Sporting events captivate viewers everywhere, whether they are showing a competition or an athlete doing the impossible, but enticing an audience through a sports film in the same way can be a difficult task. It’s up to the cinematographers to bring a unique point of view that will highlight the tension and drama, and put viewers on the edge of their seats.
Creed III brings a surreal visual flair to the boxing ring for Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut. The story of Diana Nyad’s 102-mile swim comes to life through complicated lighting and camera techniques in Nyad. Michael Mann’s Ferrari documents the thrills, and very real dangers, of racing, with scenes shot at high speed with no green screen.
Michael B. Jordan in ‘Creed III’
Creed III
When working with first-time directors, bringing their vision to life can be sometimes be a challenge. However, Creed IIIcinematographer...
Creed III brings a surreal visual flair to the boxing ring for Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut. The story of Diana Nyad’s 102-mile swim comes to life through complicated lighting and camera techniques in Nyad. Michael Mann’s Ferrari documents the thrills, and very real dangers, of racing, with scenes shot at high speed with no green screen.
Michael B. Jordan in ‘Creed III’
Creed III
When working with first-time directors, bringing their vision to life can be sometimes be a challenge. However, Creed IIIcinematographer...
- 12/9/2023
- by Ryan Fleming
- Deadline Film + TV
Underwater cinematographer Peter Zuccarini has worked on some of the biggest movies of all time and swam with sharks (“Into the Blue”) and crocodiles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) to get his shots, so one might think that a modest character study about a 60-year-old swimmer trying to fulfill a youthful ambition wouldn’t have anything new to offer him. Yet according to Zuccarini, telling the true story of Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) and her 110-mile swim between Cuba and Florida in Netflix’s “Nyad” offered him satisfaction unlike any he had ever experienced on set.
“Watching the movie I was thinking to myself, ‘I have never done this before,'” Zuccarini told IndieWire. “I’ve never been able to move a camera around someone so closely.” Indeed, one of the great strengths of “Nyad” is the intimate access that it gives the viewer to Diana’s emotional experience in the water,...
“Watching the movie I was thinking to myself, ‘I have never done this before,'” Zuccarini told IndieWire. “I’ve never been able to move a camera around someone so closely.” Indeed, one of the great strengths of “Nyad” is the intimate access that it gives the viewer to Diana’s emotional experience in the water,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Diana Nyad was a swimming legend, a stellar athlete in the 1970s who achieved the heights of her sport, and then went on to a successful decades-long career in the broadcast booth for ABC Sports, ESPN, and elsewhere.
The new movie Nyad is not about any of that. In this regard, the film, a first narrative effort from Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, has something in common with Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, which premiered today in Venice. Neither movie is a traditional biopic about their title subject, but rather a movie with a singular focus that digs much deeper into the weeds to discover what drove them and made them who they were.
For a film revolving around an athlete, making this the story of a champion who starts all over at age 60 is decidedly an un-Hollywood-like thing to do. The fact...
The new movie Nyad is not about any of that. In this regard, the film, a first narrative effort from Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, has something in common with Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, which premiered today in Venice. Neither movie is a traditional biopic about their title subject, but rather a movie with a singular focus that digs much deeper into the weeds to discover what drove them and made them who they were.
For a film revolving around an athlete, making this the story of a champion who starts all over at age 60 is decidedly an un-Hollywood-like thing to do. The fact...
- 9/2/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Underwater director of photography Peter Zuccarini first ingratiated himself to “Avatar: The Way of Water” director James Cameron by finding a straightforward solution to a difficult problem in their first interview. The director and his team had been wrestling with how to shoot performance capture underwater when the bubbles from scuba gear interfered with the markers on the actors’ bodies and faces. “He had been working on all these incredibly interesting technological solutions,” Zuccarini told IndieWire, “but when he explained to me that the actors would be training to do long breath holds so that they could perform underwater I said, ‘Well, if the actors are doing breath holds why don’t we do breath holds with them and avoid the limitations of technology? We’ll just assemble a team of world-class freediving cameramen.’”
Zuccarini has long been the go-to cameraman for filmmakers who need difficult underwater shots – he was...
