BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK

BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD February 14

“Your story Billy, no longer belongs to you. It’s America story now.”

Visionary Director Ang Lee’s BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK Arrives on 4K Ultra HD for the Ultimate Immersive Home Entertainment Experience.

A two-time Academy Award^® winner for Best Director, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, 2005; Life of Pi, 2012) brings his extraordinary vision to BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK, debuting on three-disc 4K Ultra HD^™/Blu-ray 3D^™/Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack, Blu-ray, DVD and digital February 14 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. In an industrywide first, the 4K presentation of the film is displayed at 60 frames per second (FPS), versus the standard 24 FPS, offering a first-of-its-kind, unique, and immersive viewing experience. Dubbed a “groundbreaking masterpiece” (Mark S. Allen, ABC-TV), BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK follows a 19-year-old soldier as he is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing battle in Iraq. Through flashbacks, the film shows what really happened to his squad — contrasting the realities of war with America’s perceptions.

The 4K Ultra HD release of BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK exclusively includes “Technology as Art: Changing The Language of Cinema,” a 4K featurette with Director Ang Lee and Editor Tim Squyres discussing the film’s groundbreaking frame rate technology. In addition, the Blu-ray and DVD contain deleted scenes and four compelling featurettes. Explore the journey of master filmmaker Ang Lee as he tells this complex, provocative and visually revolutionary story in “Into Battle and Onto the Field: Stepping Inside Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.” “Assembling A Cast” highlights the incredible ensemble, including newcomer Joe Alwyn, Kristen Stewart, Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, Vin Diesel and Steve Martin. In “The Brotherhood of Combat,” viewers will witness the intense training and unforgettable bonding experience of the Bravo Squad as they go through a boot camp with military experts to prepare for their roles as combat soldiers. Lastly in “Recreating The Halftime Show,” Don Mischer, a veteran halftime show producer, takes viewers onto the field for the big event depicted in the film.

Synopsis:
Academy Award® winner Ang Lee (2012, Best Director, Life Of Pi ) brings his extraordinary vision to BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK, based on the widely-acclaimed, bestselling novel. The story is told from the point of view of 19-year-old private Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) who, along with his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad, becomes a hero after a harrowing battle in Iraq and is brought home temporarily for a victory tour. Through a sequence of flashbacks, the truth about what really happened is revealed – contrasting the realities of the war with America’s distorted perceptions of heroism. Co-starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, Vin Diesel and Steve Martin.

Directed by Ang Lee from a screenplay by Jean-Christophe Castelli, BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK is based on the novel by Ben Fountain. The film is produced by Marc Platt, Ang Lee, Rhodri Thomas and Stephen Cornwell, and executive produced by Brian Bell, Jeff Robinov, Guo Guangchang and Ben Waisbren. The film is presented by TriStar Pictures with Studio 8 in association with LStar Capital, Film4 and Bona Film Group.

4K Ultra HD

Exclusive Special Feature – 4K Featurette with Ang Lee and Time Squyres discussing the film’s groundbreaking frame rate technology
Feature film in 4K resolution, 60 Frames Per Second (FPS), with High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Dolby Atmos soundtrack (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) *
Also includes the film and special features on high-def Blu-ray

* To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar; however, Dolby Atmos soundtracks are also fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment.

Blu-ray & DVD Bonus Materials Include:

Deleted Scenes
Four Featurettes:
- “Into Battle and Onto the Field: Stepping Inside Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”
- “Recreating the Halftime Show”
- “The Brotherhood of Combat”
- “Assembling A Cast”

BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK has a run time of approximately 113 minutes and is rated R for language throughout, some war violence, sexual content, and brief drug use.

This Week’s WAMG Podcast – FANTASTIC BEASTS, LOVING, and More!

This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Jim Batts and Tom Stockman talk movies. Our guest in the studio this week is Lynn Venhaus, film critic for The Belleville News Democrat and the Kirkwood/Webster Times. We’ll discuss the weekend box office and review FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK and LOVING. We’ll also recap the St. Louis International Film Festival and pay tribute to the late Robert Vaughn and Lupita Tovar.

