Empire Movie-Con 2010: The Five Best Previews
Exclusive footage of Buried, Brighton Rock, Battle: Los Angeles, Cowboys and Aliens and Let Me In blew our minds this weekend.
After being forced to go to rubbish music festivals for the last two years, I finally got to experience the joy that is Empire Movie-Con.
Now extended to three nights, the days at the BFI are spent in film-geek heaven. Yes, we may be getting San Diego's sloppy seconds, but to experience the previews on a cinema screen, with the cast and crew on hand, is a dream. Unlike SD Comic-Con, the intimacy (approx. 400 capacity) means all phones are handed in - what happens at Movie-Con stays at Movie-Con - meaning for the first time in the YouTube age, you get a genuine first thrill.
While a lot of time was devoted to already-seen trailers, when we were hit with actual new footage, I found an extraordinary turnaround in many of my preconceptions, so here are my top five marvels from the weekend. Any excitement about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a given, and I've already waxed lyrical about the miracle that is Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole. Also, I wasn't present on Friday night to see the Never Let Me Go and 127 Hours panels (the latter featured the world exclusive first trailer dammit) as I couldn't endure another screening of The Expendables, and chose to hang out with The Human Centipede instead.
The stand-out previews:
Battle: Los Angeles
We endured the atrocious-looking Skyline earlier that weekend - which is supposed to be the Strause brothers' apology for Aliens vs Predator - Requiem, and just looks like a tacky made-for-TV movie - but our patience was rewarded with this awesome sci-fi thriller. Jonathan Liebesman's alien attack drama looks like The Hurt Locker crossed with District 9 (AMAZING), as US marines attempt to move citizens to safety before the government nukes the hell out of the titular city. Gritty and realistic, it appears to focus on the soldiers themselves, with a cast that includes Michelle Rodriguez, Aaron Eckhart and Jim Parrack.
Brighton Rock
28 Weeks Later scripter Rowan Joffe makes his big screen directorial debut with a reinterpretation of Graham Greene's novel, already immortalised by John Boulting in 1947. This time the story of Pinkie Brown is set in the 1960s, and we were the first to see footage, with producer Paul Webster and Joffe introducing three scenes. Sam Riley's gangster Pinkie is already haunting, and a subtle Andrea Riseborough makes an immediate impression as the waitress he marries. The period detail is astonishing, the cinematography that of a modern classic, and the unusual choice of a noir-like orchestral score gives the stunning-looking film an epic feel.
Buried
Okay, so I was already convinced by this one, but we got to watch the first eight minutes of the claustrophobic thriller, leaving us begging for more. An excitable Rodrigo Cortez was hilarious and humble as he described his technically ambitious project - filming Ryan Reynolds in a coffin for 90 minutes. Judging by the opening scene, Cortez has a Hitchcockian mastery of suspense, showing Reynolds coming to terms with his terrifying surroundings. Armed with a mobile and a lighter, he burns himself as he vainly attempts to claw and kick his way out of the wooden box, unable to even turn around or sit up. With the mobile in Arabic (he's a truck driver in Iraq) he can only find a way to dial 911 to the states - you can imagine how hopeless that is. We see him from every angle, with tight shots, POV shots and a striking aerial view, showing the box surrounded in blackness.
Cowboys and Aliens
The buzz for Jon Favreau's latest was electric, and we got to see three (unfinished) scenes. Daniel Craig leads a dream cast as a stranger who wanders into a Wild West town, only to battle pesky aliens. After bathing his bullet wound, he comes across Clancy Brown in this not-exactly thrilling introduction, which I'm guessing will be edited. The next scene was ace, as the amazing Paul Dano looks set to steal the show. We see his snivelling character taunting Craig to point where he receives an almighty smackdown, prompting many cheers. Then we find out that Harrison Ford plays Dano's father - praise the lord. Just when filmgeek's heads are exploding we catch a glimpse of Sam Rockwell and the National Film Theatre goes into meltdown. There were some alien spacecraft as well.
Let Me In
I'm always happy to stand up and say "I was wrong" John Locke stylee, and you won't hear another bitchy peep out of me regarding the remake of Let The Right One In. Kick-Ass hero Chloe Moretz owned Empire's Chris Hewitt during her introduction, being delightfully catty and witty. We got two clips of Cloverfield director Matt Reeves' take on the adored Swedish horror, and while the first look at Moretz doesn't show her to be as disturbingly grimy and pallid as Lina Leandersson's original take on the child vampire, The Road's Kodi Smit-McPhee perfectly captures the innocent and vulnerable boy who befriends her. But it's the second clip which blew my mind, and convinced me Reeves has possibly created something that can comfortably sit alongside Tomas Alfredson's 2009 film. In the original, the vampire's human guardian has to go out and kill, so she doesn't have to. When he comes unstuck in a high school locker room, he pours acid on his face to avoid identification. In this new version, Reeves has created an even more intense scene, showing Richard Jenkins hiding in the back of a teenage boy's car. Unfortunately, another boy gets in, and the tension is sickening. An astonisingly shot car crash leads to the horrifying moment Jenkins makes his desperate decision. If this is just a fraction of how good Let Me In is, this could be one of the better remakes.
Head over to Empire for their detailed report!
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