Scott Hettrick

Mann and Milch, unlikely partners as two of three executive producers of the new HBO series about the underbelly of horse racing called “Luck” (9 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday nights beginning January 29) joined the show’s two highest-profile stars, Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, on a panel during HBO’s presentation at the Television Critics Association tour Friday in Pasadena.
<Story continues along with review of all nine episodes of “Luck” below the following 85-second video interview with Hoffman and Mann…>

My father took our family to a movie in 1969 starring Steve McQueen called “The Reivers,” an adaptation of the William Faulkner novel, featuring slow-motion scenes of horses racing that Dad thought represented some of the most impressive cinematography he had ever seen.
I think he would have thought the same about the powerful scenes of horse racing at Santa Anita in “Luck.”

But even some of those who follow horse racing and are familiar with Santa Anita expressed disappointment with the one-hour pilot that HBO showed as a sneak preview last month. Too many characters and too much insider jargon that combined to make it a little hard to follow, and nothing much of significance happening which made it feel a little slow and not very engaging. Providing even more challenge in the pilot, most of the characters are degenerates and criminals who don’t initially exude much charisma or humor, though they do each have personalities that will eventually emerge.

For those viewers who were not bowled over by the pilot, I recommend sticking with it with a few more episodes; the second hour ramps up considerably, even if it is still not “The Sopranos.” In fact, mob-like violence eventually creeps in during later episodes, particularly as Hoffman’s character, who is being released from prison in the first scene of the pilot, becomes entangled by episodes four and five with a yacht-residing heavy rival for Hoffman’s Ace character played by Michael Gambon (the polar opposite of his avuncular Professor Dumbledore in the “Harry Potter” movies).
It is that juxtaposition of the seedy side of horse racing set against the idyllic ambiance of Santa Anita that offers the primary intrigue and focus of the show. Milch described it as the “double-ness” of Santa Anita, the real world and the “Santa Anita of the mind.”

The momentum of the mid-series episodes, including a mild earthquake tremor that literally shakes up the motley crew while dining at the local “Rod’s Grill” near the track, tends to stall a bit before regaining energy in the final installment.

Along the way, despite the multitude of characters already in place, new high-profile actors like Gambon continue to be added, such as Joan Allen. Her role as a persistent horse welfare activist (a la Bo Derek?) and her motivation is as vague as many of the other characters, but she appears to become a potential romantic interest for Ace.

Another actor gaining screen time after the pilot is Hall of Fame former jockey Gary Stevens (“Seabiscuit”), whose story arc carries him through a recurrence of his battle with alcoholism that threatens his career. Stevens displays an impressive and extensive range of acting skills that his prior acting roles had not allowed.

For Hoffman, the series presents a new opportunity to work unencumbered by studio executives.
“I’ve not had this experience before,” he said. “You can’t get a shot at doing your best work in the studio system.”
HBO does not have committees analyzing and making recommendations, he said. He also enjoys having three cameras filming at the same time to catch different angles so that actors don’t have to repeat the same shot multiple times.

Also somewhat unique to this HBO series is the wide variance in running times of each “one-hour” episode by as much as 20-minutes.” Each episode has a different director and some run about 45-minutes while others run 50-plus minutes and 60-plus minutes, including the 66-minute finale.

Hoffman and the producers all expressed interest in seeing the expensive series be picked up by HBO for several more seasons.
Maybe that would give Milch time to write in a visit to Santa Anita from Tony Soprano or even Carrie and friends from that other former HBO series “Sex and the City.”

– By Scott Hettrick

Martin Scorsese made a point to mention Bob Richardson’s cinematography, “particularly in 3D” in accepting his Best Director of a Motion Picture award for “Hugo.”
Steven Spielberg accepted the award for Best Animated Feature for his first 3D motion-capture film “The Adventures of Tintin.”

In TV, Showtime’s “Homeland” won for the Best TV Series Drama, and Kelsey Grammer was named Best Actor for the new Starz series “Boss.”

– By Scott Hettrick 

“Beauty and the Beast” is perhaps even more stunning in 3D than “The Lion King,” which surprised the industry with a whopping $94 mil. at theaters last fall initially intended as a brief run to promote the Blu-ray 3D debut.
The 1991 “Beauty,” which has grossed $350 million worldwide since then, was one of the first animated films to use some digital animation. That helped greatly in the 3D conversion. Among the most notable new attributes:

- Belle’s opening number walking across bridge and into village is filled with so many shots showcasing 3D that it looks to have been originally designed that way.
- Extravagant “Be Our Guest” number does not disappoint with obvious 3D benefits of dancing plates
- Signature “Beauty and the Beast” ballroom dance even begins with dazzling display 0f 3D from bottom and top of staircase.

Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which had an exclusive five-day window at IMAX theaters last month, picked up another $14.2 mil. this weekend, increasing total domestic box-office to close to $190 million, surpassing the original movie in the series.

