The Untold Story Of A Lost Classic: What Ever Happened To Gram Parsons’ Sci-Fi Film ‘Saturation 70’?
In the late 1960s, Gram Parsons, fresh from leaving The Byrds and becoming close pals with the Rolling Stones, signed on to star in a sci-fi film, Saturation 70.
Directed by Anthony Foutz, who worked with the likes of Orson Welles and Richard Lyford and was the son of a very early Walt Disney exec, the film was shot across Joshua Tree and Los Angeles.
But Saturation 70, which also featured the work of Douglas Trumbull, the pioneering special effects wizard behind 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, was never finished, and the footage subsequently vanished.
But a new book tells the wild story of a possible lost classic.
Chris Campion, who rediscovered the film while working on a book about The Mamas & The Papas, is putting together Saturation 70: A Vision Past of the Future Foretold, raising money via Kickstarter for the project with a view to publish next spring via Wolf+Salmon.
Directed by Anthony Foutz, who worked with the likes of Orson Welles and Richard Lyford and was the son of a very early Walt Disney exec, the film was shot across Joshua Tree and Los Angeles.
But Saturation 70, which also featured the work of Douglas Trumbull, the pioneering special effects wizard behind 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, was never finished, and the footage subsequently vanished.
But a new book tells the wild story of a possible lost classic.
Chris Campion, who rediscovered the film while working on a book about The Mamas & The Papas, is putting together Saturation 70: A Vision Past of the Future Foretold, raising money via Kickstarter for the project with a view to publish next spring via Wolf+Salmon.
- 10/26/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Warner Bros and New Line have joined Horizon, the epic period Western that Kevin Costner is directing, starring in and producing through his Territory Pictures.
Costner co-wrote the script with Jon Baird. They first worked together when they co-wrote the 2015 bestselling novel The Explorers Guild.
Horizon will put the Yellowstone star back behind the camera for the first time since 2003’s acclaimed Open Range. Horizon has been a longtime passion project for Costner, and one that has the sweep of his 1990 epic Dances with Wolves, the film that won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for Costner among seven wins out of a dozen nominations.
Horizon chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre- and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. Experienced through the eyes of many, the epic journey is fraught with peril and intrigue from the constant onslaught of natural elements to the interactions with...
Costner co-wrote the script with Jon Baird. They first worked together when they co-wrote the 2015 bestselling novel The Explorers Guild.
Horizon will put the Yellowstone star back behind the camera for the first time since 2003’s acclaimed Open Range. Horizon has been a longtime passion project for Costner, and one that has the sweep of his 1990 epic Dances with Wolves, the film that won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for Costner among seven wins out of a dozen nominations.
Horizon chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre- and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. Experienced through the eyes of many, the epic journey is fraught with peril and intrigue from the constant onslaught of natural elements to the interactions with...
- 4/18/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Kevin Costner got to thank the woman he credits with launching his career at the 26th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards on March 6. The Yellowstone star paid an emotional tribute to production designer Ida Random, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony. In his speech, he thanked Random for the small moment that “changed the trajectory” of his career on set of the 1981 film Frances. “For six years I’d been trying to break into Hollywood, and despite all my best efforts, I was just unable to get a SAG card,” he said, according to Deadline. Random was the art director on the film, and apparently was the sole reason Costner ended up getting one speaking line delivered to Jessica Lange. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images “I’m singled out among the extras by casting director Elizabeth Leustig, who would later go on to become my...
- 3/7/2022
- TV Insider
Yellowstone star and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Costner paid emotional tribute to his longtime collaborator, production designer Ida Random as she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th annual Art Directors Guild Awards tonight. And his tribute included the revelation that he might not have an an acting career without her intervention.
From the stage at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown, an admittedly nervous Costner – who’s worked with Random on his directorial efforts including The Postman – recounted the critical impact she had when he was an extra on the 1981 film Frances, on which Random served as art director.
“For six years I’d been trying to break into Hollywood, and despite all my best efforts, I was just unable to get a SAG card,” said Costner, who had a minute appearance in a scene set in an alleyway outside a theater where actress Frances Fischer, played by Jessica Lange,...
