Snyder delivers a Sucker Punch to your pants

That Snyder, he sure is one stylish motherfucker. This image hit the net a few days ago via an Emily Browning fansite and is the first look at the bad-ass babes of Zack Snyder’s new film Sucker Punch. It’s scanned from a spread in Entertainment Weekly where they give an overview of the films appearing at Comic Con this week (insert jealous grumble here). Thoughts? If I wasn’t a straight woman, I would have a boner by now because frankly, it looks fetish-aboulous. It’s a shame Browning has had to revert from brown to blonde locks, but I’m willing to overlook that cliché in light of the general wickedness this film promises. So, in a similar vein to my overall wraps on Inception and Tomorrow, When The War Began, here is what we know about Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch so far:

The Plot

Sucker Punch is a reimagining of Alice In Wonderland in the 1950s when a young girl, Baby Doll, is institutionalised by her wicked stepfather who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. She escapes to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, and in that universe she starts to plan her escape from the facility with her newfound inmate friends. Needing to steal five objects to achieve freedom, Snyder famously described the film to First Showing as “Alice In Wonderland with machine guns”. Apparently dragons, B-52 bombers and brothels also feature. Snyder came up with the story and wrote the script with Steve Shibuya, a former special-effects and tech whiz. It’s Snyder’s first original film without any source material from comics or previous films.

The Business End

Snyder, whose previous credits include the Dawn Of The Dead remake, 300, Watchmen and the up and coming animated owl flick Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole, is producing the film with his regular collaborator and wife, Deborah. Snyder has been an active filmmaker since 2004 and in that short time he has established himself as one of the few who can consistently deliver style and substance. He’s a visionary who pumps out films more often than the Octomum pumps out babies. It’s also good news that despite Warner Brothers announcing the film would be converted to 3D post-production, the Snyder husband and wife team have fought, and won, to keep their baby in 2D (the way it was filmed and intended). There will be no Clash Of The Titans-muddle here folks. Music is set to play an integral part in the film and mark the transition from reality to alternative-reality. The cast trained in 3 months to be able to perform the stunt and fight scenes before production kicked off in Vancouver from September, 2009 to January, 2010. Sucker Punch has a budget of $85 million.

The Cast

Emily Browning: Baby DollOne of my favourite Australian actresses, 21-year-old Browning stepped up to the role after Amanda Seyfried dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Thank heavens for that, because as far as I’m concerned Seyfried has ruined herself with all the atrocious rom-com’s she has starred in of late. After a bunch of appearances in Australian TV productions and films such as Ned Kelly, Browning broke into the Hollywood market with her captivating performance in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Followed by her role in supernatural thriller The Uninvited, Browning will be one to watch after Sucker Punch and her role as Lucy, a university student who becomes a prostitute in Julia Leigh’s erotic version of Sleeping Beauty due for release next year.

Jena Malone: RocketReplacing Evan Rachel-Wood, who also dropped out over scheduling conflicts, is former child star Jena Malone. Having amassed an accomplished body of work, Malone is just another feather in the bow of accomplished young actresses at the fore of Sucker Punch.

Abbie Cornish: SweetpeaWhat can you say about Cornish? Except that she is ridiculously awesome and my favourite Australian actress behind Cate Blanchett! Since her breakout performances in Australian flicks Somersault and Candy, with Heath Ledger, Cornish has gone from strength to strength in mainstream Hollywood blowing me away with turns in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Stop-Loss and, her Oscar-deserving role in Bright Star. Mainly a dramatic actress, I’m looking forward to seeing Cornish in an action-flick where her attitude and beauty are just as important as acting chops. She has worked with Snyder previously, voicing one of the central characters in Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole.

Vannessa Hudgens: BlondieOkay, so I’m not her biggest fan, but this is clearly Hudgens effort to make the transition from slutty Disney teen-starlet, to slutty Hollywood actress. But hey, if she shows some teeth in an action film I might be willing to overlook her previous efforts (hello there High School Musical and Bandslam). The jury is still out on her Twilighty-looking Beastly.

Jamie Chung: AmberChung has proved herself to be a sufficiently meaty action babe after Dragonball: Evolution, Sorority Row and her decency in Grown Ups. Toting a lollipop and fishnets in this though, she’s sure to bring that hot-Asian chick flavour a la Lucy Liu amongst a largely Caucasian cast in Charlie’s Angels.

Carla Gugino: Mrs ShulzThe lass with arguably the best natural rack in the industry (remember her topless scene as Lucille in Sin City?), Gugino plays a nurse in the asylum. Like Cornish, she has worked with Snyder previously, but as the original Silk Spectre in Watchmen.

Others Along for the ride are Scott Glenn, Oscar Isaac, Jan Hamm and Black Dynamite himself Michael Jai White (above)! Woo!

Exclusive clips from the film are being screened at Comic Con this week, so as soon as some lucky bastard who’s attending posts them online . . .as will I. In the meantime, stay tuned for Sucker Punch news, updates and trailers.

Sucker Punch is tagged with a March 2011 release date. Sigh.