Another 3D movie, “The Adventures of Tintin,” picked up another  $4.4 million, bring the domestic gross total-to-date to $68.9 million.

– By Scott Hettrick

A 38% jump in Blu-ray household penetration push Blu-ray compatible devices into 40 million U.S. homes by the end of the year.

Helping spark Blu-ray sales were the continued growth of HDTV sales, another 27 million sold in 2011, expanding penetration to more than 74.5 million U.S. households.

Also contributing to Blu-ray sales, the number of 3D Blu-ray releases tripled to 45 (65 overall in market now), with unit sales increasing more than six times in the same period.

The five top-selling titles of 2011 sold more than 2 million copies each. The top-selling Blu-ray titles in 2011, according to Nielsen VideoScan First Alert:

1. Harry Potter – Deathly Hallows, Part 1
2. Harry Potter – Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (available in 3D)
3. Tangled (available in 3D)
4. Cars 2 (available in 3D)
5. Transformers – Dark of Moon
6. Bridesmaids
7. Rio
8. The Help
9. Lion King (available in 3D)
10. Hangover Part 2

Total consumer spending on home filmed entertainment in 2011 was down more than 2% to $18 billion, including digital and electronic downloads and video-on-demand services, but it rose nearly one percent in the second half of the year and 5% in the third quarter alone — the first quarterly increase since 2008.

– By Scott Hettrick

Among examples of Panasonic’s new 3D products:

• Panasonic and NBC Sports Group will partner to make the London 2012 Olympic Games available in 3D to all cable, satellite and telco systems, the first time that the Olympic Games will be distributed in the U.S. in 3D. More than 200 hours of 3D broadcasts will be produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services and shown on next-day delay, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, gymnastics, diving and swimming.
• Sixteen of the manufacturer’s 17 plasma TVs for 2012 feature the 3D technology.
• Five of the 14 LED/LCD HDTVs provide 3D capability.
• Four of the six Blu-ray Disc players in the 2012 line are Full HD 3D.
• Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory (PHL) authors and masters many 3D Blu-ray Discs.
• Panasonic’s AG-3DA1, the industry’s first fully integrated 3D camcorder recording to SD Memory cards, was used aboard the historic, final mission of the NASA Space Shuttle voyage and is routinely used in sports and other 3D television production.
• A full line of 3D capable consumers and LUMIX digital cameras are available, and their images can then be easily shown on a Smart VIERA 3D HDTV.
• Panasonic’s first Full HD 3D home theater projector, the PT-AE7000U.
• Panasonic formally establishes its 3D Innovation Center this week, located in Hollywood at PHL, to engage with the entertainment and broadcast communities to enhance 3D production technologies and work flow and to foster collaboration with industry partners to develop new applications for 3D technologies.

“Panasonic is in the unique position of being involved in all areas of 3D, from production to what you see in your living room. We are 100% committed to the technology and confident in the knowledge that 3D TV is actually of to a faster start than the implementation of HDTV. For example there are multiple full time 3D channels available on cable and satellite, not to mention the large and varied content on 3D Blu-ray Discs. Also, the continuing popularity and number of theatrical releases can only bode well for the in-home acceptance,” said Eisuke Tsuyzaki, Panasonic Corporation of North America Chief Technology Officer. “

Regarding Panasonic’s commitment to bring the Olympics to home viewers in 3D, Panasonic North America Chairman & CEO Joseph M. Taylor said, “Full HD 3D is ideal for capturing the true spectacle of Olympic competition and the pageantry of Olympic ceremonies, and we are excited to… deliver to home viewers an unprecedented 3D Olympic experience that will make them feel as though they are right there with the world’s finest athletes as they compete.”

Among the International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards collected by Panasonic this week:

• Video Displays category honoree: TC-P55VT50, 55-inch class Full HD 3D Plasma HDTV, which converts 2D-to-3D
• Video Components category Best of Innovation winner and Honoree in the Eco-Design and Sustainable Technologies category: Panasonic DMP-BDT320 3D Blu-ray Disc player, half the size of previous models.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment‘s “Rio” was named Blu-ray 3D Title of the Year in the DEG Creative Excellence Awards for 2011.
Other winners included Theatrical Title of the Year “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″ from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group; and a tie for Classic Title of the Year: “Ben Hur: Ultimate Collector’s Edition” from Warner, and “Star Wars: The Complete Saga” from Fox.
Warner’s AC/DC: Let There Be Rock was named Music Title of the Year.
The judging panel for Blu-ray titles, nominated by the motion picture studio and music company members of the DEG, consisted of reviewers and industry reporters from trade, entertainment and daily consumer news organizations. In addition to overall sound and picture quality, all titles were considered for those features that best demonstrate the value-added nature of the format.