From the stage at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown, an admittedly nervous Costner – who’s worked with Random on his directorial efforts including The Postman – recounted the critical impact she had when he was an extra on the 1981 film Frances, on which Random served as art director.
“For six years I’d been trying to break into Hollywood, and despite all my best efforts, I was just unable to get a SAG card,” said Costner, who had a minute appearance in a scene set in an alleyway outside a theater where actress Frances Fischer, played by Jessica Lange,...
- 3/6/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
“Nightmare Alley,” “Dune” and “No Time to Die” have won the top feature-film prizes at the 26th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which were held by the Art Directors Guild on Saturday evening in Los Angeles.
“Nightmare Alley” won in the Period Feature Film category, where the other finalists included “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story,” both of which were nominated for the Oscar for Best Production Design.
“Dune” won in the Fantasy Feature Film category, where it was the only Oscar nominee in the running. And “No Time to Die” won in the Contemporary Feature Film category, in which none of the nominees had been recognized by Oscar voters.
“Encanto” took the award in the Animated Feature category.
In the 15 years since the current Adg categories were established, one of the Adg winners has gone on to take the Oscar for Best Production Design 12 times. In that stretch,...
“Nightmare Alley” won in the Period Feature Film category, where the other finalists included “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story,” both of which were nominated for the Oscar for Best Production Design.
“Dune” won in the Fantasy Feature Film category, where it was the only Oscar nominee in the running. And “No Time to Die” won in the Contemporary Feature Film category, in which none of the nominees had been recognized by Oscar voters.
“Encanto” took the award in the Animated Feature category.
In the 15 years since the current Adg categories were established, one of the Adg winners has gone on to take the Oscar for Best Production Design 12 times. In that stretch,...
- 3/6/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Visual Effects Society will present Guillermo del Toro with Ves Award for Creative Excellence on March 8.
del Toro will be honored for his consummate artistry and expansive storytelling that blends iconic visual effects and unforgettable narrative. Harnessing his intuitive vision, del Toro has created a distinctive cinematic style mixing the world of monster movies, comic books and exuberant visuals straight from his imagination.
“Guillermo is a fiercely inventive storyteller, who has pushed the boundaries of filmmaking,” said Ves Board Chair Lisa Cooke. “An exemplary talent, he has consistently elevated not just the technical aspect of visual effects, but also the emotional. Guillermo is an amazing creative force and a defining voice in our global community, and his body of work is a rich source of inspiration for future generations of artists and innovators. For Guillermo’s outstanding mastery of his craft, we are proud to honor him with the...
del Toro will be honored for his consummate artistry and expansive storytelling that blends iconic visual effects and unforgettable narrative. Harnessing his intuitive vision, del Toro has created a distinctive cinematic style mixing the world of monster movies, comic books and exuberant visuals straight from his imagination.
“Guillermo is a fiercely inventive storyteller, who has pushed the boundaries of filmmaking,” said Ves Board Chair Lisa Cooke. “An exemplary talent, he has consistently elevated not just the technical aspect of visual effects, but also the emotional. Guillermo is an amazing creative force and a defining voice in our global community, and his body of work is a rich source of inspiration for future generations of artists and innovators. For Guillermo’s outstanding mastery of his craft, we are proud to honor him with the...
- 2/17/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Norman Lear and his producing partner Brent Miller of Act III Productions have partnered with Juan Pablo Di Pace of Momento Films to launch Di Pace’s LGBTQ+ romantic drama, “For Another Time,” which will shoot on location in Duino, Italy, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Lear and Miller previously exec-produced Mexican film “Te Llevo Conmigo” (I Carry You With Me) and documentary “Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It.”
Di Pace, who also stars in the film, based “For Another Time” on events in his own life, and he will co-direct with editor, Andres Pepe Estrada. Di Pace has appeared in “Fuller House,” “Mamma Mia! The Movie” and the upcoming “The Mattachine Family.”
In addition to Lear and Miller, executive producers include Massimiliano Milic, CEO of Terroir Films; and Kent Gibbons. Producers are Juan Pablo Di Pace; Kristen Carroll, founder and CEO of SpoPro/Spotlight Productions...