Zuccarini has long been the go-to cameraman for filmmakers who need difficult underwater shots – he was...
- 12/15/2022
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The cover story of our 2013 Fall issue, All is Lost proved a herculean exercise in filmmaking. Nearly dialogue free, J.C. Chandor’s sophomore feature plots its arc from the timeless motif of man versus nature, miraculously abstaining from repetition. Chandor exhibits a clear confidence in silence, allowing the surroundings and sun-stained face of Mr. Robert Redford to propel the story forward. Despite its effortless looks, making the movie was surely no cakewalk. In this behind the scenes video from HitFix, key players including underwater d.p. Peter Zuccarini, production designer John P. Goldsmith and editor Pete Beaudreau discuss their experiences in realizing […]...
- 1/3/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The cover story of our 2013 Fall issue, All is Lost proved a herculean exercise in filmmaking. Nearly dialogue free, J.C. Chandor’s sophomore feature plots its arc from the timeless motif of man versus nature, miraculously abstaining from repetition. Chandor exhibits a clear confidence in silence, allowing the surroundings and sun-stained face of Mr. Robert Redford to propel the story forward. Despite its effortless looks, making the movie was surely no cakewalk. In this behind the scenes video from HitFix, key players including underwater d.p. Peter Zuccarini, production designer John P. Goldsmith and editor Pete Beaudreau discuss their experiences in realizing […]...
- 1/3/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced the winners for the 2013 Eda (Excellent Dynamic Activism) Awards! And predictably, by now, Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" took the top honors with McQueen taking home the best director trophy, and Lupita Nyong'o the best supporting actress honor.
The great team of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto for "Dallas Buyers Club" emerged victorious with their wins for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively.
Nicole Holofcener's "Enough Said" won two for best woman director and woman screenwriter for Holofcener.
Ridley Scott's "The Counselor," on the other hand, did not get love...at all! It won the Hall of Shame and The Movie You Wanted to Love But Just Couldn't awards. Its star, Cameron Diaz took home the Actress Most in Need of a New Agent award. Yikes! But they're true though!
Here are the nominees and winners (bolded) of...
The great team of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto for "Dallas Buyers Club" emerged victorious with their wins for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively.
Nicole Holofcener's "Enough Said" won two for best woman director and woman screenwriter for Holofcener.
Ridley Scott's "The Counselor," on the other hand, did not get love...at all! It won the Hall of Shame and The Movie You Wanted to Love But Just Couldn't awards. Its star, Cameron Diaz took home the Actress Most in Need of a New Agent award. Yikes! But they're true though!
Here are the nominees and winners (bolded) of...
- 12/20/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced the nominees for the 2013 Eda (Excellent Dynamic Activism) Awards! The nominees are in line with the current favorites but I love their Special Mention section with categories like Actress Most In Need Of A New Agent -- we're looking at you Cameron Diaz!
Winners will be announced next week, but for now, here's the full list of nominees of the 2013 Eda Awards from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists:
Awfj Best Of Awards
Best Film
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Best Director (Female or Male)
Joel and Ethan Coen . Inside Llewyn Davis
Alfonso Cuaron . Gravity
Spike Jonze - Her
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne . Nebraska
David O. Russell . American Hustle
Best Screenplay, Original
American Hustle . Eric Singer and David O. Russell
Enough Said . Nicole Holofcener
Her . Spike Jonze
Inside Llewyn Davis . Joel and Ethan Cohen...
Winners will be announced next week, but for now, here's the full list of nominees of the 2013 Eda Awards from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists:
Awfj Best Of Awards
Best Film
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Best Director (Female or Male)
Joel and Ethan Coen . Inside Llewyn Davis
Alfonso Cuaron . Gravity
Spike Jonze - Her
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne . Nebraska
David O. Russell . American Hustle
Best Screenplay, Original
American Hustle . Eric Singer and David O. Russell
Enough Said . Nicole Holofcener
Her . Spike Jonze
Inside Llewyn Davis . Joel and Ethan Cohen...
