There are no aliens, giant space lasers, or dogfighting starships on “For All Mankind” but in some ways that makes the show’s job harder. The alternate universe Earth in which the Soviets won the space race for the Moon but the Era passed and Jodi Balfour is now President prides itself on a restrained visual style in which the smallest of touches – the reflection on an astronaut’s helmet visor or the hiss of an airlock opening – can convey mountains of meaning. The series’ visual effects dance backwards, sometimes in heels, to create a sense of verisimilitude as in Season 3 the USA, the Ussr, and a private space company (Team Capitalism?) raced to see who would land first on Mars. Now that boots are on the ground, all three entities have to live there, which means the show had to create a version of Mars with both enough realism...
- 7/16/2022
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
There’s a scene in the Season 2 finale of “For All Mankind,” a series that explores an alternative universe where Russia is first to land on the moon, that isn’t for the faint of heart.
Astronauts Gordo (Michael Dorman) and Tracy Stevens (Sarah Jones) are attempting to prevent a nuclear meltdown on the moon. The problem isn’t that the lunar rock is on the verge of going Chernobyl, it’s the fact that the once married couple has to step out onto the surface without wearing traditional spacesuits. It’s a mission that suggests there’s no turning back.
For the visual effects team led by VFX supervisor Jay Redd, who has been on the series since its inception, capturing the authenticity of life on the moon is a collaboration among a number of departments including production designer Dan Bishop, special effects supervisor Mark Byers, and stunt coordinator...
Astronauts Gordo (Michael Dorman) and Tracy Stevens (Sarah Jones) are attempting to prevent a nuclear meltdown on the moon. The problem isn’t that the lunar rock is on the verge of going Chernobyl, it’s the fact that the once married couple has to step out onto the surface without wearing traditional spacesuits. It’s a mission that suggests there’s no turning back.
For the visual effects team led by VFX supervisor Jay Redd, who has been on the series since its inception, capturing the authenticity of life on the moon is a collaboration among a number of departments including production designer Dan Bishop, special effects supervisor Mark Byers, and stunt coordinator...
- 6/18/2021
- by Daron James
- Indiewire
“We can do everything now; we can do anything now,” reveals visual effects supervisor Jay Redd in an exclusive interview with Gold Derby about “For All Mankind” (watch the video above). Apple’s drama from showrunner Ronald D. Moore stars Joel Kinnaman as an American astronaut in an alternate history of the late 20th century. “For better or for worse, we get to alter footage,” laughs Redd.
He explains about his work on the two seasons that Apple TV+ has released thus far, “One of the challenges for this show is that we cut between archival footage, stock footage, full CG shots, our original live action and so, what we want to is make sure everything feels like it’s from the same world and that we’re not jostling the viewer around.”
SEEover 150 interviews with Emmy contenders.
Redd elaborates, “We look at a lot of traditional NASA footage and stock footage/archival footage,...
He explains about his work on the two seasons that Apple TV+ has released thus far, “One of the challenges for this show is that we cut between archival footage, stock footage, full CG shots, our original live action and so, what we want to is make sure everything feels like it’s from the same world and that we’re not jostling the viewer around.”
SEEover 150 interviews with Emmy contenders.
Redd elaborates, “We look at a lot of traditional NASA footage and stock footage/archival footage,...
- 6/5/2021
- by Riley Chow
- Gold Derby
Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched the second season finale of “For All Mankind,” streaming now on Apple TV Plus.
The biggest difference between the two seasons of Apple TV Plus’ series “For All Mankind” was that the storyline orbited more strongly around the moon in the second season. For costume designer Jill M. Ohanneson, that meant more space suits.
The alternate-history series sees the Soviet Union land on the moon before the United States, and focuses on what might have happened if the space race had never ended. In the second season finale, the American astronauts at the Jamestown base held Soviet cosmonaut Rolan Baranov (Alexander Sokovikov) under asylum, while the Soviets held commander Alex Rossi (Scott Michael Campbell) in custody. As Alex tried to wager an exchange, Rossi begged, “Don’t do it, don’t do it…” and gunfire is heard.
Meanwhile, Gordo...
The biggest difference between the two seasons of Apple TV Plus’ series “For All Mankind” was that the storyline orbited more strongly around the moon in the second season. For costume designer Jill M. Ohanneson, that meant more space suits.
