WAMG has your passes to the advance screening of Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson.
SILENCE OPENS IN ST. LOUIS ON JANUARY 13.
SILENCE tells the story of two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) – at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden. The celebrated director’s 28-year journey to bring Shusaku Endo’s 1966 acclaimed novel to life will be in theaters this Christmas.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of SILENCE on TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
Scorsese has directed critically acclaimed, award-winning films including Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed which garnered an Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture, Shutter Island, and Hugo for which he won the Golden Globe for Best Director.
Which of the filmmaker’s movies are your favorite?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWERS AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
This film has been rated R for some disturbing violent content.
Stories are the wildest things of all. — The Monster
Close your eyes and let your imagination do the work. Listen to Liam Neeson as he reads the first chapter of Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls:
Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible, The Orphanage), A MONSTER CALLS is a visually spectacular and stunningly emotional drama based on the award-winning novel. The screenplay adaptation is by the book’s author, Patrick Ness. Mr. Ness wrote the novel from an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd.
12-year-old Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is about to escape into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales. He is dealing with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness, which has
necessitated Conor’s spending time with his less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). His daily existence at his U.K. school is one of academic disinterest and bullying by classmates. As Conor’s father (Toby Kebbell) has resettled thousands of miles away in the U.S., the boy yearns for guidance.
He unexpectedly summons a most unlikely ally, who bursts forth with terrifying grandeur from an ancient towering yew tree and the powerful earth below it: a 40-foot-high colossus of a creature (portrayed in performance-capture and voiceover by Liam Neeson) who appears at Conor’s bedroom window @12:07 one night – and at that time on nights thereafter.
The Monster has stories to tell, and he insists that Conor hear them and powerfully visualize them. Conor’s fear gives way to feistiness and then to looking within; for, The Monster demands that once the tales are told it will be time for Conor to tell his own story in return. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth.
Catch A MONSTER CALLS nationwide on January 6th, 2017.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of A MONSTER CALLS on JANUARY 5 at 7pm in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Sigourney Weaver has created a host of memorable characters, both dramatic and comedic, captivating audiences and winning acclaim as one of the most esteemed actresses of both stage and screen. Her first feature starring role was in what film?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWER AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
“I pray but I’m lost, am I just praying to silence?”
Watch the new trailer for Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson. The film opens in cinemas on December 23rd.
Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE tells the story of two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) – at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden.
The celebrated director’s 28-year journey to bring Shusaku Endo’s 1966 acclaimed novel to life will be in theaters this Christmas.
Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE tells the story of two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) – at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden. The celebrated director’s 28-year journey to bring Shusaku Endo’s 1966 acclaimed novel to life will be in theaters this Christmas.
The movie opens nationwide from Focus Features on October 21, 2016.
The visually spectacular drama is from director J.A. Bayona (THE IMPOSSIBLE, THE ORPHANAGE).
12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall), dealing with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness, a less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver), and bullying classmates, finds a most unlikely ally when a Monster appears at his bedroom window. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth. Toby Kebbell plays Conor’s father, and Liam Neeson stars in performance-capture and voiceover as the nocturnally visiting Monster of the title.
Written by Patrick Ness, A MONSTER CALLS is based on upon the novel written by Patrick Ness from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd.
Opening on October 14, 2016, here’s a first look at A MONSTER CALLS from Focus Features.
The visually spectacular drama is from acclaimed director Juan Antonio Bayona (THE IMPOSSIBLE, THE ORPHANGE), based on the award-winning children’s fantasy novel.
12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) attempts to deal with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that explore courage, loss, and faith.
Written by Patrick Ness, based on his novel A Monster Calls, the cast also includes Academy Award nominees Liam Neeson, who will star in performance-capture and voiceover as the nocturnally visiting monster of the title, and Sigourney Weaver, who will portray Conor’s maternal grandmother; Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), as Conor’s father
The creative team on A MONSTER CALLS includes production designer Eugenio Caballero, an Academy Award winner for Pan’s Labyrinth who previously collaborated with the director on The Impossible; costume designer Steven Noble (The Theory of Everything); and cinematographer Óscar Faura, who shot both The Impossible and The Orphanage for Mr. Bayona.