Lear and Miller previously exec-produced Mexican film “Te Llevo Conmigo” (I Carry You With Me) and documentary “Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It.”
Di Pace, who also stars in the film, based “For Another Time” on events in his own life, and he will co-direct with editor, Andres Pepe Estrada. Di Pace has appeared in “Fuller House,” “Mamma Mia! The Movie” and the upcoming “The Mattachine Family.”
In addition to Lear and Miller, executive producers include Massimiliano Milic, CEO of Terroir Films; and Kent Gibbons. Producers are Juan Pablo Di Pace; Kristen Carroll, founder and CEO of SpoPro/Spotlight Productions...
- 1/27/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Vince Vaughn plays a chronic sperm donor whose progeny come back to haunt him in this American remake of 2011's Starbuck.
Warmth and fuzziness abounds in Delivery Man, a feel-good yarn about a lovable loser of a meat delivery truck whose old side gig as a fertility clinic donor has resulted in his being the dad of hundreds of biological children, of whom 142 have filed a lawsuit to reveal his identity.
An extremely faithful re-telling of Starbuck, a popular 2011 French-Canadian comedy directed and co-written by Ken Scott (who duplicates his services here), the fictional film politely abstains from tapping the storyline’s ripe, satirical potential in favor of a softer-around-the-edges approach.
Thanks to some potent performances, led by Vince Vaughn in a decidedly change-of-pace, reflective turn, this Disney release proves lightly entertaining in spite of its more heartfelt tendencies.
It should perform modestly with the older-skewing audiences who won’t...
Warmth and fuzziness abounds in Delivery Man, a feel-good yarn about a lovable loser of a meat delivery truck whose old side gig as a fertility clinic donor has resulted in his being the dad of hundreds of biological children, of whom 142 have filed a lawsuit to reveal his identity.
An extremely faithful re-telling of Starbuck, a popular 2011 French-Canadian comedy directed and co-written by Ken Scott (who duplicates his services here), the fictional film politely abstains from tapping the storyline’s ripe, satirical potential in favor of a softer-around-the-edges approach.
Thanks to some potent performances, led by Vince Vaughn in a decidedly change-of-pace, reflective turn, this Disney release proves lightly entertaining in spite of its more heartfelt tendencies.
It should perform modestly with the older-skewing audiences who won’t...
- 11/12/2013
- by Michael Rechtshaffen
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Silverado is one of the last great westerns we have. Sure, Unforgiven is undoubtedly a better film (and one of the top twenty-five greatest films ever) but Lawrence Kasdan’s 1985 epic is easily one of the most fun westerns of our time. While not flawless, the film is perfect when it comes to delivering a smart, fun, western romp which makes it painful the film doesn’t have a solid reputation.
It should, thanks to some pitch-perfect casting that begins with Kevin Kline as Paden. Kline’s thinking man persona is just poetry to watch as he embodies our level-headed hero. Scott Glenn equals him as Emmitt, playing the character a a mix of John Wayne with a dash of Clint Eastwood, yet somehow making Emmitt his own. Both are complimented by Danny Glover, who’s likely never been this badass as the silent but deadly Mal. Yet it’s...
It should, thanks to some pitch-perfect casting that begins with Kevin Kline as Paden. Kline’s thinking man persona is just poetry to watch as he embodies our level-headed hero. Scott Glenn equals him as Emmitt, playing the character a a mix of John Wayne with a dash of Clint Eastwood, yet somehow making Emmitt his own. Both are complimented by Danny Glover, who’s likely never been this badass as the silent but deadly Mal. Yet it’s...
- 9/12/2009
- by Philip Barrett
- ReelLoop.com
James L. Brooks is a humanist before he is a humorist. He is willing to study his characters for as long as it takes before the humor emerges. In "Spanglish", the writer-director takes a very typical Southland situation -- a Latina housekeeper gets hired in a troubled and pampered Anglo household -- then gets past the stereotypes as swiftly as possible to delve into issues of child-rearing and cultural estrangement in a comic take on "family values" that has nothing to do with the hijacking of that term by the radical right.
