In December of 1964, principal photography finished on the pilot of Star Trek, featuring captain Christopher Pike (played by The Searchers’ Jeffrey Hunter) as the commander of the Enterprise. When the show’s first episode finally aired almost two years later, Pike was nowhere to be found. The initial pilot had been scrapped and re-shot, with William Shatner’s James T. Kirk taking the helm and a different crew boldly going where no man had gone before. However, that wasn’t the end of Christopher Pike. The character returned as a Kirk mentor in the J.J. Abrams-directed reboot films. Now, with the Paramount […]
The post “Each Episode is Like Its Own Movie”: Dp Benji Bakshi on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Each Episode is Like Its Own Movie”: Dp Benji Bakshi on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/31/2023
- by Matt Mulcahey
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In December of 1964, principal photography finished on the pilot of Star Trek, featuring captain Christopher Pike (played by The Searchers’ Jeffrey Hunter) as the commander of the Enterprise. When the show’s first episode finally aired almost two years later, Pike was nowhere to be found. The initial pilot had been scrapped and re-shot, with William Shatner’s James T. Kirk taking the helm and a different crew boldly going where no man had gone before. However, that wasn’t the end of Christopher Pike. The character returned as a Kirk mentor in the J.J. Abrams-directed reboot films. Now, with the Paramount […]
The post “Each Episode is Like Its Own Movie”: Dp Benji Bakshi on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Each Episode is Like Its Own Movie”: Dp Benji Bakshi on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/31/2023
- by Matt Mulcahey
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In the rarely-used lyrics for Alexander Courage's original "Star Trek" theme song — lyrics which were written by Gene Roddenberry so he could say he co-wrote the song and leech off half the royalties — a plaintive lover coos, "Beyond the rim of the star-light, my love is wand'ring in star-flight."
Frankly, the lyrics to the "Star Trek" theme song are extremely corny and have little, if anything, to do with "Star Trek," unless the show was secretly being told from the perspective of Captain Kirk's girlfriend, who he left behind in Iowa. But in their schmaltziness there lies a glimmer of something real, the start of a discussion about the way those old scientists were on an emotional as well as literal journey. Surrounded by stars, nevertheless in a void.
Highlighting the personal feelings of the characters in "Star Trek" requires more than good acting and writing, it also requires a lot of actual,...
Frankly, the lyrics to the "Star Trek" theme song are extremely corny and have little, if anything, to do with "Star Trek," unless the show was secretly being told from the perspective of Captain Kirk's girlfriend, who he left behind in Iowa. But in their schmaltziness there lies a glimmer of something real, the start of a discussion about the way those old scientists were on an emotional as well as literal journey. Surrounded by stars, nevertheless in a void.
Highlighting the personal feelings of the characters in "Star Trek" requires more than good acting and writing, it also requires a lot of actual,...
- 8/7/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Ever since "Star Trek" debuted its new live-action shows on Paramount+ it's been a little bit confusing. "Star Trek: Discovery" and its spin-off "Strange New Worlds" take place prior to some of the previously established events in "Star Trek" canon (quite a few of them too), and feature characters we already intimately know from their future stories ... which came out in our past. Look, I said it's confusing.
Throw in some jarring continuity shifts about what Klingons look like, characters with more siblings than we ever knew about, and a general visual aesthetic that has more in common with the alternate "Kelvinverse" movies than the more canonical TV shows, and you'd be forgiven for thinking all bets were off. The latest "Star Trek" shows have been throwing continuity out the window.
But you'd be wrong. Well, somewhat.
While we can always hem and/or haw about various canonical flubs and...
Throw in some jarring continuity shifts about what Klingons look like, characters with more siblings than we ever knew about, and a general visual aesthetic that has more in common with the alternate "Kelvinverse" movies than the more canonical TV shows, and you'd be forgiven for thinking all bets were off. The latest "Star Trek" shows have been throwing continuity out the window.