Academy Award nominated actress Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”) has been set to join the cast of Peter Landesman’s historical spy thriller FELT. She will co-star alongside Academy Award nominated actor Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List”). Lane will play Mark Felt’s (Neeson) brilliant, ambitious and troubled wife, Audrey, who shoulders the burden of Felt’s isolated and dangerous struggle against the White House.
FELT is based on a script by Landesman, who will also direct and produce. MadRiver Pictures will finance and produce, alongside Scott Free Productions, Playtone and Cara Films. Ridley Scott, Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Giannina Scott, Marc Butan, Christopher Woodrow and Jay Roach will produce. Steven Shareshian and Michael Schaefer will executive produce alongside Michael Bassick and Steven Marshall.
Principal photography is set to begin in March 2016.
FELT is a taut spy thriller, centering on “Deep Throat”, the pseudonym given to the notorious whistleblower for one of the greatest scandals of all time, Watergate. The true identity of the secret informant remained a mystery and source of much public curiosity and speculation for more than 30 years. That is until, in 2005, special agent Mark Felt (Neeson) shockingly revealed himself as the tipster. This unbelievable true story chronicles the personal and professional life of the brilliant and uncompromising Felt, who risked and ultimately sacrificed everything – his family, his career, his freedom – in the name of justice.
This will be the second collaboration for writer/director Peter Landesman, Giannina Scott and Ridley Scott, following their very successful collaboration on CONCUSSION starring Will Smith, which Sony will release wide on Christmas Day.
CAA arranged the financing and are currently selling the domestic rights at AFM. Sierra/Affinity is handling the foreign rights.
Lane is represented by UTA and can next be seen in TRUMBO and BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE.
Peter Landesman (PARKLAND) has been set to direct the historical spy thriller FELT, which will star Academy Award nominated actor Liam Neeson (TAKEN).
FELT is based on a script by Landesman, who will also produce. MadRiver Pictures will finance and produce, alongside Scott Free Productions, Playtone and Cara Films. Ridley Scott, Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Giannina Scott, Marc Butan, Christopher Woodrow and Jay Roach will produce. Steven Shareshian and Michael Schaefer will executive produce alongside Michael Bassick and Steven Marshall.
Principal photography is set to begin in March 2016; the filmmakers are in discussion with additional cast.
FELT is a taut spy thriller, centering on “Deep Throat”, the pseudonym given to the notorious whistleblower for one of the greatest scandals of all time, Watergate. The true identity of the secret informant remained a mystery and source of much public curiosity and speculation for more than 30 years. That is until, in 2005, special agent Mark Felt (Neeson) shockingly revealed himself as the tipster. This unbelievable true story chronicles the personal and professional life of the brilliant and uncompromising Felt, who risked and ultimately sacrificed everything – his family, his career, his freedom – in the name of justice.
This will be the second collaboration for writer/director Peter Landesman, Giannina Scott and Ridley Scott, following their very successful collaboration on CONCUSSION starring Will Smith, which Sony will release wide on Christmas Day.
CAA arranged the financing and will introduce the project to domestic distributors at AFM. Sierra/Affinity will handle the foreign rights. Neeson and Landesman are both represented by CAA.
Opening in theaters on Friday, March 13th is RUN ALL NIGHT. The action thriller stars Oscar nominees Liam Neeson and Ed Harris and is directed of Jaume Collet-Serra (NON-STOP).
Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon (Neeson), once known as The Gravedigger, has seen better days. Longtime best friend of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Harris), Jimmy, now 55, is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective (Vincent D’Onofrio) who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. Lately, it seems Jimmy’s only solace can be found at the bottom of a whiskey glass.
But when Jimmy’s estranged son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. With Mike on the run, Jimmy’s only penance for his past mistakes may be to keep his son from the same fate Jimmy is certain he’ll face himself…at the wrong end of a gun. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy just has one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
RUN ALL NIGHT also stars Nick Nolte, Bruce McGill, Genesis Rodriguez and Oscar winner Common.
The film’s score is from Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum producer and composer Junkie XL (Tom Holkenborg).
He previously scored 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE and his additional works include Robert Luketic’s PARANOIA and the young adult film DIVERGENT, based on Veronica’s Roth’s successful trilogy.