The picture belongs to Spanish actress Paz Vega, as dazzling as she is improbable as the poor Mexican maid. Yet there is genuinely fine acting -- yes, acting -- from Adam Sandler to go along with terrific supporting turns by Tea Leoni and Cloris Leachman. No doubt about it, Brooks is solidly in charge of this feel-good fairy tale as he gets terrific performances from everyone including two super-talented child actors. "Spanglish" looks like a holiday hit for Sony.
The film doesn't act like a fairy tale, but how else to explain the frequent suspension of reality? Take the simple matter of language -- which, as the title indicates, is the basis for much of the confusion, comedy and cultural clashes. Flor (Vega), an illegal immigrant, speaks not a word of English, yet is hired on the spot by Deborah Clasky (Leoni) to take care of the family's Bel-Air home and two young children.
One can at least ascribe this implausible hiring to the whims of an insecure wife going through a nutty stage of life. But what explains her husband, John (Sandler), a top chef in New York and now L.A., speaking no Spanish? No chef can operate in restaurant kitchens in either city without a working knowledge of Spanish.
Yet unless Brooks turns a blind eye to reality, he will lose the movie's funniest and most touching scene: A heated argument erupts between John and Flor, which her daughter, Cristina (Shelbie Bruce), must rapidly translate back and forth with the skill of a U.N. translator along with the abrupt gesture and attitudes of each adult.
The film is told in flashback by Cristina, a narration (delivered by Aimee Garcia) supposedly lifted from her admission letter for a scholarship to Princeton. She tells of her mother's determination not to get involved with the lives of her employers, a resolution eroded by time. When Deborah, suffering from low self-esteem after losing her job, deliberately buys clothes a size too small for her slightly overweight daughter Bernice (Sarah Steele), Flor is appalled and quickly alters the clothes so they fit.
When the Claskys rent a beach house in Malibu for the summer, Deborah demands that Flor move in. Learning for the first time that Flor has a daughter, she insists that Cristina move in, too. The minute Cristina, as gorgeous as her mother, walks into the house, a competition for her affection erupts between Deborah and Flor. When Deborah takes her shopping, Cristina declares that Deborah is "the most amazing white woman" she has ever met. Meanwhile, Flor is furious because Deborah never asked permission to take her daughter.
John intervenes, which causes Flor to see a side in a male she has never seen before. Here is a man comfortable with his own emotions and compassion for others. "To someone with firsthand knowledge of Latin machismo," says the narrator, "he seemed to have the emotions of a Mexican ... woman."
Observing all of this like a witty Greek chorus is Deborah's mom Evelyn (Leachman), who drinks all day but carefully disguises her inebriation. Alcohol does not cloud her eyes or judgment, though, as she sees trouble in the family with more clarity than anyone else. Her daughter, suffering from a weird combination of narcissism and self-loathing, is a Loose Cannon about to sabotage her own marriage.
Pressure builds when a New York restaurant critic drops by John's establishment and commits the foul deed of declaring in his review that John is the best chef in America. Suddenly, the demand for tables and John's time grows exponentially. He resists though, forking over 20% of his restaurant to his sous chef to keep time for his family.
Brooks lets these conflicts and competing desires play out without pushing things. While dealing with serious themes, the movie seems almost easygoing. Ultimately, the film is about how two culturally different families approach parenting, and the discovery that here there is no language barrier. Along the way, the movie explores the problem of assimilation. Does one fit in by becoming a Latin version of an Anglo? Or does one embrace parts of an alien culture while maintaining a hold on one's own?
As a writer, Brooks has never fully escaped his TV sitcom background. But the situations and comedy are fresh enough here that this is a most forgivable sin. The crisis, where Deborah's self-destructive behavior momentarily frees John to give into in his growing affection for Flor, arrives logically without artifice or fake melodrama.
All tech credits are top notch, especially Ida Random's production design and Hans Zimmer's music, both of which incorporate Mexican and American influences.