- 12/16/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Stars: Robert Redford | Written and Directed by J.C. Chandor
There are many ways to tell a story. Certain stories focus on the use of words to translate unique experiences to general audiences. In rare occasions, like J.C. Chandor’s latest film All Is Lost, actions not words convey nearly every aspect of the narrative. In order to articulate such a tale effectively you need superb filmmaking of the highest order, otherwise you are left with a drab avant garde project that leaves the viewer disinterested and bored. With All Is Lost Chandor constructs a gripping account of one man’s lone fight for survival. Robert Redford is the best he has been in decades, and shows the true art of acting is an internal delivery of emotional struggle.
There is a great deal of genius in the film’s simplicity. Narratively it can be summed up in only a few sentences.
There are many ways to tell a story. Certain stories focus on the use of words to translate unique experiences to general audiences. In rare occasions, like J.C. Chandor’s latest film All Is Lost, actions not words convey nearly every aspect of the narrative. In order to articulate such a tale effectively you need superb filmmaking of the highest order, otherwise you are left with a drab avant garde project that leaves the viewer disinterested and bored. With All Is Lost Chandor constructs a gripping account of one man’s lone fight for survival. Robert Redford is the best he has been in decades, and shows the true art of acting is an internal delivery of emotional struggle.
There is a great deal of genius in the film’s simplicity. Narratively it can be summed up in only a few sentences.
- 12/8/2013
- by Dan Clark
- Nerdly
The most iconic moment, arguably, from Robert Redford’s acting career is a scene from the middle of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Redford) evade their pursuers on the side of a cliff that overlooks a river full of rocks and rapids. Butch offers to escape the chase by jumping into the river. Sundance refuses. He yells, “I can’t swim!” to a cackling Butch. “Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill ya,” Butch tells him. A moment later, the two outlaws jump into the river, with the Sundance Kid yelling a high-pitched curse word.
45 years later, Robert Redford once again plunges into stormy seas in All Is Lost, J.C. Chandor’s sophomore feature. Almost the exact opposite of Chandor’s dialogue-heavy debut, Margin Call, which boasted a big ensemble cast, All Is Lost stars one actor (Redford) without a character name and contains almost no dialogue.
45 years later, Robert Redford once again plunges into stormy seas in All Is Lost, J.C. Chandor’s sophomore feature. Almost the exact opposite of Chandor’s dialogue-heavy debut, Margin Call, which boasted a big ensemble cast, All Is Lost stars one actor (Redford) without a character name and contains almost no dialogue.
- 10/15/2013
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
Smell ya later, Rob! The ‘Twilight’ mega-star is rumored to be the next face of Dior Men’s Fragrances. The deal is reportedly a huge one that could net Rob as much as $12 million over three years! Read more details about the new business deal below.
Coming off the finale of the Twilight series, Robert Pattinson is looking to diversify. Reports say that the actor has filmed a new advertisement for French fashion house Dior’s Men’s Fragrances. While Rob has been rumored to be the new face of Dior’s Men’s Fragrances since October of 2012, it seems the rumor is gaining even more steam.
Robert Pattinson’s Dior Commercial — Info Released At Cannes?
The British-born Twilight star has allegedly filmed a new advertisement for Christian Dior as the new face of the fashion line’s male fragrances. While rumors of Rob being the next face of Dior...
Coming off the finale of the Twilight series, Robert Pattinson is looking to diversify. Reports say that the actor has filmed a new advertisement for French fashion house Dior’s Men’s Fragrances. While Rob has been rumored to be the new face of Dior’s Men’s Fragrances since October of 2012, it seems the rumor is gaining even more steam.
Robert Pattinson’s Dior Commercial — Info Released At Cannes?
The British-born Twilight star has allegedly filmed a new advertisement for Christian Dior as the new face of the fashion line’s male fragrances. While rumors of Rob being the next face of Dior...
- 5/29/2013
- by HL Intern
- HollywoodLife
Here’s a first look at All Is Lost. Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions, Academy Award-winner Robert Redford, and Academy Award-nominated writer/director J.C. Chandor (Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Margin Call) jointly announced that principal photography has wrapped on the open water thriller All Is Lost at Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico. Chandor wrote and directed the film, and Redford stars in a solo performance of one man lost at sea and his battle against the elements to stay alive. Before The Door Pictures. Neal Dodson and Washington Square Films. Anna Gerb are producing.