The foundation for this new career path was laid in his native Holland, where he created multiple film scores. Earlier in his composing career, Junkie XL also provided music for such films as “Bandslam,” “DOA: Dead or Alive,” “The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury,” “The Animatrix” and “Resident Evil.”
He later continued to grow under mentorships with celebrated composers like Harry Gregson-Williams, on the films DOMINO and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and Klaus Badelt on CATWOMAN. From there, Junkie XL formed a highly successful association with Hans Zimmer. They have collaborated on films including the 2013 blockbuster MAN OF STEEL, Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, the MADAGASCAR films, MEGAMIND and INCEPTION.
Junkie XL’s music accompanies the night’s journey with Jimmy and Shawn facing the ultimate sacrifice for their sons.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for the tapestry of family conflict in movies, especially if you can wrap it up in a little bit of action, and I believe this movie has all of that,” says Liam Neeson.
Collet-Serra notes, “I think if audiences come for the action, they’ll get hooked in by the emotion, and they’ll enjoy quite a ride.”
In my recent interview with the composer,Junkie XL and I discussed his latest score as well as his upcoming music for some of the most anticipated films in 2015 and 2016.
Warning: Movie plot SPOILERS ahead.
WAMG: Where’d the name Junkie XL come from?
Junkie XL: From my teens, because I was spending too much time listening to music, playing drums or on the guitar. The XL I added later which stands for Expanding Limits.
WAMG: I was wondering how one goes from Tom to Junkie XL.
Junkie XL: You don’t get born a Junkie, you become a Junkie.
WAMG: Director Jaume Collet-Serra said, “It was very important that with a movie called ‘Run All Night,’ we don’t just run from Brooklyn to Queens. You want to run through all of New York. We made a big effort to go into Manhattan several times, as well as Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. We really shot almost everywhere.”
Audiences haven’t seen an action movie like RUN ALL NIGHT in some time. Your score doesn’t overpower the chase scenes.
Junkie XL: When I saw the movie the first time, I thought the more interesting part to tell was not necessarily the action but the story of two dads having a troubled relationship and the two sons. When I started writing the music for the movie, they were actually very emotional themes. The movie opens with that, the movie ends with it – ultimately you need some big action music every now and then. When you have 15 helicopters over a building with a 150 FBI agents looking for two guys, you really can’t score that with a piano and a flute.
There were a lot of moments where I basically advised the director not to use music at all. The chase scene through New York City between the cop car and Liam Neeson, I said let’s basically go back to some really cool chase scenes that we have in the 70’s with just the sounds of bullets like in THE FRENCH CONNECTION – let’s not use music at all.
Another scene where Liam Neeson chases Ed Harris through the train tracks. It was another spot that I wanted to go scoreless and only go with some cool sound effects. Have the music start once Harris’s character is killed.
I think it’s an interesting movie too like you said. There’s not really an action movie at this point that does it like this and there’s some really proper acting in it. My favorite scene is in the restaurant during the conversation between Ed Harris and Liam Neeson. It was another example where I said we don’t need music here – just let the actors act.
WAMG: Fans of this genre will appreciate your themes for Jimmy and Shawn Maguire and as well as Jimmy and his son, Mike. Both are very subtle moments of your score.
Junkie XL: There are two main themes – one is for Jimmy and one is for Shawn. Then it gets sprinkled down to their sons. The theme for Michael is very much related to Jimmy, while the theme for Danny is very much related to his dad Shawn. It seems to make a lot of sense to have just those two. In a movie like this you could go with almost too many themes and then it becomes cluttered. I wanted to make it very clear what the intention is and what these characters are going through.
WAMG: The movie is about surviving the night, but it’s also about redemption.
Junkie XL: The movie is totally about redemption and the most beautiful part of the theme that I hint at, at the beginning, comes at the very end when Liam Neeson’s character dies and his hand falls to the right that we see the card with all the names of the people he’s killed. Plus his son Michael and the FBI agent need redemption too, so at the very end everyone finds some kind of peace. That’s why I took the thematic material from Jimmy and Michael and turned it into a warm, fuzzy motif because at that point in his life he’s fine where he is, and he got to have that moment with his dad. Jimmy’s only got one shot at redemption, at having his son not hate him anymore.
WAMG: How much of the movie did you see or even know about before composing the score?