But you'd be wrong. Well, somewhat.
While we can always hem and/or haw about various canonical flubs and...
- 7/24/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.
For those unfamiliar, with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors. They also shoot the breeze about their new films, The Dare, World of Darkness,...
For those unfamiliar, with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors. They also shoot the breeze about their new films, The Dare, World of Darkness,...
- 9/4/2019
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Three titles in, filmmaker S. Craig Zahler has brought a whole new polish to the B movie. Whether it was a take on the Western with Bone Tomahawk, the prison movie with Brawl in Cell Block 99, or now the crooked cop drama with Dragged Across Concrete, Zahler is operating in a realm all his own. Brutally violent, lyrical in its dialogue, and perversely unique, he’s a singular storyteller. You likely love him or you hate him, but there’s no dismissing him. I’ve enjoyed both of his previous features, though you can actually make the case that his new effort is his both his most indulgent and most restrained yet. It might also be his best total product too. The movie is a slow burn crime drama. First off, we meet Henry Johns (Tory Kittles), who is just out of prison. He’s coming home to a less than ideal family situation,...
- 3/20/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Stars: Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White, Jennifer Carpenter, Thomas Kretschmann, Laurie Holden, Jordyn Ashley Olson, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Fred Melamed | Written and Directed by S. Craig Zahler
Novelist-turned-writer-director S. Craig Zahler goes three for three with Dragged Across Concrete, a terrific, genre-savvy heist thriller, following the success of his two previous features, 2015′s Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cellblock 99 (2017). Gripping, fatalistic and shot through with jet-black humour, it confirms Zahler as a master of genre storytelling.
Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn star as detective Brett Ridgeman (Gibson) and his younger partner Tony Lurasetti. After they’re suspended for their casual racism and excessive force during a routine arrest, both men find themselves in need of quick cash, Ridgeman to help his Ms-afflicted wife (Laurie Holden) and bullied teenage daughter (Jordan Ashley Olson) move out of their poverty-stricken neighbourhood and Lurasetti because he wants to...
Novelist-turned-writer-director S. Craig Zahler goes three for three with Dragged Across Concrete, a terrific, genre-savvy heist thriller, following the success of his two previous features, 2015′s Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cellblock 99 (2017). Gripping, fatalistic and shot through with jet-black humour, it confirms Zahler as a master of genre storytelling.
Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn star as detective Brett Ridgeman (Gibson) and his younger partner Tony Lurasetti. After they’re suspended for their casual racism and excessive force during a routine arrest, both men find themselves in need of quick cash, Ridgeman to help his Ms-afflicted wife (Laurie Holden) and bullied teenage daughter (Jordan Ashley Olson) move out of their poverty-stricken neighbourhood and Lurasetti because he wants to...
- 10/22/2018
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Anyone transfixed by the hyper-stylized meathead triumph of blood and violence of Brawl in Cell 99 should be warned. Dragged Across Concrete, S. Craig Zahler’s third feature, is comparatively much tamer than his 2017 prison drama. But where the new entry lacks in bloodshed and bone-splintering violence, it still confirms Zahler’s penchant for complicated characters, and conjures up a bad cops action movie which, despite blips in tension and a second half far superior to the first, crystallizes Zahler’s as a key name to watch for lovers of the genre.
The two bad cops are detectives Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn). Ridgeman is a few weeks away from turning 60, yet still holds the same rank he had at 27; Lurasetti is 20 years younger and struggling to rise up the ranks of the city’s police department, but promotions and raise prospects fade out after a video...
The two bad cops are detectives Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn). Ridgeman is a few weeks away from turning 60, yet still holds the same rank he had at 27; Lurasetti is 20 years younger and struggling to rise up the ranks of the city’s police department, but promotions and raise prospects fade out after a video...