SPANGLISH
Columbia Pictures
Gracie Films
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: James L. Brooks
Producers: James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, Julie Ansell
Executive producer: Joan Bradshaw, Christy Haubegger
Director of photography: John Seale
Production designer: Ida Random
Music: Hans Zimmer
Costume designer: Shay Cunliffe, Louise Mingenbach
Editor: Richard Marks
Cast:
John Clasky: Adam Sandler
Deborah Clasky: Tea Leoni
Flor: Paz Vega
Evelyn: Cloris Leachman
Cristina: Shelbie Bruce
Bernice: Sarah Steele
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time --131 minutes...
The picture belongs to Spanish actress Paz Vega, as dazzling as she is improbable as the poor Mexican maid. Yet there is genuinely fine acting -- yes, acting -- from Adam Sandler to go along with terrific supporting turns by Tea Leoni and Cloris Leachman. No doubt about it, Brooks is solidly in charge of this feel-good fairy tale as he gets terrific performances from everyone including two super-talented child actors. "Spanglish" looks like a holiday hit for Sony.
The film doesn't act like a fairy tale, but how else to explain the frequent suspension of reality? Take the simple matter of language -- which, as the title indicates, is the basis for much of the confusion, comedy and cultural clashes. Flor (Vega), an illegal immigrant, speaks not a word of English, yet is hired on the spot by Deborah Clasky (Leoni) to take care of the family's Bel-Air home and two young children.
One can at least ascribe this implausible hiring to the whims of an insecure wife going through a nutty stage of life. But what explains her husband, John (Sandler), a top chef in New York and now L.A., speaking no Spanish? No chef can operate in restaurant kitchens in either city without a working knowledge of Spanish.
Yet unless Brooks turns a blind eye to reality, he will lose the movie's funniest and most touching scene: A heated argument erupts between John and Flor, which her daughter, Cristina (Shelbie Bruce), must rapidly translate back and forth with the skill of a U.N. translator along with the abrupt gesture and attitudes of each adult.
The film is told in flashback by Cristina, a narration (delivered by Aimee Garcia) supposedly lifted from her admission letter for a scholarship to Princeton. She tells of her mother's determination not to get involved with the lives of her employers, a resolution eroded by time. When Deborah, suffering from low self-esteem after losing her job, deliberately buys clothes a size too small for her slightly overweight daughter Bernice (Sarah Steele), Flor is appalled and quickly alters the clothes so they fit.
When the Claskys rent a beach house in Malibu for the summer, Deborah demands that Flor move in. Learning for the first time that Flor has a daughter, she insists that Cristina move in, too. The minute Cristina, as gorgeous as her mother, walks into the house, a competition for her affection erupts between Deborah and Flor. When Deborah takes her shopping, Cristina declares that Deborah is "the most amazing white woman" she has ever met. Meanwhile, Flor is furious because Deborah never asked permission to take her daughter.
John intervenes, which causes Flor to see a side in a male she has never seen before. Here is a man comfortable with his own emotions and compassion for others. "To someone with firsthand knowledge of Latin machismo," says the narrator, "he seemed to have the emotions of a Mexican ... woman."
Observing all of this like a witty Greek chorus is Deborah's mom Evelyn (Leachman), who drinks all day but carefully disguises her inebriation. Alcohol does not cloud her eyes or judgment, though, as she sees trouble in the family with more clarity than anyone else. Her daughter, suffering from a weird combination of narcissism and self-loathing, is a Loose Cannon about to sabotage her own marriage.
Pressure builds when a New York restaurant critic drops by John's establishment and commits the foul deed of declaring in his review that John is the best chef in America. Suddenly, the demand for tables and John's time grows exponentially. He resists though, forking over 20% of his restaurant to his sous chef to keep time for his family.
Brooks lets these conflicts and competing desires play out without pushing things. While dealing with serious themes, the movie seems almost easygoing. Ultimately, the film is about how two culturally different families approach parenting, and the discovery that here there is no language barrier. Along the way, the movie explores the problem of assimilation. Does one fit in by becoming a Latin version of an Anglo? Or does one embrace parts of an alien culture while maintaining a hold on one's own?
