Stepping out from the shadow of Christopher Nolan, at the age of 52, to make your directorial debut might carry a lot of baggage and many expectations, but Wally Pfister is ready for them. “If people are expecting Nolan-lite, I think they’ll be surprised,” he told the LA Times last month. “My training comes from Chris, but my emotional content comes from a different era. I’m steeped in a 1970s, pre-‘Star Wars‘ period, films like ‘Soylent Green.’ Chris comes from a different place.”
Bold words from Pfister, who has assembled Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy for “Transcendence.” The story follows Dr. Will Caster, whose creation of sentient machines puts him at risk from anti-technology extremists who inadvertently set the researcher on a dangerous path. It’s an ambitious story for a first-time filmmaker, but Pfister reveals it was Nolan himself who gave him the confidence to take it on.
“I told Chris, ‘I think it’s a good project. My hesitation is that it’s just too big for my first adventure,’ ” he said. “And Chris very calmly said, ‘Absolutely not. You know how to handle this scope of filmmaking. And storytelling is the same whether you’re dealing with $100 million or $10 million.’ “
We’ll see if Pfister got the job done when “Transcendence” opens on April 18th. Watch below. [HeyUGuys]
Yay, scaremongering. I'm excited about the technology, but not the movie.
Really hoping this is great! Agree with the thoughts that not being based on a comic/theme park ride/or sequel, it needs to be supported even with just slightly above average reviews to keep originality in the studio flow
Rebecca Hall seems to be turning in a wonderful performance and I like Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy & Morgan Freeman. Not being a sci-fi buff, however, I'm only seeing it because Johnny Depp is in it.
This looks brilliant! Wow was I mesmerized!
Any1 who is writing it off cuz they don't "get it" or Depp is "bad or misplaced" are seriously delusional & wouldn't know if a film had potential if it hit em on the head!
The cinematography, the visuals and effects, the cast (Hall looks beautiful & brilliant) all look to be in top form.
If anything my critique would be that they showed too much for a trailer…. I think if the last 25 seconds were cut, which focuses on the love/romance story of the film, was gone it make it much more effective but thats just IMO
DEF looking forward to this one. Word of mouth will be key for its success thats for sure
Pah, all the people who are complaining about this are the same people who complain about how all blockbusters these days are sequels, remakes, spin offs and reboots, and decry the state of modern corporation driven cinema. Finally a bold, intelligent original blockbuster comes along, a real risk for the studio, and a gamble on untested but exciting talent, and you lot moan about it. Get a grip. Find something to be positive about.
We didn't get Inception the first time we saw the trailer either, and looked how it turned out. I just Depp's presence in this movie has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and they are quite ready to write the movie off based on this.
I get it. I just think it looks bloody awful. And Depp ruins everything he's in.
seems to be a generic sci-fi techno-thriller with very little to add to the genre besides nifty effects. zero thereom, on the other hand…
I get it and I dig it.
Nice to see Depp playing something other than a goofball for a change.
anyone getting it?
They're doing a terrible job of selling this thing. Trailer's jaunty, poster's nondescript, tagline's ridiculous. This was not a cheap movie to make and right now it looks doubtful they're gonna get that opening weekend.
Looks to have a solid human story behind the technology/machine elements. Looking forward to seeing this!
It looks amazing!
Is me or isn't that Jonathan Nolan at 1:42?
I really dont get it