Shining Scott Hicks

Interview with Hicks at "The Hollywood Interview" / interview avec Scott Hicks sur le blog "The Hollywood Interview"

2009-09-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hollywood Interview, Alex Simon

Un entretien carrière très intéressant sur Hicks où il reviens en particulier sur ses débuts.

"I think being an independent film gives you more leeway in terms of being able to keep those rough edges in there. Whereas if you working with a bigger committee that was testing material or trying to second-guess what the audience were trying to hear, you end up sort of blandifying, and that’s where you fall into the trap of sentiment. "

"we did have one person suggest that we get a female writer to come in to do a polish on the script so we could have a “woman’s perspective.” And I was like ‘What’s the point of that? It’s from a man’s perspective! It’s about three guys!’ (laughs) You have to resist in those situations because it can run off the rails so easily."

"But the take-away is the idea that family is where the love is. It’s definitely not DNA, and it’s definitely not nuclear anymore. But it’s about the fact that this guy pieces together a shattered family, and that’s powerful to me."

"I remember vividly watching Max Von Sydow in Bergman’s films of the ‘50s and ‘60s, and to be able to work with him in Snow Falling on Cedars was like coming full circle. It was almost an indescribable feeling. He’s the most charming man. In that film, he’s defending this Japanese-American man who’s unjustly accused of murder. The young man I cast had never acted before, and was struggling, to be honest, and I was quite concerned. And I just watched Max sit with him for a month in that courtroom, and it was like a master class for this young man. Max was so kind to him, so encouraging, when he could have been quite disdainful, and been like “It’s all about me,” but he was the antithesis of that. People would come in just to work for a day or two, some really fine actors, to appear in the witness box, and I remember one of them just fell apart when confronted by Max, being cross-examined by him. Max was so generous and helpful to me, and the actor, in keeping his performance together. Not all actors are that generous. The best ones are, because they know that any scene is only good as the worst actor in it, so it’s useless trying to steal it. Well, when working on other people’s films, I’ve seen some very selfish actors who demand attention and ruin a film"

" I also worked on a little film of his called The Plumber, which was a telly movie. I’m actually in it. I walk out of an elevator at one point, since we didn’t have any extras, Peter cast me at the last minute. It’s a gem of a film, shot in three weeks on nothing, about $300,000. Anyway, Peter wanted to do some rehearsals with the key cast in the board room of the film corporation. He said “I need somebody to videotape these rehearsals. Are you interested?” And in those days, video cameras were the size of a suitcase, but I said ‘Of course!’ So I got to spend three days in this room with Peter and his key cast as he rehearsed them. At one point he looked back at my framing and said “You’re really getting into this, aren’t you?” (laughs) What a master class, you know?"

"[about "Glass"]But the defining moment of the film, which I won’t give away, comes early, and you see that his life isn’t all beer and Skittles. You see that in The Boys Are Back, too: the more technologically advanced we get, the more things like family get squeezed out into a tiny box. If there are prevailing themes in what I’m interested in, it would be those, I guess."

Interview with Hicks and Owen at Comingsoon.net/ Interview avec Hicks et Owen sur le site Comingsoon.net

2009-09-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Source: Comingsoon

"Here we have another film about someone trying to balance their life."

"I got sick of people saying, "Why do you take so long between movies?" (Laughs) No, look, it's been very energizing. "No Reservations" actually came about because it was one of those elements when Clive and I, we were on the verge of doing this film and suddenly, that changed. I took "No Reservations" as something that I wanted to do because I really had a year stretching ahead of me that I'd kept for "The Boys Are Back." Then "Glass" sort of happened in sync with that. Doing "Glass" completely re-energized me in a way, then both of us were available, and it was obviously the time to do this film. So I found it really refreshing to suddenly do a quick cycle of films, and I'm ready for the next."