Here’s this week’s show. Have a listen:

BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK – Review

Ang Lee is a brilliant director but he seems to being aiming more at recapturing the technical innovation magic of his film PI than making a good film, in his latest BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK, with less successful results. BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK focuses on a decorated Iraq War soldier and his squad in 2004, who are back in the U.S. making a good will tour, which includes a part for them in the Thanksgiving Day football game’s halftime show. But the real point of this film seems to be its 3D photography and an amazingly high frame rate. However, the film’s technical wizardry will only be seen by audiences in New York and Los Angeles, not in the Midwest. Seen without the gimmicks, BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK does not measure up to the director’s previous work.

Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) is a young soldier decorated for bravery, after his heroic efforts to rescue one of his squad during battle were accidentally caught on tape. The 19-year-old hero and his fellow soldiers in Bravo squad are being squired around in luxury, there is talk of a movie deal, and they are clearly riding the emotional high of being the heroes of the moment, tapped to play a part in the Thanksgiving Day football game’s halftime extravaganza. The fact that Billy Lynn’s act was caught on camera makes it PR gold. The story takes place at a pivotal time for the Iraq War, with no weapons of mass destruction found and a presidential election looming, so the government is eager to show off these young soldiers. The men of Bravo squad are put up in a nice hotel and assigned a public relations handler, who seems to always be on his phone, trying to seal a movie deal. The guys are in high spirits, ready to swill champagne and kidding around mercilessly, often treating the civilians they encounter with a knowing disdain. Billy himself feels more conflicted about what happened, as his heroism failed to save his beloved commander, nicknamed Shroom (Vin Diesel). As the young soldiers are pampered and prepared for their halftime moment, we see flashbacks to the battle itself, retold from various points in time and camera angles but always Billy’s point-of-view.

The problem is not the subject matter but how the story is told. Billy Lynn’s tale is told is in such an unrealistic, even surreal fashion, that one expects to discover it is a dream at any moment. Few scenes are presented in a believable way, the pacing is glacial and some of it is so strange as to be simply puzzling.

Strangeness is a major sense in this film. Kristen Stewart plays a character that at first we think may be Billy’s girlfriend but then seems to be his sister. The awkwardness of her performance is part of the problem, but the director and script deserve some blame for this bit of weirdness. As the young soldiers are pampered and prepared for their halftime moment, we see a lot about the PR person angling for the movie, without figuring out exactly who he works for – the soldiers? the military? While the hotel and limo are very organized, the soldiers’ role in the halftime show almost seems improvised. There is no rehearsal and they are given only vague instructions just before going on stage before the crowd. It is completely unconvincing that the highly-produced, carefully choreographed Thanksgiving Day football game halftime event would be run in such as haphazard manner, making it seem more fantasy that reality. An instant romance with a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader likewise seems like a dream rather than reality. There are other instances throughout the film.

The film also seems too much like Clint Eastwood’s FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, in which a traumatized soldier is exploited for a patriotic public relations stunt. Is Ang Lee’s film derivative or is the similarity a deliberate reference to the earlier film? The most realistic scenes in the movie are of the remembered battle but it is not clear if that is a deliberate choice on Ang Lee’s part.

There are a number of political or social issues that the film could have addressed, about young men carrying the heavy burden in this war of choice and growing concerns about soldiers sent for multiple combat tours, a new policy not used in previous wars. But those topics are hardly touched, rather surprising from the director of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Further, one often has the nagging sense something is missing. It is a hallmark of a film built around visual techniques most audiences do not get to see, and it leaves an odd hole in the film.

The real point of the film seems to be its technical innovations, largely unseen by audiences in most locations. The film uses an extremely high frame rate, an astonishing 120 frames per second to the usual 24 fps, which renders the images hyper real. Combined with being shot in 3D and high definition, the film must be a marvel to see, which might distract from shortcomings in its plot and characters for the few audiences that see it that way. The focus on the technical seems to reduce it to a gimmick film.

Newcomer Joe Alwyn does well as Billy, a sweet innocent haunted by the death of his commander and mentor, a Buddhist who introduced the young small-town Texan to a new world of ideas and possibilities. Vin Diesel is good as Shroom, with a nice touch of dry humor with his fatherly guidance. The chief master of veiled sarcasm is Dime (a marvelous Garrett Hedlund), who gets many of the best lines and whose performance is one of the rare highlights of the film. Another is Tim Blake Nelson, in a single scene as a clueless and insensitive Texas businessman in the natural gas drilling business. The other members of Bravo squad hardly are given enough material to get beyond familiar war movie stereotypes.