The alternate-history series sees the Soviet Union land on the moon before the United States, and focuses on what might have happened if the space race had never ended. In the second season finale, the American astronauts at the Jamestown base held Soviet cosmonaut Rolan Baranov (Alexander Sokovikov) under asylum, while the Soviets held commander Alex Rossi (Scott Michael Campbell) in custody. As Alex tried to wager an exchange, Rossi begged, “Don’t do it, don’t do it…” and gunfire is heard.
Meanwhile, Gordo...
- 4/23/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – 2012 contained three great Tommy Lee Jones performances, and one of them was delivered by Josh Brolin. Whereas Jones himself was flat-out brilliant in “Hope Springs” and “Lincoln,” he was assigned the thankless task of playing second (or third) banana to the wisecracking, increasingly Bugs Bunny-like Will Smith in Barry Sonnenfeld’s wholly unnecessary third installment in the “Men in Black” franchise.
“Men in Black 3,” released a decade after the failed “Men in Black 2” and fifteen years after the original (and inimitable) smash hit, offers the latest proof that no franchise is considered dead. The fat lady had already sung a litany of operettas over “Mib”’s corpse, but Hollywood remains tone deaf. It’s little wonder why the film wasn’t the massive hit some executives had expected. Fifteen years is an awful long time for fans to wait for a decent follow-up, and Smith is nowhere...
“Men in Black 3,” released a decade after the failed “Men in Black 2” and fifteen years after the original (and inimitable) smash hit, offers the latest proof that no franchise is considered dead. The fat lady had already sung a litany of operettas over “Mib”’s corpse, but Hollywood remains tone deaf. It’s little wonder why the film wasn’t the massive hit some executives had expected. Fifteen years is an awful long time for fans to wait for a decent follow-up, and Smith is nowhere...
- 12/12/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
After grossing more than $624 million at the box office this summer, Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black 3 arrives on Blu-ray and DVD today. The release also marks the debut of Sony Pictures' new Movie Touch technology which the studio recently previewed at a special press event with Make up Effects Artist Rick Baker, VFX Supervisor Jay Redd and Animation Supervisor Spencer Cook in attendance. Currently available for the iPad, Movie Touch is a free download from the iTunes App Store which allows users to view the full-length film and access bonus content either on its own or as the movie plays by touching anything from characters to pull up interactive profiles and filmographies or entire move segments to access behind behind-the-scenes footage and featurettes from Men in Black 3 's...
- 11/30/2012
- Comingsoon.net
Multi Oscar© winning master of make-up effects Rick Baker on the set of Columbia Pictures’ Men In Black 3. Photo By: Wilson Webb. © 2012 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
The story of Men In Black 3 takes the filmmakers back . back to the characters. origins, back to the key moments of their relationship, to focus on the key elements that have kept them at arms. length from each other for 15 years . and looked for ways to resolve the conflict. The answer came in sending Agent J back . back in time.
.We wanted the movie to be both familiar and different,. says director Barry Sonnenfeld, who has taken the helm of all three Men In Black films. .What.s familiar is the characters and premise of the Men in Black and who they are. We wanted to bring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back together again. But we also wanted something new and inventive,...
The story of Men In Black 3 takes the filmmakers back . back to the characters. origins, back to the key moments of their relationship, to focus on the key elements that have kept them at arms. length from each other for 15 years . and looked for ways to resolve the conflict. The answer came in sending Agent J back . back in time.
.We wanted the movie to be both familiar and different,. says director Barry Sonnenfeld, who has taken the helm of all three Men In Black films. .What.s familiar is the characters and premise of the Men in Black and who they are. We wanted to bring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back together again. But we also wanted something new and inventive,...
- 5/23/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Opened
Wednesday, Nov. 26
Like its source material -- a Disneyland attraction -- "The Haunted Mansion" is a pleasant and atmospheric family romp, offering enough mildly chilling thrills to keep everyone entertained during its brief running time. Boxoffice fave Eddie Murphy toplines as a go-getter real estate agent who sidelines a family trip in hopes of landing a wealthy client, finding instead a world of restless spirits, creepy zombies and other special effects. The film is sure to scare up strong results for Disney over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and should continue to be a family draw in ensuing weeks.
Jim Evers (Murphy) and his wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), are partners in a New Orleans real estate company, and she's increasingly frustrated by his workaholic tendencies. To make amends for missing their anniversary dinner, Jim is taking Sara and their two kids Marc John Jefferies and Aree Davis) for a restful weekend at the lake. But when Sara is summoned by the owner of a manse in a tony part of town, Jim can't resist stopping by to make a sales pitch.