Other awards announced during the DEG”s 15th annual reception:

Pioneer’s Elite Music Tap System (X-SMC4-BK) won the DEG Emiel N. Petrone Digital Innovation Award for Best Digital Media Product.
Sony Electronics‘ VPL-VW1000ES Projector was the recipient of the DEG Emiel N. Petrone Digital Innovation Award for Most Innovative Home Enterainment Product.

– By Scott Hettrick

IMAX Corp. and Paramount Pictures today announced that the film has generated approximately $33.1 mil. domestically and $13 mil. overseas in IMAX theatres, or nearly 13% of the overall gross of $367 million worldwide for the most popular film of the holiday season.

Over the four-day New Year’s weekend, the movie generated $6.1 mil domestically in IMAX theatres and $2.7 mil. internationally.

“With ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ leading the box office this holiday season, it is clear that movie-goers responded very favorably to the IMAX early engagement strategy,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond.

“We believe the film’s success demonstrates how IMAX is bringing ‘must-see’ back to movie-going,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment.

IMAX worldwide gross box office for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011 was approximately $98 million ($54.3 million domestically and $43.7 million internationally).

The IMAX release of this fourth installment of Mission: Impossible features 27-minutes of scenes filmed with IMAX cameras. Exclusively in IMAX, these sequences expand to fill the entire screen.

– By Scott Hettrick

Also debuting Wednesday, Dec. 21, is Steven Spielberg’s motion-capture “The Adventures of Tintin,” in both IMAX and 3D.

– By Scott Hettrick

And what an effect; midway through the film the screen image enlarges to show the vast vista of the desert via a helicopter-type shot flying into Dubai, with every bit of the seven-story height of the screen filled to give a proper sense of awe for the 160-story Burj Khalifa tower just before the camera swoops to the top and tilts to give the audience a look down. It’s not long before the eye-popping view includes Tom Cruise performing stunts on the outside of the building 130-stories high.
This is where the other advantage of IMAX kicks in: the screen image is so large that it fills your entire field of view, enormously heightening the impact and thrill. This is the definition of being immersed in the experience.

The only thing that would have created an even bigger impact would have been to present these scenes in 3D as well.
<Review continues below following video of director Bird explaining about shooting in IMAX and showing video highlights…>

The movie’s jolting pre-title sequence featuring Josh Holloway (Sawyer from “Lost”) in a rather surprising role begins in full-screen format before scaling back to a more standard (but still larger than normal) widescreen rectangular shape. Thereafter Bird seems to rather arbitrarily switch back to the full-screen format for the iconic fuse-burning title sequence and a couple other sequences before later adopting the format specifically for the most visually compelling sequences, including chases and action scenes.

It’s not just the IMAX scenes that are visually compelling: Cruise’s Impossible Mission Force cohort played by Paula Patton is a knockout when dressed to the nines in low-cut, one-shoulder dress and delivers vicious knockout blows to anyone who gets in her way. She’s pretty much the perfect action-movie actress package.
And Cruise’s sleek new ride, the BMW i8 with the see-through doors, is nearly as eye-catching.
Cruise still looks pretty darn good himself, at least when he is wearing clothes (his bare chest, stomach, and arms are starting to show some age) and when donning sunglasses reminiscent of “Risky Business.”
And Jeremy Renner (“The Hurt Locker”) is a nice addition as a slightly brooding and mysterious new member of the team.

Bird takes a risk by extending the movie well beyond the concluding action climax but the gamble pays off when he scores an unexpectedly poignant moment.

The attempted humor, particularly near the beginning with Simon Pegg returning five years after the last installment in this series as the goofy techno-nerd, doesn’t always work, and some of the storyline and plot elements seem a little more superfluous and less convincing than the J.J. Abrams-directed “Mission: Impossible 3,” still the best in the franchise.

But none of that matters much. “Ghost Protocol,” especially with the IMAX enhancements, offers the biggest thrills and the most fun you will have in a movie theater throughout the entire holiday season.
And that experience will begin exclusively in 300 domestic IMAX theaters this Friday, Dec. 16, and 200 international IMAX theaters this week, before the Paramount Pictures release opens in traditional cinemas five days later on Dec. 21.

– By Scott Hettrick

Sony’s 3D Blu-ray of “The Smurfs” ($45.99) offers a very good 3D representation of the computer-animated movie that generated more than half-a-billion dollars in theaters worldwide last summer. Once again the 3D on the home version is perhaps even more vibrant and visually dynamic than in theaters.

<Story continues following the 3-minutes of video highlights below from a Sony Pictures Home Entertainment media day at Sony Pictures Animation in Culver City to demonstrate the many bonus features, especially those accessible via the Internet and mobile devices…>

Oddly not included in the 3D Blu-ray set is an original new half-hour cartoon on the other Blu-ay sets called “The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol” that cleverly resurrects the original TV-style animation to distinguish the dream sequences from the present-day scenes in the new computer-animation.

– By Scott Hettrick