In the end, what is one to make of BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK? Is there a missing scene at the end in which Billy wakes up, or a similar movie trick?

Ang Lee is a brilliant director but this puzzling, flawed film is not his best. For those who see it in LA or NY with all the technical bells and whistles intact, it maybe worth with the ticket price. But for those of us in fly-over country who will not see the whole package, BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK remains an unsatisfying, incomplete gimmick film, and a missed opportunity to be something more substantial.

RATING: 2 out of 5 stars

WAMG Giveaway – Win Run of Engagement Passes for BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK

Director Ang Lee’s BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK opens this Friday! Look for our review here at We Are Movie Geeks!

You can win Run of Engagement passes to see BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK! Just leave a comment below and wee’ll send ten of you passes good for two people.

Nineteen-year-old private Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn), along with his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad, becomes a hero after a harrowing Iraq battle and is brought home temporarily for a victory tour. Through flashbacks, culminating at the spectacular halftime show of the Thanksgiving Day football game, what really happened to the squad is revealed, contrasting the realities of the war with America’s perceptions. Based on the novel by Ben Fountain. BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK also stars Garrett Hedlund and Arturo Castro

The critics are already raving about BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK

Cineblend says:

“BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK is a tremendous show of the human spirit, that uses technical magic to heighten its reality and put us in the middle of the action. The end result is nothing short of impressive.”

Good luck! We’ll choose the winners next week.

Studio 8 and Bona to Partner With Tristar on Ang Lee’s Adaptation of BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK

Jeff Robinov’s Fosun-backed Studio 8, together with Chinese distribution company Bona Film Group, will partner with Tom Rothman’s TriStar and Film4 on the adaptation of Ben Fountain’s acclaimed novel Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, to be directed by three-time Oscar-winner Ang Lee.

The deal brings together several members of the family of companies at Sony Pictures, which will distribute the film worldwide, except for Greater China, which Bona Film Group Ltd will handle. Film 4 will have UK free television.

The film is now set for start of principal photography in mid-April and casting is underway.

In the film, Bravo Company, and 19-year-old private Billy Lynn, survive a harrowing Iraq battle that is captured by news cameras. They are brought home by the US administration for a promotional tour, culminating at the spectacular halftime show of aThanksgiving Day football game, all while facing an imminent return to the war. Almost the entire movie takes place during the day of the game, with flashes back to the underlying events and Billy’s heroism.

The film will explore new methods, both technological and artistic, with the goal of further engaging the audience. Lee will use the Sony F65 camera shooting in native 3D, high resolution, and with an ultra-high frame rate to create a different cinematic syntax in service of the story. He envisions creating a new way for audiences to experience drama, including the heightened sensation that soldiers really feel on the battlefield and on the home front.

Commenting on the announcement, Rothman said, “Ang is pushing the envelope even beyond what we achieved in Life of Pi. Innovation is key to getting audiences out to cinemas now, but such advances often take a brave village. I have long admired Jeff personally and have great respect for Studio 8 and Bona. It’s a neat fit as we are all in the business of trying to do cool things for Sony, not to mention we park right next to each other.”

Robinov added, “Ang Lee’s vision for this remarkable story is incredibly exciting to all of the partners involved and perfectly captures the types of filmmaker-driven movies we want to make at Studio 8. We are thankful that Tom Rothman included us in this fantastic project and are looking forward to working on this together.”

Bona Founder, Chairman and CEO Mr. Yu Dong commented, “Since last year, we’ve been working closely with our strategic partner Fosun to explore their resources in the entertainment industry as we roll out our international strategy to grow a significant presence in Hollywood. Having the opportunity to work on Ang Lee’s next film and being the only partner in China speaks to our strong film production and distribution capabilities, as well as marks a very important first step for Bona to gain international recognition. We look forward to participating in more Hollywood mainstream films while at the same time bringing high-quality foreign films to the domestic market.”