“After an intense two months of shooting on the water, we.re headed home and have finished production on schedule,. said Dodson and Gerb. .Jc is making an audacious film with a brave performance at its center.”
The director of photography is Frankie DeMarco and the editor is Pete Beaudreau, both of whom collaborated with Chandor on Margin Call.
“After an intense two months of shooting on the water, we.re headed home and have finished production on schedule,. said Dodson and Gerb. .Jc is making an audacious film with a brave performance at its center.”
The director of photography is Frankie DeMarco and the editor is Pete Beaudreau, both of whom collaborated with Chandor on Margin Call.
- 8/8/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Pretty people suit up in skimpy swimsuits under the crystal blue waters of the Bahamas in India's most expensive ($21 million) film to date. Although "Blue" has been promoted aggressively for months, this year's big Diwali holiday release is up against an urban love story and an eagerly awaited big-name comedy that will likely leave "Blue's" revenues high and dry.Aarav (Akshay Kumar), the playboy owner of a shipping company, and his business partner and best friend, Sagar (Sanjay Dutt), battle over whether to dive for the biggest secret cache of treasure in the Caribbean. When Sagar's estranged little brother (Zayed Khan) shows up fresh from Bangkok, trailed by a drug lord demanding $50 million, Aarav and Sagar decide to take the plunge and search for the sunken vessel.Two love interests -- elegant former Miss Universe Lara Dutta and the ubiquitous Katrina Kaif -- catch the...
- 10/20/2009
- Filmicafe
The most hyped 'Diwali' release, Blue, boasts of international names like James Bomalik (action) and Peter Zuccarini (Dop underwater). Since action sequences form an important part of the taut action drama, the best person to talk about it is obviously the action director, James Bomalik. During the course of discussion, it was but obvious that James would mention Akshay 'Khiladi' Kumar, and that he did. He told us, "I really enjoyed working with Akshay. His skills matched that...
- 10/12/2009
- GlamSham
More than two decades after finishing college, Akshay had to go back to reading in order to prepare for his role in Blue. Laughs Akshay, "Can you beat that? I had to read books around underwater. Tony made me do so much for this film. It was further hard work because there are minimal special effects. In fact not a single shot has been taken against a green screen. My cameraman, Peter Zuccarini, who is famous for underwater swimming also helped me a lot. I thought I knew swimmi...
- 10/2/2009
- GlamSham
Akshay Kumar says when .Blue. director Anthony D.Souza approached him for the underwater thriller, the first thing he asked him was .Are you capable of making the movie?.. Touted to be India.s first underwater film, which is said to match international standards of filmmaking, .Blue. promises to bring with it some never-seen-before visuals and stunts..The first thing I did was to look straight into his eyes and ask him - .Do you actually think you are capable enough of making a film of this scale, genre and setting? You may say that you want to shoot the film in space or on the moon, but saying something and doing it are two different things. So how will you actually shoot the film?..As things turned out, D.Souza had done his homework well in advance and showed some of his work from the past, which included certain...
- 9/29/2009
- Filmicafe
>Dive deep into the ocean of this talented group and start an adventurous expedition to uncover the treasures hidden under the sea.
Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan – what a casting coup You know them well…
In the deepest of the Blue, sway to the music of Acadamy Awards and Bafta winner A. R. Rahman. A musical wizard, who has made history itself, proud by entering its pages time and again.
Rock to the energy of the international sensation Kylie Minogue who not only croons but moves with her enchanting persona. You won’t be able to get her out of your head.
Let Pete Zuccarini, take you deep down to introduce you to the underwater heaven that is Blue - the man who has done breathtaking.
Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan – what a casting coup You know them well…
In the deepest of the Blue, sway to the music of Acadamy Awards and Bafta winner A. R. Rahman. A musical wizard, who has made history itself, proud by entering its pages time and again.
Rock to the energy of the international sensation Kylie Minogue who not only croons but moves with her enchanting persona. You won’t be able to get her out of your head.