- 9/4/2018
- by Leonardo Goi
- The Film Stage
If you’re out to criticize “Dragged Across Concrete,” the latest supersized exploitation opus from writer-director S. Craig Zahler, on charges of gratuitously provocative violence, misogyny, racial discourse or the mere presence of right-wing firebrand Mel Gibson in the lead, know that the film issues a preemptive retaliation in its own script. “I don’t politick and I don’t change with the times,” spits Gibson’s bent, brusque cop Ridgeman, after being disciplined for using excessive force on a perp. “And it turns out that sh-t’s more important than good, honest work.” Thirty years on from the bad-cop hijinks of “Lethal Weapon,” Gibson’s now the one who’s too old for said sh-t, though Ridgeman and Murtaugh, Danny Glover’s weary detective from that 1987 smash, would probably define the grind of their job very differently.
Zahler’s film places a lot of these wink-wink reactionary assertions in...
Zahler’s film places a lot of these wink-wink reactionary assertions in...
- 9/3/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Review by Matthew Turner
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Marc Blucas, Tom Guiry, Udo Kier, Rob Morgan, Geno Segers, Fred Melamed | Written and Directed by S. Craig Zahler
The second feature from Bone Tomahawk writer/director S. Craig Zahler, stylishly executed, ultra-violent prison flick Brawl in Cell Block 99 features a revelatory performance from Vince Vaughn that will make you see the actor in a whole new light.
Vaughn plays Bradley Thomas, a scary-looking recovering alcoholic with a shaved head and a big old crucifix tattooed onto the back of it. When Bradley winds up in prison after a spot of drug-running goes south, he’s visited by a sleazy henchman (Udo Kier) and given an ultimatum: he has to get himself transferred to a nearby maximum security prison and murder an inmate there or horrible things will happen to his kidnapped wife (Jennifer Carpenter) and unborn child.
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Marc Blucas, Tom Guiry, Udo Kier, Rob Morgan, Geno Segers, Fred Melamed | Written and Directed by S. Craig Zahler
The second feature from Bone Tomahawk writer/director S. Craig Zahler, stylishly executed, ultra-violent prison flick Brawl in Cell Block 99 features a revelatory performance from Vince Vaughn that will make you see the actor in a whole new light.
Vaughn plays Bradley Thomas, a scary-looking recovering alcoholic with a shaved head and a big old crucifix tattooed onto the back of it. When Bradley winds up in prison after a spot of drug-running goes south, he’s visited by a sleazy henchman (Udo Kier) and given an ultimatum: he has to get himself transferred to a nearby maximum security prison and murder an inmate there or horrible things will happen to his kidnapped wife (Jennifer Carpenter) and unborn child.
- 10/16/2017
- by Guest
- Nerdly
Ryan Lambie Feb 22, 2017
In the midst of a spectacularly gory horror western, Bone Tomahawk throws in a perfectly-crafted piece of visual storytelling...
Great horror brings with it a hint of mischief. Like a mischievous child dangling a spider in front of a younger sibling, the genre quietly takes delight in teasing, terrorising and generally pushing our buttons.
See related The world of the Peaky Blinders
There's a pleasingly broad streak of mischief running through Bone Tomahawk, S Craig Zahler's earthy horror-western. From its opening shot, throats are cut, appendages are hacked off, bodies rent limb from limb, yet it's all served up with such character and blackly comic relish that it's far less harrowing than it sounds.
In the Old West, a pair of robbers stumble on the stomping ground of a flesh-eating cave dwellers; one escapes their clutches and flees to the nearby town of Bright Hope, unaware that...
In the midst of a spectacularly gory horror western, Bone Tomahawk throws in a perfectly-crafted piece of visual storytelling...
Great horror brings with it a hint of mischief. Like a mischievous child dangling a spider in front of a younger sibling, the genre quietly takes delight in teasing, terrorising and generally pushing our buttons.