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EXCLUSIVE: The Spierig Bros interview

Above: The Spierig Bros Peter (L) and Michael (R), er, I think, with a minature from Daybreakers

Well, well, well…do I have a fangtastic exclusive for you or what! I just wrapped up an interview with Peter and Michael Spierig, aka The Spierig Brothers, who are the masterminds behind vampire flick Daybreakers (reviewed below). Not only are the visionary writer/director/producers Australian, they’re also twins which gives them double cool points in my book. Oh, and they think Twilight is “lame” (awesome!)

The bros have been working together since in the womb and first burst on to the scene in 2000 with their debut effort The Big Picture, a dramatic short film. But it was their 2003 follow up Undead, a low-budget zombie flick, that really garnered them attention and it wasn’t long before Hollywood came knocking. Fast forward a few years and the lads are busy on a worldwide press tour to promote their latest film Daybreakers, which has been getting all sorts of kudos from critics for its unique blend of sci-fi and horror.


Anywho, I sat down with doppelgangers for a chat about life, love and relationship. Just kidding, I wanted gorey details damn it and the bros certainly delivered.

Movie Mazzupial: First of all, howdy, it’s awesome to meet you guys. I’m a big fan of Undead and can I just say, Daybreakers freakin blew my mind.
Michael: No worries, it’s good to meet you too.
Peter: Great, glad you liked it.

MM: Okay, so what is something you want audiences to take away from Daybreakers?
P: I hope it’s something new and different for the genre. We wanted to offer something original and stay true to the vampire mythology as much as possible, but then add something new too. Hope what we’ve done finds an audience that wants something darker in their vampire films compared to what has been out there at the moment.

MM: Are you happy with responses to the film so far?
M: Horror films don’t usually get a good wrap from mainstream critics. We care what some critics think, the ones who really love the genre and have a passion for it. I don’t really care what mainstream critics think, I think they don’t like the horror genre to begin with but what’s important is that it finds an audience and we think it has.

MM: What was it like shooting it on the Gold Coast?
P: To be perfectly honest we shot mostly at Warner Bros studios and it was great, we did some exterior shots outside on the Gold Coast but most of it was inside. The studios are fantastic and the crews down there are world class.

MM: There has been a real push lately to try and attract big budget films to come and shoot here, what were some of the benefits for you guys shooting on the coast?
P: The benefits were the studios and the crews; they were really experienced and had the background working on big budget American productions there. The hardest thing about filming wasn’t on the Gold Coast, it was in Brisbane. The locations were incredibly expensive which is unfortunate because it’s a city that doesn’t have too many films come through and it’s ridiculous to have the locations at Sydney prices.

MM: Would you like to see more horror films shot in Australia?
P: I’d like to see more films shot in Australia in general, but they need to be films that people want to see. There’s a very small number of people that actually go and see Australian films and a lot of them end up being DVD releases. We need to focus on finding more promotable ideas. Unfortunately we’re at a time when a film like Undead would struggle to get a theatrical release, but the good thing is the DVD market is so huge you can use that to gain an audience.

Above: The Spierig Bros on Daybreakers set. Good luck guessing who's who.

MM: Call me slightly delirious but I thought there were some Dawn Of The Dead-esque moments toward the end of the film, is Romero someone who has inspired you guys?
M: George Romero has been a big influence on us, we actually got to meet him last year too. Dawn Of The Dead and the whole Living Dead series are really good at subtly layering social commentary within a B-Grade splatter movie and we tried to do that with Daybreakers. He’s really good at shooting bloody splatter scenes and we tried to do the same. They’re actually really hard to shoot and you have to hope you get it right the first time because they take so long to set up afterwards.

MM: Yeah, I could understand that, like in the scene with the soldier.
M: Exactly.

MM: What are some of the films that have inspired you, horror or otherwise?
P: We grew up in the 80s which was a great decade for films with Spielberg and everything that was going on. In terms of horror stuff we’re heavily influenced by (Sam) Raimi’s early stuff and Peter Jackson, big fans of Peter Weir, (Stanley) Kubrick. The reason we started off in horror, we loved the genre, but it’s an easy one to do low budget if you’re starting out and don’t have all the resources.

MM: Now that Daybreakers is done and dusted, what’s next in the pipeline for you guys?
P: We have a few projects at Universal and Warner Bros that we’ve been looking at and there’s been a script Michael and I have been working on for a while. It’s not going to be six-years between films or anything. We have to be vague on the details because it’s still all in the works. It’s just good material is very hard to find. We’ve read a lot of scripts and a lot of them are awful. As long as the material is good we will be working on something.

MM: Now you two are twins right?
M+P: Yeah.

MM: I don’t want to ask you any lame twin questions like when one of you pinches himself does the other one feel it, but is there ever the possibility of making a twin horror film down the track? Like your appropriation on a J-Horror one?
M: (Laughs) Like Dead Ringers.
P: (Laughs) Doubt it, our life as twins is enough of a horror film (laughs).

MM: So do you guys get along well? You work together all the time writing, directing, producing, it never ends up in a punch up on set?
P: We get a long just fine, we have a lot of the same influences and we have a sort of shorthand between us. We know each really well, it’s a very honest kind of relationship and no fights.