Great premiere for "The Boys are Back" in Toronto/ Bel accueil pour "The Boys are Back" à Toronto

2009-09-16T02:14:00.000-07:00

Source: Adelaïde Now

C'est un superbe accueil qu'a reçu hier The Boys are Back à Toronto avec huit minutes de standing ovation selon Hicks, ravi que le film est si bien fonctionné devant ce public de 1200 personnes.

"On the phone after the screening Hicks said there had been an overwhelming response and an eight-minute standing ovation. [...]

“It was a wonderful screening for 1200 people,” said Hicks. “A huge audience and they just roared with laughter and then they were spellbound at the emotion. It was amazing to see it play the way it did.” "

Nouvelle critique positive/New good review:

Moviehole

Two new good reviews for "The Boys are Back"/ Deux nouvelles critiques positives pour "The Boys are Back"

2009-09-15T03:14:00.000-07:00

Le Hollywood Reporter (Kirt Honeycutt) et Justin Chang (Variety) livrent deux comptes-rendus positifs de The Boys are Back.

Source: Reuters

"Few films have so poignantly portrayed a father's relationships with his sons as "The Boys Are Back," a film by Scott Hicks that reminds you he once directed the luminescent "Shine.
Hicks builds the comic drama in meticulously observed, measured sequences from Cubitt's well-thought-out script. He is alert enough to the surrounding landscape to frame his story with wonderful images (courtesy of cinematographer Greig Fraser) of the family's rural home, nearby seaside, kids' play areas, sports arenas and, in the U.K. sequences, a boarding school and rugby pitch. You enjoy just looking at this film"

Source: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941078.html?categoryid=31&cs=1Variety

"Hicks here delivers an intimately scaled character piece that many will consider his finest work since 1996's "Shine." Besides an intuitive feel for contempo parent-child dynamics, embracing the sweet, still moments as well as the raucous ones, the filmmaker evinces an adroit sense of dramatic balance, generously coaxing emotion from the material without pushing too hard."

Hicks at the ADG Awards

2009-09-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Some buzz about "The Boys are Back" / Quelques échos autour de "The Boys are Back"

2009-09-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

La présentation au festival de Toronto approchant, quelques échos commencent à fleurir sur le net sur le film... Peut-être sera-ce le film de fiction le mieux accueillis par la critique du réalisateur depuis Shine? Merci à cinecing une nouvelle fois pour les liens sur imdb et le facebook! J'ai peu de temps pour ce blog en ce moment mais je vais tâcher de rendre compte le mieux possible de la sortie et de l'accueil du film!

There's some articles and buzz about The Boys are back near its Toronto Premiere. Is the film going to bring to Hicks his best reviews since Shine? Another time, thanks to cinecing for the links on imdb and the facebook! I don't have a lot of time for this blog at this time, but i'll follow the best i can all the stuffs about the film.

Selection:

Exclaim.ca

Hicks rose to fame in 1997 with two Oscar nominations for his biopic of David Helfgott, Shine; his record has been spotty at best since. The Boys Are Back may not garner that same kind of acclaim, given the difficulty of the subject matter, but those who see it will remember why he was recognized to begin with [...] [Joseph Belanger]

Emmanuel Levy.com

Since Shine, Hicks has directed a number of Hollywood features, ranging from Snow Falling on Cedars and Hearts in Atlantis to the recent No Reservations, but THE BOYS ARE BACK would bring Hicks himself back -- not only home to his beloved South Australia, but to the theme of family upheaval and the inner territory of personal transformations in the midst of an absurdly impossible situation. [...]

Comingsoon.net

What I like about this adaptation is that Hicks never gets too sensationalistic or melodramatic, instead handling the relatively difficult subject matter in a stark and honest way, always being very tasteful and artistic. He also perfectly utilizes the Australian environment as part of the story with equally gorgeous cinematography (by Greig Fraser, who also shot Jane Campion's film—see below) and music. None of that would matter if not for the head-turning performance by Owen and a similar breakthrough from Emma Booth, his son's pretty teacher who becomes his crutch in his efforts at being a parent and a provider. Even without being a parent, it's obvious how many fathers will be able to watch this movie and relate to the story, because it's an incredibly powerful and moving film. [...] [Edward Douglas]

Hicks to be honoured at the ADG Awards / Hommage à Scott Hicks aux ADG Awards

2009-09-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Source: Sky News

L'Australian Director Guild rendra hommage à Scott Hicks lors de son gala annuel le 10 septembre, en présence de Geoffrey Rush qui lui remettra un prix pour sa carrière.
Geoffrey Rush will present his Shine director Scott Hicks with an outstanding achievement award at the Australian Directors Guild (ADG) Awards next week.