See related The world of the Peaky Blinders
There's a pleasingly broad streak of mischief running through Bone Tomahawk, S Craig Zahler's earthy horror-western. From its opening shot, throats are cut, appendages are hacked off, bodies rent limb from limb, yet it's all served up with such character and blackly comic relish that it's far less harrowing than it sounds.
In the Old West, a pair of robbers stumble on the stomping ground of a flesh-eating cave dwellers; one escapes their clutches and flees to the nearby town of Bright Hope, unaware that...
- 2/6/2017
- Den of Geek
Netflix has been stepping up their distribution model to compete with other streaming services entering the original content game. One of their most recent projects has been given its first trailer. Rebirth follows a suburban man (Fran Kranz) who joins a private “self-actualization” program after bumping into an old college friend (Adam Goldberg) who recommends it highly.
The conceit looks to be a blend of David Fincher’s The Game, the events depicted in the documentary We Live In Public, and this year’s The Invitation. What remains to be seen is if it can have the intelligence of the first, the audacity of the second, or the slow-burn intensity of the third. This will be the sophomore directorial effort of Karl Mueller, who also penned the script. A promising aspect is cinematography by Bone Tomahawk Dp Benji Bakshi, who has a brilliant eye for the unnerving.
See the trailer for yourself below,...
The conceit looks to be a blend of David Fincher’s The Game, the events depicted in the documentary We Live In Public, and this year’s The Invitation. What remains to be seen is if it can have the intelligence of the first, the audacity of the second, or the slow-burn intensity of the third. This will be the sophomore directorial effort of Karl Mueller, who also penned the script. A promising aspect is cinematography by Bone Tomahawk Dp Benji Bakshi, who has a brilliant eye for the unnerving.
See the trailer for yourself below,...
- 7/12/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
Down to the Bone: Zahler’s Debut a Dapper Genre Hybrid
For his directorial debut, screenwriter S. Craig Zahler assembles an illustrious cast in Bone Tomahawk, an old-school Western eventually shading by successful moments of horror. Though this feels like somewhat of an ingenious, if perverted version of something like The Searchers (1956), and is not the only recent blending of western horror (J.T. Petty’s 2008 film The Burrowers terrorizes its settlers with subterranean creatures), Zahler’s painstaking characterizations elevate the material beyond the usual potential of swarthy genre films handled as B-grade fare.
Although sporting an uncustomary running time considering the limited narrative (eclipsing two hours), which sometimes seems unnecessary, Zahler’s film is never arduous and sports a completely fine-tuned package of superb visuals and increasingly ominous score.
In the small town of Bright Hope, Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) is the amiable voice of the law, assisted...
For his directorial debut, screenwriter S. Craig Zahler assembles an illustrious cast in Bone Tomahawk, an old-school Western eventually shading by successful moments of horror. Though this feels like somewhat of an ingenious, if perverted version of something like The Searchers (1956), and is not the only recent blending of western horror (J.T. Petty’s 2008 film The Burrowers terrorizes its settlers with subterranean creatures), Zahler’s painstaking characterizations elevate the material beyond the usual potential of swarthy genre films handled as B-grade fare.
Although sporting an uncustomary running time considering the limited narrative (eclipsing two hours), which sometimes seems unnecessary, Zahler’s film is never arduous and sports a completely fine-tuned package of superb visuals and increasingly ominous score.
In the small town of Bright Hope, Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) is the amiable voice of the law, assisted...
- 10/21/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Acclaimed novelist S. Craig Zahler's impressive feature directorial debut takes an uncompromising approach to blending the classic western genre seamlessly with dark humor and ruthless horror elements in successful fashion.
The opening scene remarkably foreshadows the malevolent conclusion as two merciless corpse robbers, portrayed by Sid Haig and David Arquette, foolishly wander into a forbidden burial ground and get a horrifying glimpse of what will await the protagonists on their long existential journey. This scene sways between nasty and hilarious as the outlaws go about their business and the further they wander into uncharted territory the suspense builds like a beating drum until the inevitable horror relentlessly drops an assault like a punch in the throat.