Junkie XL: They waited quite a long time and I got in really late in the mix. I received a call somewhere in November from Darren Higman (Vice President of Music at Warner Bros.) and he said that the movie would be opening up soon and would I be interested. I said yes. He then asked if I could write a small demo theme of a couple of minutes that could help convince the director that I was the right guy.
He then told me the story of the film and I was so inspired that I wrote twenty minutes of music. I went to Warner Brothers where I saw the film, and realized the music I wrote would fit perfectly with it and then went back and wrote another 35 minutes of music. I ended up having 55 minutes of a sketchbook.
I met the director for the first time and handed him 55 minutes of music for the film. He listened to the whole thing and Collet-Serra said, “this is like the story of the movie!” He called me back later that night and said it was perfect and exactly what he was looking for.
After I got the job, we started turning it into cues and we only ended up having two meetings about the music because he was so convinced because I got what the movie needed. That’s a very important task for a composer to take that kind of stress off the director. They have a lot of things on their mind and by making a sketchbook of the music, that’s one less thing for them to worry about.
WAMG: The interesting transitions of jumping from one part of the city to the next through visual effects are very compelling. Did you see that before you started composing?
Junkie XL: That was as we went. When I saw the movie for the first time, it didn’t have those shots. At that specific point, the movie was testing so well with audiences, they were able to add those clever special effects. I think it’s important to the story because it shows the audience what’s going on in different parts of the city and correlates to the previous scene. The violence in the film is very personal – it’s not just a bunch of random shootings with people dropping like flies. The music didn’t need to be big during those scenes and it needed to feel personal.
The score gets the biggest halfway through the film when Jimmy and Michael are stuck inside the apartment building with the hired killer (played by Common) and the police are surrounding them, that’s where the music gets really big. It’s also the moment in the film where if they can’t make it through here, there’s not going to be a future to begin with. After that scene, it kind of mellows down again and the violence becomes personal again to the one on one situation. I thought it was great to score that scene really big then go back to small.
WAMG: Nick Nolte’s unexpected cameo is pretty cool. The music is very gritty like the classic hit man films of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Junkie XL: I’ve been doing a lot of research on these older movies. I went as far back as “Le professionnel” with Jean-Paul Belmondo with a score from Ennio Morricone, or even THE GODFATHER – all these movies were scored with a very emotional theme. We’re talking about a modern 2015 movie and it’s hard to make films for a big audience where there’s mostly no music and just music only where it counts.
Unfortunately that’s not the case and people want to be thrilled constantly, but I do feel RUN ALL NIGHT has a high level of 70’s quality to it and how it’s composed. Plus, how it looks and how it sounds – the sound effects are not overpowering either which is usually the case in an action movie. It’s nice for a composer to fill the blanks with music that tells the story, especially on this film. It was great to make music that was actually going to be heard.
WAMG: You covered the gamut of instruments for the score. What was your go-to instruments for the score?
Junkie XL: The signature instrument for Liam’s character was the piano. The signature instrument for Shawn (Ed Harris) was a solo cello. I used a distinct signature rhythm especially for Mr. Price (Common), the hired hitman.
Then I used a lot of unique sound designs from voices and choirs that I recorded a long time ago which was a very signature sound along with synthesizers and certain melodies and harmonies.
WAMG: What other film scores are you composing for?
Junkie XL: I’m going to be writing two during the rest of the year.
I’m starting on the reboot of POINT BREAK. That movie comes out in December so I have some time still.
I’m also working on BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE which I will be doing with Hans Zimmer. He will do Superman and I will do Batman. We did MAN OF STEEL together, plus MADAGASCAR 3 and MEGAMIND. We have a track record of collaboration.
My score is finished for MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. It comes out in May, and while I can’t say too much on that, the movie is spectacular.
The RUN ALL NIGHT original motion picture soundtrack is available now from Water Tower Music.
It would appear that Liam Neeson is continuing his Charles Bronson-esque revenge spree with RUN ALL NIGHT. After countless of films that are all marketed in the same style as TAKEN and its sequels, you might be surprised to hear that this new genre exercise is more than just a run and gun thriller. In fact, thanks to a script that lends the occasionally exhaustive action some deeper meaning, RUN ALL NIGHT is one of the best films Liam Neeson has done in years. Now if only Jaume Collet-Serra was as interested in highlighting the drama as much as all the running around, we might have more than just a “good” action marathon.
