
The man behind this year's hit horror-comedy reveals the films behind the man
By
Luke Goodsell on Tuesday, Nov. 24 2009, 09:09 PM
5 CommentsFilmmaker Ruben Fleischer is having a very good 2009. The former music video director has seen his debut feature, Zombieland, open at number one at the US box office and take in nearly $75 million domestically, while earning an impressive 89% Fresh rating from critics -- not bad for a horror-comedy road movie revolving around the undead. With the film about to open in Australia, we got the chance to catch up with Ruben and ask him his five favorite films. And a fine list it is, too.

The notorious director discusses 2009's most controversial film, horror, what scares him the most... and talking foxes
By
Luke Goodsell on Monday, Nov. 23 2009, 08:03 PM
24 CommentsDanish auteur Lars von Trier is used to controversy following his films; some of his critics have even accused him of courting it for sensationalism and reaction. Yet even with a career that contains the likes of The Idiots (rich kids mocking the handicapped), Dancer in the Dark (which drove star Bjork to never act again) and Dogville (leveled with charges of misogyny and anti-Americanism), the director's latest may be his crowning achievement in outrage. When it debuted at Cannes earlier this year, Antichrist -- starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a grieving couple who retreat to idyllic woodland where all Hell breaks loose -- was so appalling to some in its graphic, sexual violence that it prompted uproar (and even a special "anti-humanitarian" prize from the jury). But are the critics really getting what von Trier is playing at? And does he even know himself? Moreover, who's got the better talking fox -- he or Wes Anderson?

On why he's such a petrol head.
By
Joe Utichi on Monday, Nov. 16 2009, 04:21 PM
9 CommentsNot a lot of people know that actor Eric Bana, familiar to most from roles in the likes of Star Trek, Munich and Ang Lee's Hulk, is a massive petrol head. With the release of Love the Beast, Bana aims to change that. It's a love letter to his pride and joy, a Ford GT Falcon Coupe which he's owned since he was 15, a documentary about his obsession with it and with racing, and the mourning attached to his crash during the Targa rally in 2007. Along the way Bana interviews the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, Jay Leno and Dr. Phil as he attempts to understand his passion better. In London to promote the UK release -- it's out on DVD now -- Bana sat down with RT to talk more about his pride and joy.

Ren Klyce breaks the first and second rule of Fight Club by talking about it.
By
Oscar Hillerstrom on Sunday, Nov. 15 2009, 05:51 PM
38 CommentsRen Klyce may not be a household name to most, but for those who are keen on sound design, he's the kind of chap that you might mention alongside Ben Burtt, the legendary creator of the Star Wars soundscapes. Working with David Fincher (almost exclusively) since 1995's Se7en, he has created some of the most memorably unnerving soundscapes ever put to film. One of which was, of course, 1999's iconic Fight Club. With the film's 10-year anniversary a special edition is being released on Blu-ray and DVD, with extras devoted entirely to the sometimes shockingly graphic sounds that underpinned what is still, for many, a confronting film. For others, of course, it's a modern day masterpiece. We spoke with Ren on the Fox Studios Lot in Los Angeles and he gave us the low down on what inspires him in movies, and just what went into the creation of those bone-shattering fight sequences.
By
Joe Utichi on Friday, Nov. 13 2009, 09:06 AM
6 CommentsJames Schamus might be a workaholic. If it's not enough that he's the head of Focus Features -- the independent imprint of Universal -- he's also an established producer and screenwriter best known for his collaborations with Ang Lee. This week sees the release of the pair's latest, Taking Woodstock, a comedy about a family integral to the birth of the infamous Woodstock concert of 1969. And if that isn't enough, he's an associate professor of film at Columbia University and just delivered a politically-charged lecture to a rapt London Film Festival audience. While in town, he sat down with RT to talk about the release of Taking Woodstock, his work at Focus and his thoughts on the Tomatometer...