MM: I know you mentioned before about some of the directors that inspire you, but are there specific elements of a director’s work you really like or has intrigues you?
M: I’ve always been a big fan of (David) Cronenberg. He does really interesting things and his films are always about the monster within. Sometimes what he’s doing doesn’t always work but he has some interesting ideas.

MM: Yeah, he’s great. The horror genre has seen quite a resurgence in the past few years, are there any horror films that you’ve really like or have caught your eye?
M: I really enjoyed Let The Right One In which was a little Sweedish vampire film that was particularly good. Other than that there hasn’t been a lot that has stood out…
P: I like this little independent film called New Moon (laughs). That was a joke.

MM: (Laughs) Right, but does that annoy you? I mean, the vampires in Daybreakers are all hardcore and badass, does the romantic, swooning ones in Twilight and True Blood tarnish the genre for you a little bit?
P: Ahh, there’s nothing wrong with True Blood, it’s quite good. Twilight is lame but it’s like the training wheels of the vampire movie; it introduces the audience to a genre they would usually be in to and hopefully it encourages them to explore a little bit further.

MM: Nicely put. Well, thank you so much for chatting with me and good luck for the rest of the whirlwind press tour.

P: Thanks a lot.
M: Thanks.

Sigh. There ain’t no business like family filmmaking business.

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Daybreaking it down

Vampires are, like, so hot right now given the popularity of The Twilight Saga and television shows True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. But if you are concerned vampires have lost their bite, never fear, Daybreakers is here.

Set in the not-too-distant-future, 2019, a plague has transformed most humans into vampires and the dominant species is facing a dwindling blood supply because, well, they ate everyone.
Enter Edward Dalton (yes, another vampire called Edward*) played by Ethan Hawke, who may have found a solution to the `vampire plague' after conducting research with a covert band of humans.

Written and directed by wunderkinds Michael and Peter Spierig, known as the Spierig Brothers, there is no doubt they are Australia's next big Hollywood export. The plot combines elements of the zombie and vampire genres, while being a timely allegory on the precious natural resources.
Comparisons to The Matrix and 28 days Later are not unfounded, with Daybreakers exceeding the usual cliche constraints of a horror film.

The Spierig Brothers have clearly been influenced by the greats, like George A. Romero, as there are some very Dawn of the Dead-esque moments toward the end. The cinematography is sharp, action scenes superbly choreographed and there is such a loving attention to detail fanboys around the world will be getting wet over the Spierig Bros.

A tense ride for the most part, comic relief comes in the form of Willem Dafoe's character Lionel `Elvis' Cormac who is a like a cross between a bounty hunter, Woody Harrelson's character in Zombieland and Billy Ray Cyrus. In particular there's one scene when Dalton asks Elvis if he's safe in the human lair and he replies "bout as safe as going bareback with a $5 whore." Gold.

The humour is threaded thickly throughout the film and the Spierig's have their tongue so firmly in cheek, you think it may burst out the other side like a gloriously gorey moment in the film. One of the most enjoyable horror outings in recent years, Daybreakers is no pain in the neck.

Daybreakers is released in Australian cinemas next Thursday, Feb 4.

*Edward Cullen is a fictional character and will never love you

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Tick tock, tick tock

The count down begins. It’s hard to believe Watchmen is only 16 days away from coming to a cinema near you! Man, it feels like forever since news of the nifty project drew legions of internet nerds to it faster than Perez Hilton to cock. Those of you born last week might not know Watchmen is the long-awaited and highly anticipated adaptation of Alan Moore’s award-winning graphic novel (largely considered as the most acclaimed graphic novel of all time). Personally, after reading Watchmen I thought it would be too complex to be made in to a film. Then in rode Zack Synder guns blazing and dedication flaring, fresh off the his success with his Dawn Of The Dead remake and 300 adaptation. Apparently Synder is a massive fan of the graphic novel and was obsessed with trying to match up every scene in the film to panels in the comic book, which sounds like a good thing to me. Anyway, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a disturbing conspiracy with links to their past and catastrophic consequences for the future. The trailers have gone viral on the net and it’s clear that Synder has brought his signature stylised approach to project. Watch the trailer here. One of the other integral factors of the Watchmen graphic novel was the music and lyrics from folk legends like Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens which is also featured in the trailer. Love em or hate em punk group My Chemical Romance have even jumped on board to do a cover of Dylan’s Desolation Row as the official single for the film. It’s very different from the original but I think it’s worthy none the less. You can listen to it here but just make sure the volume is turned down otherwise your speakers might bleed. Personally, my favourite aspect of the original Watchmen was the characters as they’re essentially the most important thing about the story. Well kudos to the casting directors as just going off the trailers alone, it looks like the actors have encapsulated the unique super-heroes perfectly. I look forward to seeing more of my favourite character, Dr Manhattan, in the feature length version which is out nation wide on March 5. Oh! I almost forgot the wicked tagline: `Who watches the Watchmen?'
Perfection me thinks.

Below: some of the latest images off the Watchmen set

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