Let Pete Zuccarini, take you deep down to introduce you to the underwater heaven that is Blue - the man who has done breathtaking.
- 3/5/2009
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Venturing into the xenophobic terrain that helped to make Eli Roth's Hostel a unique horror destination, John Stockwell's Turistas takes full advantage of its intoxicatingly exotic backdrop -- it's the first American production shot entirely in Brazil -- to spin the creepy saga of a group of gringos whose fun-in-the-sun vacation turns deadly.
But while Stockwell effectively builds an unsettling, stifling atmosphere, layering all that impending dread on a workable foundation of chaotic culture shock and language barriers, it all begins to fall apart around the midway point, before completely unraveling into a confused, murky mess.
There's still enough good stuff to cut into a decent trailer, and that could be enough -- combined with those Turistas Go Home posters that have been popping up all over the place -- to initially draw young males lured by the promise of nude sunbathers and graphic gore, but word-of-mouth likely will ensure that this Fox Atomic release has a brief theatrical layover before taking the red eye to Blockbuster.
Among those heading up a treacherous mountain road in a speeding, rickety bus are reluctant traveler Alex (Josh Duhamel), his more gung-ho sister Bea (Olivia Wilde), her best friend Amy (Beau Garrett), lecherous Brits Finn (Desmond Askew) and Liam (Max Brown) and the bilingual Pru (Melissa George).
Not surprisingly, their reckless driver succeeds in totaling the vehicle, stranding the passengers somewhere between Rio and Sao Paulo. It turns out they're within walking distance of a cabana bar, where a group of them decide to dance and drink the night away.
Bad idea. They regain consciousness the next morning to discover they had been drugged and robbed of all their possessions.
Worse idea: They allow themselves to be led by a charismatic local (Agles Steib) deep into the Brazilian jungle and right into the lair of a gringo-hating, psychotic but righteous surgeon (Miguel Lunardi) in the business of black market organ transplants.
Up until this pivotal point, Stockwell and first-time scripter Michael Arlen Ross evocatively set the stage for all the impending nastiness, only to squander all that mounting tension in the translation.
Ironically, it's the very element that has been Stockwell's stock in trade (as in Blue Crush and Into the Blue) that proves to be the film's major undoing: a protracted, dimly lit underwater escape sequence that is as dull as it is confusing.
It comes after another series of dark, hard-to-follow scenes leading to the speculation that they blew the lighting budget early on in the shoot.
The muddy results come in sharp contrast to the earlier, vibrant daylight sequences shot by Enrique Chediak and underwater cinematographer Peter Zuccarini that manage to find a suitably sinister undercurrent in all that warmly beckoning sunshine.
But while Stockwell effectively builds an unsettling, stifling atmosphere, layering all that impending dread on a workable foundation of chaotic culture shock and language barriers, it all begins to fall apart around the midway point, before completely unraveling into a confused, murky mess.
There's still enough good stuff to cut into a decent trailer, and that could be enough -- combined with those Turistas Go Home posters that have been popping up all over the place -- to initially draw young males lured by the promise of nude sunbathers and graphic gore, but word-of-mouth likely will ensure that this Fox Atomic release has a brief theatrical layover before taking the red eye to Blockbuster.
Among those heading up a treacherous mountain road in a speeding, rickety bus are reluctant traveler Alex (Josh Duhamel), his more gung-ho sister Bea (Olivia Wilde), her best friend Amy (Beau Garrett), lecherous Brits Finn (Desmond Askew) and Liam (Max Brown) and the bilingual Pru (Melissa George).
Not surprisingly, their reckless driver succeeds in totaling the vehicle, stranding the passengers somewhere between Rio and Sao Paulo. It turns out they're within walking distance of a cabana bar, where a group of them decide to dance and drink the night away.
Bad idea. They regain consciousness the next morning to discover they had been drugged and robbed of all their possessions.
Worse idea: They allow themselves to be led by a charismatic local (Agles Steib) deep into the Brazilian jungle and right into the lair of a gringo-hating, psychotic but righteous surgeon (Miguel Lunardi) in the business of black market organ transplants.
