APOCALYPTO --- Mel Gibson's Latest - Page 4

Tim Glover · 10-24-2006, 12:26 AM

We saw this trailer (longer version) before The Prestige. I love ole Mel....but this was intriguing awhile back but now just looks kind of weird, bizarre, and out there. I hope I'm wrong. I'll be there but you got to admit this is a strange trailer.

BrettGallman · 10-24-2006, 02:19 AM

Not any stranger than the teaser where Mel himself showed up for a split second in a pretty creepy shot.

Rakesh.S · 10-24-2006, 10:24 PM

Looks like another outlet for Mel's violence fetish....keep 'em coming Mel.

Abby_B · 10-25-2006, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Glover

We saw this trailer (longer version) before The Prestige. I love ole Mel....but this was intriguing awhile back but now just looks kind of weird, bizarre, and out there. I hope I'm wrong. I'll be there but you got to admit this is a strange trailer.

I think it's just different, rather than strange. In the sense of, the trailer got my attention and made me want to see more, you know? I think it will definitely be different from anything that's out right now, and in a good way.

Abby_B · 11-16-2006, 07:05 PM

Bumping to ad a pretty insightful interview with Mel where he talks about filming in the jungle and filming the movie in Mayan and all kinds of stuff. It's pretty insightful: http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=17262

I like that it seems like he really respects the history of Mayan culture and stuff and tried to convey that. I have to hand it to him, he does make really good historical movies. They feel really authentic.

Nathan V · 11-16-2006, 08:47 PM

Two excellent articles have surfaced. The first is from Variety, with Peter Bart pontificating on possible reactions by Hollywood's very insular community toward what is, from all appearances, another intense cinematic experience. Here are a few excerpts, from www.oscarwatch.com -

Quote:

Small screenings of the still-uncompleted film are quietly taking place. The movie is rough around the edges -- temp score and sound, scenes still to be honed.

But the word has seeped out: From Mel Gibson's dark, troubled mind has emerged yet another brilliant exercise in filmmaking, extremely violent, yet compelling. The inner demons that play havoc with his personal life continue to energize his creative vision.

But how will his work be judged? The film is being released not just as "Apocalypto," but as Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto." Will the very community that understandably has been offended by Gibson's inebriated diatribes be willing to pass fair judgment on his artistic contributions?

The film itself represents a defiantly maverick voice. Subtitles run throughout. The cast is totally non-professional. The action is virtually nonstop and the confrontations brutal.
...

Hence, the looming Apocalypto Syndrome: Mel Gibson is not exactly a poster boy for tolerance. And that's the paradox: Acceptance of his work demands exactly that.

This one, from the Orlando Sentinel, discusses Gibson's unorthodox word-of-mouth marketing approach, very similar to the Passion, the overwhelmingly positive reaction at the previews, Edward James Olmos, and Elia Kazan.

Quote:

....Two years ago, Gibson reached out to Christians with a carefully orchestrated campaign that helped his film "The Passion of the Christ" become one of the most successful movies of all time.... With "Apocalypto" — his visually sumptuous retelling of the fall of the Maya civilization — Gibson is hoping to strike box-office gold once again by wooing Latinos and Native Americans such as Myers, hoping they will identify with his tale of an indigenous culture.

This latest effort isn't just a return to the playbook for promoting another hyper-violent movie made in an obscure language. It also marks an attempt by Gibson to move past his anti-Semitic outburst after a drunk-driving arrest in Malibu in July. Although Gibson publicly apologized and immediately sought treatment for alcohol abuse, some in Hollywood have said they can't bring themselves to forgive him.
...

While Gibson has been toiling in the editing room, putting the final touches on the film, he and Disney have also been aggressively screening the movie before select audiences in the Latino community, including L.A. politicians and businessmen....

As with "Passion," which contained brutal scenes of Christ's torture at the hands of Roman soldiers, there are scenes of bloody violence in "Apocalypto" — in this case, human sacrifices in which heads roll — that are sure to make audiences squirm in their seats. Disney spokesman Dennis Rice said the violence is "no more so than in any R-rated picture. For some, they will be fine with it. For others, it may not be exactly their cup of tea. But there hasn't been one person who has said this isn't a powerful movie and that once again, 'Mel has done it.' "
...

No one yet knows how much impact that headline-grabbing arrest could have....But there are others, including a few who have seen "Apocalypto," who say the film should not suffer just because of the director's personal mistakes.

One of those is actor Edward James Olmos, a leading voice in Latino cultural affairs, who said he was invited by Gibson to an early screening. Olmos, who brought along his grown son, Bodie, said he was unprepared for what he saw.

