum
BenjaminButton04: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Claudio Miranda
BenjaminButton05: Taraji P. Henson stars as Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton06: Taraji P. Henson (left) stars as Queenie and Brad Pitt (right) stars as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
BenjaminButton07: Taraji P. Henson (center right) stars as Queenie, who takes in the very young and very old infant Benjamin in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
BenjaminButton08: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton09: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton10: Cate Blanchett stars as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton11: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton12: Jason Flemyng stars as Thomas Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton13: Cate Blanchett (right) stars as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton14: Cate Blanchett stars as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton15: Brad Pitt (bottom left) stars as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett (center) stars as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton16: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton17: Director David Fincher on the set of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton18: Cate Blanchett (left) stars as Daisy and Joshua DesRoches stars as Vic Brody in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton19: Elizabeth Abbott (sitting, center), after attempting to swim the English Channel in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Claudio Miranda
BenjaminButton20: Brad Pitt (left) stars as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett (right) stars as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton21: Poster - Brad Pitt
BenjaminButton22: Cate Blanchett stars as Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton23: Poster - Cate Blanchett
BenjaminButton24: Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Digital Domain
BenjaminButton25: Brad Pitt (left) stars as Benjamin Button and Tilda Swinton (right) stars as Elizabeth Abbott in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BenjaminButton26: (Left to right) Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) shows young Daisy (Madisen Beaty) Captain Mike’s tug boat in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Digital Domain
BenjaminButton27: Captain Mike (Jared Harris, left) and Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt, right) during Benjamin’s years on the Captain’s tug in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Photo Credit: Digital Domain

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com