As a writer, Brooks has never fully escaped his TV sitcom background. But the situations and comedy are fresh enough here that this is a most forgivable sin. The crisis, where Deborah's self-destructive behavior momentarily frees John to give into in his growing affection for Flor, arrives logically without artifice or fake melodrama.
All tech credits are top notch, especially Ida Random's production design and Hans Zimmer's music, both of which incorporate Mexican and American influences.
SPANGLISH
Columbia Pictures
Gracie Films
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: James L. Brooks
Producers: James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, Julie Ansell
Executive producer: Joan Bradshaw, Christy Haubegger
Director of photography: John Seale
Production designer: Ida Random
Music: Hans Zimmer
Costume designer: Shay Cunliffe, Louise Mingenbach
Editor: Richard Marks
Cast:
John Clasky: Adam Sandler
Deborah Clasky: Tea Leoni
Flor: Paz Vega
Evelyn: Cloris Leachman
Cristina: Shelbie Bruce
Bernice: Sarah Steele
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time --131 minutes...
- 12/30/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Suspect Zero does not enter the territory of Silence of the Lambs and Seven with any timidity. It's an invasion, stemming from a determination to one-up both films in unpleasantness and claim the territory as its own. The trouble is that those films, no matter how queasy they made one's stomach, came from meticulously written, rock-solid screenplays. Suspect Zero is more intricate than meticulous. The filmmakers throw in just about every angle you can jam into a serial-killer movie, every nerve-jangling camera move and image, every double twist and implausible revelation that any such movie can withstand. The movie exhausts its audience rather than entertains it.
E. Elias Merhige, who directed the justifiably celebrated Shadow of the Vampire, is clearly a talented director. He stages scenes to maximum impact and keeps more than a few balls in the air at any given moment. But lack of credibility and unsavory subject matter defeat him in this outing. Without star power and burdened with a convoluted plot difficult to get across in advertising, Suspect Zero will test Paramount's marketing skills. The film will perform best in urban situations and mainly with males.
Aaron Eckhart plays an aspirin-gulping FBI agent sent down to "the minors" in New Mexico after screwing up a serial-killer case in Dallas. All too conveniently and rat unbelievably, his former partner and lover, Carrie-Anne Moss, quickly joins him in this career purgatory. On Day 1 on the job, Eckhart is confronted with a homicide deliberately staged at theArizona/New Mexico border to make the murder an interstate crime, which demands FBI involvement.
In a very creepy opening sequence, much of it shot in very tight or very wide shots, the film shows an enigmatic man played with hyper-intensity by Ben Kingsley commit this murder. So the film is not so much a whodunit as a whydunit.
The makers don't make it easy for audience members to sort out that why. What's with all those clues Kingsley's character leaves at each crime scene? Why is he forever faxing the FBI guy reports of missing children? What is the meaning of scenes shot in red tint that show events from the past or future? And what gives with the huge black truck that slowly cruises past playgrounds? Pretty soon some in the audience may want Eckhart to pass them the aspirin.
Writers Zak Penn and Billy Ray do tie all these seemingly random bits together. Sort of. Much of it comes down to a serial killer hunting down other serial killers and a former elite federal agent trained to view crimes telepathically, a technique referred to as "remote viewing." But these are a pretty unlikely gimmicks on which to hang a thriller. Worse, much of it feels overly familiar, derived from other movies or novels.
Kingsley is mesmerizing though hardly empathetic as the killer with a method to his madness. The rest of the cast turn in workmanlike performances as their characters are too thin and occupied with the business at hand to make much of an impression.
Merhige makes excellent use of remote, seriously underpopulated New Mexico locations, Ida Random's naturalistic sets and Michael Chapman's moody cinematography, even though an occasional camera move suffers from self-consciousness. Suspect Zero has enough going for it to eventually develop a cult following. But compared to Silence of the Lambs and Seven, it's still the minor leagues.