"Geoffrey Rush will present his Shine director Scott Hicks with an outstanding achievement award at the Australian Directors Guild (ADG) Awards next week.
Hicks, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the film about pianist David Helfgott (played by Rush), will be recognised for his outstanding body of work at the event in Sydney on September 10.
The South Australian director has also made Snow Falling On Cedars and the documentary Glass: A Portrait of Philip in 12 Parts, and has recently completed his latest film The Boys Are Back, starring Clive Owen.
Three other filmmakers will also receive achievement awards.
Ken Cameron, who has directed some of Australia's most iconic series and films, including Bangkok Hilton, Brides of Christ, The Good Wife and Monkey Grip, will be honoured with the Michael Carson award for excellence in TV drama production.
Paul Cox will receive the Cecil Holmes Award for services to directors, while PJ Voeten will pick up the First Assistant Directors Award for his work on features such as Happy Feet and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
The remainder of the peer-assessed ADG Awards will be announced next week, where Serhat Caradee (Cedar Boys), Adam Elliot (Mary and Max), Glendyn Ivin (Last Ride) and Rachel Ward (Beautiful Kate) are up for best directing of a feature film."

Ma critique de "Glass a portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts"

2009-09-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

Through the Glasses

Outre une partie de sa carrière consacrée à la musique de films, Philip Glass ne laisse pas indifférent les cinéastes : après avoir été au cœur des 4 american composers de Peter Greenaway, c’est aujourd’hui Scott Hicks qui lui consacre un documentaire. Pour le réalisateur de Shine c’est un double retour aux « sources » : celles du documentaire, activité qui l’occupa une vingtaine d’année entre l’Australie et les Etats-Unis (où il fut à la tête de gros projets pour Discovery Channel, avec un Emmy Award à la clé) ; puis celles du portrait de musicien qui le fit découvrir dans la fiction en 1996. Glass a portrait of Philip in twelve parts s’est cependant développé comme un projet très atypique : si Hicks a rebondi sur une proposition faîtes d’un documentaire pour marquer le coup des 70 ans du compositeur, il s’agit d’une aventure très personnelle pour lui, très éloignée de l’idée de commande : c’est en ce sens ce qu’il offre de plus libre depuis son chef d’œuvre, La neige tombait sur les Cèdres en 1999 [...]

La suite sur Culturopoing

Clive Owen to appear at Mill Valley Film Festival / Clive Owen sera au festival de Mill Valley

2009-08-30T05:06:00.000-07:00

Source: SFGate

L'acteur présentera "The Boys are Back" au sein d'un hommage qui lui sera consacré, où il recevra par ailleurs un prix spécial.

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe-winning actor Clive Owen will be honored at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival, which opens Oct. 8. Owen, the star of such films as "Closer," "Croupier," "Inside Man" and "The International," will receive the Mill Valley Film Festival Award for excellence in cinema at a special Spotlight event at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center on Oct. 9. Owen will also introduce his latest movie, "The Boys Are Back," on the festival's opening night at the CinéArts@Sequoia. The other movie to be seen at the Rafael will be announced at a later date.

For special-event tickets and information, go to www.cafilm.org.

- Chronicle Staff Report

"The Boys are Back": Toronto Festival Screenings

2009-08-30T05:01:00.000-07:00

Source: TIFF 2009

PUBLIC SCREENINGS

Tuesday September 15	06:00PM	VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Friday September 18	04:15PM	SCOTIABANK THEATRE 1