"I was totally caught off guard," Olmos said in a recent phone interview from the set of "Battlestar Galactica" in Vancouver, Canada. "It's arguably the best movie I've seen in years. I was blown away."

Olmos said he was not briefed beforehand by Gibson on the film. "I just kind of sat down and bingo! It wasn't even in a screening room. It was like an office…. The screen drops down from the ceiling. I was sitting at an oval table."

Olmos noted that the film tells the story of "first-nation" people — those who were here long before Europeans landed on their shores. Olmos said the story is "just breathtaking."

As for Gibson's outburst and arrest, Olmos said that what director Elia Kazan did in the days of the Hollywood blacklist never made him avoid Kazan's brilliant films.

"Basically, if you watch Elia Kazan's movies, I could surely watch Mel Gibson's movie," Olmos said. "I think more damage was done understanding what Elia Kazan did [during the McCarthy era] than what Mel Gibson did. That's his problem and he has to live with it."
...

Jorge Corralejo, a fellow LBA board member, has not seen the film but noted that despite Gibson's efforts most in the Latino community are unaware of it."I can't tell you anybody who knows anything about it," he said. "It's going to be a tough sell. It takes money to spread the word."
...

As for Sarmiento, he said that it was both "critical and honorable" that Gibson had reached out to the Latino community. "Rather than going to the masses, he's gone to the Latino community to see what they think…. It's a no-brainer. I think he's a smart businessman." He added that he is "amazed" that Hollywood doesn't do more of this kind of marketing.
...

Disney's Rice said the early screenings for Latino and Native American audiences do not mean that the studio is relying on that segment of the population to market the movie. "First of all, this is a movie made with an all-indigenous cast, which is pretty unique in Hollywood," he said. "The movie is about the Mayan culture and anyone who has a connection to that, particularly Mexican Americans, hopefully it will be well-received by them. "On the other hand, it's a flat-out action picture. College kids will want to see it."

Full article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/enter...l-calmoviestop

Regards,
Nathan

Tim Glover · 11-17-2006, 01:40 AM

Interesting....

David Brown Eyes · 11-17-2006, 09:56 AM

Maybe Mel will get it right.

hope and pray, hope and pray, hope and pray.

Abby_B · 11-21-2006, 01:18 PM

Thanks for posting those articles - the more I read about this the better it sounds. It sounds like Mel really stuck to his vision while making this, and the good press about it keeps coming - it really is going to be good. And if Captain Adama likes it, I'm satisfied

Also, there's a new teaser/tv spot out that I found on iFilm - it's short but there's a few brief new scene flashes and Mel talking about what "apocalypto" means. It's here: http://www.ifilm.com/video/2797436/channel/movies

Nathan V · 11-26-2006, 03:00 PM

Excerpt from an LA Times Article:

Quote:

Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook believes that moviegoers can separate Gibson's off-screen behavior from his work behind the camera. He noted that the filmmaker once before defied dismal predictions by turning "The Passion of the Christ" into a global blockbuster.

"The public is smart enough to differentiate what happens in someone's personal life and their professional life," Cook said. "And, while we knew the marketing mountains we'd have to go up, you realize the movie is in the hands of someone who has conquered all these obstacles before and succeeded in an extraordinary way."

... As part of its effort, Disney will begin aggressively showing the film to exhibitors, college students, critics and other opinion makers as soon as Gibson delivers his final print early next week.

From http://apocalyptowatch.blogspot.com/

Also, here is Rolling Stone's review, with Travers giving the film 3.5 out of 4: http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/...008/apocalypto

Excerpts:

Quote:

Here's a thought: instead of rehashing Mel Gibson's Jew-bashing rants when L.A. cops got him on a DUI in July, let's stick to his movie. Apocalypto brings out what's unique and gripping in Gibson as a director. It's pure adrenaline -- a tremendously exciting chase movie, shot in Mexico, that just happens to be set in ancient Maya with dialogue spoken in Yucatec Maya, with English subtitles. Heck, you lived through Latin and Arabic in Gibson's Passion of the Christ, so don't be a wussy. Actually, you'd better not be gore-shy, because Apocalypto is one brutal and bloody ride.
...

This being Gibson, there's more to the film than the rush. It's impossible not to see parallels to our own cultured civilization, one that knowingly destroys its environment and sends troops to Iraq as human sacrifices. Gibson has made a film of blunt provocation and bruising beauty -- it's breathtaking to watch a jaguar racing in the jungle alongside the man who is named after the beast. Say what you will about Gibson, he's a filmmaker right down to his nerve endings.

EDIT: Confirmed running time is 137 minutes. Interestingly, the tv spot is in 1.85:1; does anyone know what the film's aspect ratio is?

Regards,
Nathan