Up until this pivotal point, Stockwell and first-time scripter Michael Arlen Ross evocatively set the stage for all the impending nastiness, only to squander all that mounting tension in the translation.
Ironically, it's the very element that has been Stockwell's stock in trade (as in Blue Crush and Into the Blue) that proves to be the film's major undoing: a protracted, dimly lit underwater escape sequence that is as dull as it is confusing.
It comes after another series of dark, hard-to-follow scenes leading to the speculation that they blew the lighting budget early on in the shoot.
The muddy results come in sharp contrast to the earlier, vibrant daylight sequences shot by Enrique Chediak and underwater cinematographer Peter Zuccarini that manage to find a suitably sinister undercurrent in all that warmly beckoning sunshine.
- 12/1/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When under water, the action-adventure "Into the Blue" has genuine thrills. Above water or on dry land, this is one dead fish.
Columbia Pictures inherited "Blue" in its acquisition of MGM, which may explain why the studio didn't bother to release a movie about diving in the Bahamas during the summer season. The generous coverage of the bodies of stars Jessica Alba and Paul Walker will draw a young crowd opening weekend, but story and dialogue are too weak to keep the action-adventure afloat for long. By winter, though, the film may resurface as a vicarious pleasure for those unable to afford plane tickets to sunnier climes.
Exec producer Peter Guber's first outing as a producer came with "The Deep" (1977), a movie about Caribbean vacationers, treasure hunters and Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-shirt. So these are familiar waters for Guber. Certainly, he makes certain Alba and co-star Ashley Scott rarely wear clothes other than bikinis.
The movie's other hard bodies belong to swarming, circling sharks ever present in nearly every underwater scene. The actors all dive with seeming ease amid these predators, so credit shark and diving Master Stuart Cove and an underwater second unit headed by director Peter Zuccarini and photographer Bob Talbot with jobs well done. The underwater fights, emergencies and shark attacks are executed and edited to maximize verisimilitude. Would that the film never came up for air.
Granted, most thrillers require characters to make errors in judgment. But "Blue" relies almost exclusively on the monumental stupidity and callousness of characters played by Scott Caan and Ashley Scott. The heroes, Jared Cole (Walker) and Samantha "Sam" Nicholson (Alba), are stable though poor folks, living an unbothered, idyllic life on a tropical beach next to Jared's leaky boat. Well, maybe not too stable as Jared quits/gets fired from his job as a scuba-diving instructor.
What really changes the couple's lives, though, is a visit by old pal Bryce (Caan), supposedly a hotshot New York attorney who says "bro" way off often to be convincing as anything other than a dumb, out-of-his-element playboy. He arrives with Amanda (Scott), whom he apparently picked up on the way to the airport. A mobster client has loaned him a seaside villa and luxury yacht, which allows all four to go on a treasure hunt.
Hurricane season stirs up wrecks on the ocean floor, so our intrepid quartet immediately happens upon two wrecks. One's a Civil War-era ship. The other arrived at the bottom only days before -- a plane carrying a shipment of cocaine. Not wanting their first discovery, rumored to carry a fortune in gold, to turn into a crime scene by the second discovery, the group makes the dubious decision to keep quiet about both.
Worse, though, Bryce -- remember, he is supposed to be a lawyer -- sees no reason why they should not fund their salvage efforts by pilfering some of the illegal drugs and selling them on the island. Jared and Sam say no. But this fails to stop Bryce and Amanda from taking a midnight dive to the plane. Before you can say "predictable," the owners of the illegal shipment have captured the duo.
Athleticism, not acting, is required from the stars, and here they come through in style. The chases and fights above and below the water are as effective as they are preposterous. After a languid start, director John Stockwell, an avid surfer and diver who made the surfing movie "Blue Crush", revs up the action so as not to dwell on the increasing foolishness of Matt Johnson's screenplay.
Tech credits are smooth.