Neeson plays former hitman and now current alcoholic Jimmy Conlon. Years ago he became notorious in the New York crime scene for his skills of disposing targets. His former boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) has also now moved on in an attempt to escape his past. Unfortunately neither of their sons has forgotten the lives the two men once led. Conlon’s son Mike (Joel Kinnaman) still carries resentment for his father’s actions, while Maguire’s son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) thinks he can follow in his father’s footsteps by making shady drug deals with the Albanians. One violent evening that leads to Jimmy killing his old boss’s son takes an even more violent turn once Jimmy and Mike have to go on the run to escape Shawn’s thugs as well as a New York City police department led by a vengeful detective (Vincent D’Onofrio).
The film spends very little time before getting into the action. Once it starts there’s not a brake pedal in site. Car chases through NYC streets lead to foot chases through subway platforms, to an all out messy brawl in a seedy public bathroom. At times you get the feeling the editing is choppy in order to hide Neeson’s lack of agility and old age. Other times the action really lights up the screen. A chase later on through a low-income housing complex is particularly well done even if it is a smidge fantastical. When a hired assassin played by Common gets half his face practically melted off and yet continues to fight, you kind of have to grin and roll with the punches.
Like I previously alluded to, for a “Liam Neeson shoot-em-up” there’s a lot more going on in between the consecutive action sequences. The script by Brad Ingelsby isn’t overly deep but provides a proper set-up for the story of fathers and sons and the sins of their past. Ingelsby previously penned the script for OUT OF THE FURNACE – another film about tough guys and the tough decisions they make – he has a knack for cracking through a character’s hard outer shell and digging into their emotional core. What could’ve been just stereotypical rough and tough guys actually feel like vulnerable characters filled with regret and pain. Ed Harris is fantastic as an aging criminal who carries a heavy heart and Liam Neeson looks especially tired and regretful, even when he’s not hitting the bottle hard. You have two sons, one who is trying to father follow their father’s footsteps while the other is trying to abandon everything related to his father. The rocky tension between Neeson and Kinnaman actually works and adds a level of uncertainty to how things will end up.
Collet-Sera sets up a few intimate scenes in cramped quarters using close-ups to highlight the immediacy of the dialogue. Early on there’s a moment between Harris and Neeson upstairs in a darkened room that delves into their past while giving the audience a bit of foreshadowing. Later on there’s a tender moment between Neeson and Kinnaman in a car as they discuss the family that the son has tried to distance from his father. If only Collet-Sera would let some of these scenes breathe just a little longer they might have made more of an impact. Instead, in no time we are off to the next explosion or headshot without letting these scenes build enough to make much of an impact.
Some of his stylistic choices also left me confused. An attempt to link different parts of the city through intense zoom-outs and zoom-ins to other locations felt gimmicky. These dynamic cross-fades or transitions felt like something out of a modern videogame than a hard-boiled 70’s action film that it strives to be the majority of the time. The emphasis on darkened rooms and shadows is equally as distracting. I understand that the film takes place at night, but throwing the idea of lighting design out the window in favor of “gritty” darkness does nothing but take away from the intensity and performances of the scene.
RUN ALL NIGHT is indeed a non-stop (the title of the director’s previous Neeson entry) rush that lives up to the title. Fans of genre cinema will appreciate this R-rated Neeson flick complete with a burning building, a frenetic car chase, and a bloody shoot-out in a bar set to The Pogues “Fairytale of New York.” Of course, this is another example of Liam Neeson killing dangerous evildoers that are probably half his age in order to save a loved one from peril, but goddamnit if he doesn’t do so with such conviction. While most of his films lately seem to be about how many baddies he can disperse in 90 minutes time, at least here we have some deeper issues at play not unlike what we saw him cope with in the underrated THE GREY. There’s nothing necessarily new to see in RUN ALL NIGHT, but at least there’s some passion to the performances and script – even if the director and producers are more interested in Neeson simply playing his strong and silent hero role.
Overall rating: 3 out of 5
RUN ALL NIGHT opens in theaters everywhere March 13, 2015