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk will be produced by Marc Platt, Ink Factory’s Stephen Cornwell, Rhodri Thomas and Simon Cornwell, and Ang Lee. The film is being made in association with Film4, which developed the original draft of the script with Simon Beaufoy. The current screenplay revisions are by Jean-Christophe Castelli.

Studio 8, based in Culver City, California on the SPE lot, is funded in partnership with the Chinese investment management firm Fosun Group and with SPE which will distribute up to six films worldwide annually. Studio 8 has secured $1 billion in financing.

Ang Lee To Direct BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK

Tom Rothman’s TriStar Productions and Film4 announced today that the three-time Oscar-winner Ang Lee has chosen an adaptation of Ben Fountain’s acclaimed novel Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk as his next film, his first since winning the Academy Award for directing the groundbreaking Life of Pi.

The film will be produced by Lee, Ink Factory’s Stephen Cornwell, Rhodri Thomas and Simon Cornwell and by Film4, who originally optioned the book. Simon Beaufoy wrote the script. TriStar has been developing the project with Film4 and Ink Factory since opening its doors at the end of last year. Tessa Ross, who oversaw Film and Drama for Film4 until recently being named to run the UK’s National Theatre, was instrumental on behalf of that studio.

Making the movie for TriStar returns Lee to the Sony Pictures umbrella, where he enjoyed great success with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Sense and Sensibility.

The film tells the funny and heartbreaking story of 19-year-old soldier Billy Lynn and his squad, who survive an Iraq battle that is captured by embedded news cameras, causing them to become celebrated as heroes. They are brought home by the US administration for a promotional tour that culminates at the halftime show of a Thanksgiving Day football game in Texas, before they are returned to the war. Almost the entire movie takes place during the game, with flashes away to other events.

Rothman, who has a long history with Lee, orchestrated the deal to bring on the director. The longtime colleagues’ most recent venture was the “unfilmable” Life of Pi. Defying all odds, that film grossed $600 million at the worldwide box office.

Said Lee, “I am very excited to be going back to work and to be collaborating with my old friend Tom Rothman. The most important thing to me is storytelling and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is a story that immediately gripped me. I look forward to starting the creative process with this extraordinary team of collaborators.”

Commenting on the announcement, Rothman said, “Ang Lee is constitutionally incapable of repeating himself. His very DNA requires him to always find new challenges. ‘More of the same’ may be the film fashion these days, but thankfully not for this exceptional artist.Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn will be a true original, and TriStar is in the business of investing in originality, here combined with innovation. Big movies come from such combinations, as witness Life of Pi. We are grateful to Ink Factory, Simon Beaufoy and Ben Fountain for trusting TriStar with Billy’s story. Having worked with my friend Tessa on Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, and many other films, I am also grateful to Film4 and sad (but only for us) that she got such a great new gig.”

Tessa Ross added, “All of us at Film4 are bowled over that Ang Lee, one of the outstanding filmmakers of his generation, shares our passion for this wonderful material. It’s a thrilling collaboration to look forward to and we’re very excited to work with our partners at TriStar and this great team to make what promises to be a truly memorable piece of cinema.”

Stephen Cornwell, on behalf of The Ink Factory, said, “From the moment we first read Ben Fountain’s amazing novel, we believed it would be the foundation for a seminal movie. Film4 and TriStar have been wonderful development partners. Simon Beaufoy did a terrific job and Ang’s vision for the film is groundbreaking and extraordinary.”

Ben Fountain’s novel received rave reviews upon its publication in 2012. The New York Times called it: “[an] inspired, blistering war novel…Though it covers only a few hours, the book is a gripping, eloquent provocation. Class, privilege, power, politics, sex, commerce and the life-or-death dynamics of battle all figure in Billy Lynn’s surreal game day experience.” It won the National Book Critics Circle Award (fiction) and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (fiction) and was also a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award for Fiction. Previously, Fountain won a PEN/Hemingway award for his book Brief Encounters with Che Guevara: Stories.

Ang Lee was honored with the Academy Award for Best Director for his work on Brokeback Mountain and again on Life of Pi; in addition, he took home the Oscar as the director of the Best Foreign Language Film winner Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. His many other indelible films include The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm, Ride with the Devil, Hulk, Lust, Caution and Taking Woodstock.

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