INTO THE BLUE
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures and MGM present a Mandalay Pictures production
Credits:
Director: John Stockwell
Screenwriter: Matt Johnson
Producer: David A. Zelon
Executive producers: Peter Guber, Louis G. Friedman, Matt Luber, Ori Marmur
Director of photography: Shane Hurlbut
Production designer: Maia Javan
Music: Paul Hanslinger
Costumes: Leesa Evans
Editor: Nicolas De Toth, Dennis Virkler
Cast:
Jared: Paul Walker
Sam: Jessica Alba
Bryce: Scott Caan
Amanda: Ashley Scott
Bates: Josh Brolin
Reyes: James Frain
Primo: Tyson Beckford
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 109 minutes...
Columbia Pictures inherited "Blue" in its acquisition of MGM, which may explain why the studio didn't bother to release a movie about diving in the Bahamas during the summer season. The generous coverage of the bodies of stars Jessica Alba and Paul Walker will draw a young crowd opening weekend, but story and dialogue are too weak to keep the action-adventure afloat for long. By winter, though, the film may resurface as a vicarious pleasure for those unable to afford plane tickets to sunnier climes.
Exec producer Peter Guber's first outing as a producer came with "The Deep" (1977), a movie about Caribbean vacationers, treasure hunters and Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-shirt. So these are familiar waters for Guber. Certainly, he makes certain Alba and co-star Ashley Scott rarely wear clothes other than bikinis.
The movie's other hard bodies belong to swarming, circling sharks ever present in nearly every underwater scene. The actors all dive with seeming ease amid these predators, so credit shark and diving Master Stuart Cove and an underwater second unit headed by director Peter Zuccarini and photographer Bob Talbot with jobs well done. The underwater fights, emergencies and shark attacks are executed and edited to maximize verisimilitude. Would that the film never came up for air.
Granted, most thrillers require characters to make errors in judgment. But "Blue" relies almost exclusively on the monumental stupidity and callousness of characters played by Scott Caan and Ashley Scott. The heroes, Jared Cole (Walker) and Samantha "Sam" Nicholson (Alba), are stable though poor folks, living an unbothered, idyllic life on a tropical beach next to Jared's leaky boat. Well, maybe not too stable as Jared quits/gets fired from his job as a scuba-diving instructor.
What really changes the couple's lives, though, is a visit by old pal Bryce (Caan), supposedly a hotshot New York attorney who says "bro" way off often to be convincing as anything other than a dumb, out-of-his-element playboy. He arrives with Amanda (Scott), whom he apparently picked up on the way to the airport. A mobster client has loaned him a seaside villa and luxury yacht, which allows all four to go on a treasure hunt.
Hurricane season stirs up wrecks on the ocean floor, so our intrepid quartet immediately happens upon two wrecks. One's a Civil War-era ship. The other arrived at the bottom only days before -- a plane carrying a shipment of cocaine. Not wanting their first discovery, rumored to carry a fortune in gold, to turn into a crime scene by the second discovery, the group makes the dubious decision to keep quiet about both.
Worse, though, Bryce -- remember, he is supposed to be a lawyer -- sees no reason why they should not fund their salvage efforts by pilfering some of the illegal drugs and selling them on the island. Jared and Sam say no. But this fails to stop Bryce and Amanda from taking a midnight dive to the plane. Before you can say "predictable," the owners of the illegal shipment have captured the duo.
Athleticism, not acting, is required from the stars, and here they come through in style. The chases and fights above and below the water are as effective as they are preposterous. After a languid start, director John Stockwell, an avid surfer and diver who made the surfing movie "Blue Crush", revs up the action so as not to dwell on the increasing foolishness of Matt Johnson's screenplay.
Tech credits are smooth.
INTO THE BLUE
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures and MGM present a Mandalay Pictures production
Credits:
Director: John Stockwell
Screenwriter: Matt Johnson
Producer: David A. Zelon
Executive producers: Peter Guber, Louis G. Friedman, Matt Luber, Ori Marmur
Director of photography: Shane Hurlbut
Production designer: Maia Javan
Music: Paul Hanslinger
Costumes: Leesa Evans
Editor: Nicolas De Toth, Dennis Virkler
Cast:
Jared: Paul Walker
Sam: Jessica Alba
Bryce: Scott Caan
Amanda: Ashley Scott
Bates: Josh Brolin
Reyes: James Frain
Primo: Tyson Beckford
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 109 minutes...
- 10/11/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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.