SUSPECT ZERO
Paramount Pictures
Paramount in association with Intermedia Films and Lakeshore EntertainmentA C/W production
Credits:
Director: E. Elias Merhige
Screenwriters: Zak Penn, Billy Ray
Story by: Zak Penn
Producers: Paula Wagner, E. Elias Merhige, Gaye Hirsch
Executive producers: Jonathan Sanger, Moritz Borman, Guy East, Nigel Sinclair, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi
Director of photography: Michael Chapman
Production designer: Ida Random
Music: Clint Mansell
Co-producers: Lester Berman, Darren Miller
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editors: John Gilroy, Robert K. Lambert
Cast:
Thomas Mackelway: Aaron Eckhart
Benjamin O'Ryan: Ben Kingsley
Fran Kulok: Carrie-Anne Moss
Rick Charleton: Harry Lennix
Harold Speck: Kevin Chamberlin
Highway Patrolman: Julian Reyes
Raymond: Keith Campbell
MPAA rating: R
Running time -- 100 minutes...
E. Elias Merhige, who directed the justifiably celebrated Shadow of the Vampire, is clearly a talented director. He stages scenes to maximum impact and keeps more than a few balls in the air at any given moment. But lack of credibility and unsavory subject matter defeat him in this outing. Without star power and burdened with a convoluted plot difficult to get across in advertising, Suspect Zero will test Paramount's marketing skills. The film will perform best in urban situations and mainly with males.
Aaron Eckhart plays an aspirin-gulping FBI agent sent down to "the minors" in New Mexico after screwing up a serial-killer case in Dallas. All too conveniently and rat unbelievably, his former partner and lover, Carrie-Anne Moss, quickly joins him in this career purgatory. On Day 1 on the job, Eckhart is confronted with a homicide deliberately staged at theArizona/New Mexico border to make the murder an interstate crime, which demands FBI involvement.
In a very creepy opening sequence, much of it shot in very tight or very wide shots, the film shows an enigmatic man played with hyper-intensity by Ben Kingsley commit this murder. So the film is not so much a whodunit as a whydunit.
The makers don't make it easy for audience members to sort out that why. What's with all those clues Kingsley's character leaves at each crime scene? Why is he forever faxing the FBI guy reports of missing children? What is the meaning of scenes shot in red tint that show events from the past or future? And what gives with the huge black truck that slowly cruises past playgrounds? Pretty soon some in the audience may want Eckhart to pass them the aspirin.
Writers Zak Penn and Billy Ray do tie all these seemingly random bits together. Sort of. Much of it comes down to a serial killer hunting down other serial killers and a former elite federal agent trained to view crimes telepathically, a technique referred to as "remote viewing." But these are a pretty unlikely gimmicks on which to hang a thriller. Worse, much of it feels overly familiar, derived from other movies or novels.
Kingsley is mesmerizing though hardly empathetic as the killer with a method to his madness. The rest of the cast turn in workmanlike performances as their characters are too thin and occupied with the business at hand to make much of an impression.
Merhige makes excellent use of remote, seriously underpopulated New Mexico locations, Ida Random's naturalistic sets and Michael Chapman's moody cinematography, even though an occasional camera move suffers from self-consciousness. Suspect Zero has enough going for it to eventually develop a cult following. But compared to Silence of the Lambs and Seven, it's still the minor leagues.
SUSPECT ZERO
Paramount Pictures
Paramount in association with Intermedia Films and Lakeshore EntertainmentA C/W production
Credits:
Director: E. Elias Merhige
Screenwriters: Zak Penn, Billy Ray
Story by: Zak Penn
Producers: Paula Wagner, E. Elias Merhige, Gaye Hirsch
Executive producers: Jonathan Sanger, Moritz Borman, Guy East, Nigel Sinclair, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi
Director of photography: Michael Chapman
Production designer: Ida Random
Music: Clint Mansell
Co-producers: Lester Berman, Darren Miller
Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan
Editors: John Gilroy, Robert K. Lambert
Cast:
Thomas Mackelway: Aaron Eckhart
Benjamin O'Ryan: Ben Kingsley
Fran Kulok: Carrie-Anne Moss
Rick Charleton: Harry Lennix
Harold Speck: Kevin Chamberlin
Highway Patrolman: Julian Reyes
Raymond: Keith Campbell
MPAA rating: R
Running time -- 100 minutes...
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.