A savage murder and kidnapping of a fugitive and local doctor Samantha O’Dwyer (Lili Simmons) in the town of Bright Hope instigates a rescue mission by Sheriff Hunt (played by the charismatic...
The opening scene remarkably foreshadows the malevolent conclusion as two merciless corpse robbers, portrayed by Sid Haig and David Arquette, foolishly wander into a forbidden burial ground and get a horrifying glimpse of what will await the protagonists on their long existential journey. This scene sways between nasty and hilarious as the outlaws go about their business and the further they wander into uncharted territory the suspense builds like a beating drum until the inevitable horror relentlessly drops an assault like a punch in the throat.
A savage murder and kidnapping of a fugitive and local doctor Samantha O’Dwyer (Lili Simmons) in the town of Bright Hope instigates a rescue mission by Sheriff Hunt (played by the charismatic...
- 10/8/2015
- by Sean McClannahan
- DailyDead
Kurt Russell almost always elevates whatever movie he’s in, no matter the quality of the script or the other performances. With Bone Tomahawk this once again proves true as the charismatic icon significantly improves this sluggishly paced, stiff western.
At the start of writer-director S. Craig Zahler‘s debut, a pack of cannibals invade the small town of Bright Hope. They kill and kidnap folks, including the wife of Arthur (Patrick Wilson), Samantha (Lili Simmons). Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Russell) puts a team together, including himself, an injured Arthur, the smooth-talking John Brooder (Matthew Fox), and the deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins), to go rescue Samantha, who, Hunt admits, is probably dead. It’s a men on a mission story.
The main problem is there’s zero emotional stakes. Arthur wants his wife back, but it’s hard to invest in his journey when the set up is so forced. Wilson,...
At the start of writer-director S. Craig Zahler‘s debut, a pack of cannibals invade the small town of Bright Hope. They kill and kidnap folks, including the wife of Arthur (Patrick Wilson), Samantha (Lili Simmons). Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Russell) puts a team together, including himself, an injured Arthur, the smooth-talking John Brooder (Matthew Fox), and the deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins), to go rescue Samantha, who, Hunt admits, is probably dead. It’s a men on a mission story.
The main problem is there’s zero emotional stakes. Arthur wants his wife back, but it’s hard to invest in his journey when the set up is so forced. Wilson,...
- 10/4/2015
- by Jack Giroux
- The Film Stage
Austrian Christian Berger won the American Society of Cinematographers' feature competition for "The White Ribbon" during the 24th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on Saturday.
The other nominees in the feature film category -- which along with "The White Ribbon" are also up for Oscars in cinematography -- are Barry Ackroyd for "The Hurt Locker," Mauro Fiore for "Avatar" and Robert Richardson for "Inglourious Basterds." "Nine," photographed by Dion Beebe, rounded out the Asc feature nominees.
Commenting on the range of looks and approaches to this year's nominated films, Berger said backstage: "It was quite good to have that contrast ... to see what is photography today in cinema -- or what will be the future."
The frontrunner in the Academy Awards race for foreign-language film, "The White Ribbon" is the second black-and-white film in the past decade to earn the Asc's feature award. Roger Deakins...
The other nominees in the feature film category -- which along with "The White Ribbon" are also up for Oscars in cinematography -- are Barry Ackroyd for "The Hurt Locker," Mauro Fiore for "Avatar" and Robert Richardson for "Inglourious Basterds." "Nine," photographed by Dion Beebe, rounded out the Asc feature nominees.
Commenting on the range of looks and approaches to this year's nominated films, Berger said backstage: "It was quite good to have that contrast ... to see what is photography today in cinema -- or what will be the future."
The frontrunner in the Academy Awards race for foreign-language film, "The White Ribbon" is the second black-and-white film in the past decade to earn the Asc's feature award. Roger Deakins...
- 2/28/2010
- by By Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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