The real stars here are the production design by Oscar winner John Myhre ("Chicago") and the visual effects work from vast teams of artists, led by Jay Redd and makeup designer Rick Baker. From its creaking gate to its moss-shrouded trees and backyard cemetery, the titular mansion-with-a-secret is an amalgam of classic spooky-movie elements, with a Louisiana accent.
In a plot line intricate enough to keep parents engaged, the inevitable rainstorm makes overnight guests of the Evers family, who gradually uncover a web of unresolved, not to mention dysfunctional, love. The house's two pale inhabitants, owner Edward Gracey (Nathaniel Parker) and his humorless, raspy-voiced butler (the unexpected Terence Stamp), believe Sara is the reincarnated Elizabeth, the love of Gracey's life. Her untimely demise long ago cast the mansion's ghostly residents in a state of purgatory, and the plan is to lift the curse by uniting the two lovers at last.
With the help of a mouthy spirit in a crystal ball (Jennifer Tilly) and the house's constantly startled servants (Wallace Shawn, Dina Waters), Jim and the kids race around the premises to save Sara from a wedding made in hell. Their adventure's most effective set piece (which might be too frightening for very young children) involves a descent into the mansion's well-populated crypt. There's an especially winning touch of whimsy in a barbershop quartet of cemetery busts who consider every uttered word a song cue.
The story doesn't quite bear up to the scrutiny of logic, even its own spirit-world variety -- viewers might wonder, for example, why Elizabeth herself isn't a restless ghost haunting the mansion. But scripter David Berenbaum ("Elf") delivers the family-togetherness message with humor and a light hand, avoiding schmaltz and tossing in a few over-their-heads cracks for the grown-ups in the audience.
Director Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King", "Stuart Little") keeps the tale moving, orchestrating the multiple visual layers with seamless efficiency and energy, abetted by Mark Mancina's unobtrusive score and strong contributions from costumer Mona May. Remi Adefarasin's cinematography captures it all with an appropriate emphasis on ghoulish, autumnal tones.
A low-key, affable Murphy acquits himself well as the Realtor-on-a-roll, and young Jefferies displays keen comic timing as a boy reluctantly facing his fears. Supporting work is mostly bland, though, with Stamp and Tilly enjoyable but disappointingly one-note in their jokey roles.
THE HAUNTED MANSION
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Rob Minkoff
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Don Hahn, Andrew Gunn
Executive producers: Barry Bernardi, Rob Minkoff
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: John Myhre
Music: Mark Mancina
Costume designer: Mona May
Editor: Priscilla Nedd Friendly
Visual effects supervisor: Jay Redd
Special effects makeup designer: Rick Baker
Cast:
Jim Evers: Eddie Murphy
Ramsley: Terence Stamp
Master Gracey: Nathaniel Parker
Sara Evers: Marsha Thomason
Madame Leota: Jennifer Tilly
Ezra: Wallace Shawn
Emma: Dina Waters
Michael: Marc John Jefferies
Megan: Aree Davis
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Wednesday, Nov. 26
Like its source material -- a Disneyland attraction -- "The Haunted Mansion" is a pleasant and atmospheric family romp, offering enough mildly chilling thrills to keep everyone entertained during its brief running time. Boxoffice fave Eddie Murphy toplines as a go-getter real estate agent who sidelines a family trip in hopes of landing a wealthy client, finding instead a world of restless spirits, creepy zombies and other special effects. The film is sure to scare up strong results for Disney over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and should continue to be a family draw in ensuing weeks.
Jim Evers (Murphy) and his wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), are partners in a New Orleans real estate company, and she's increasingly frustrated by his workaholic tendencies. To make amends for missing their anniversary dinner, Jim is taking Sara and their two kids Marc John Jefferies and Aree Davis) for a restful weekend at the lake. But when Sara is summoned by the owner of a manse in a tony part of town, Jim can't resist stopping by to make a sales pitch.
The real stars here are the production design by Oscar winner John Myhre ("Chicago") and the visual effects work from vast teams of artists, led by Jay Redd and makeup designer Rick Baker. From its creaking gate to its moss-shrouded trees and backyard cemetery, the titular mansion-with-a-secret is an amalgam of classic spooky-movie elements, with a Louisiana accent.
In a plot line intricate enough to keep parents engaged, the inevitable rainstorm makes overnight guests of the Evers family, who gradually uncover a web of unresolved, not to mention dysfunctional, love. The house's two pale inhabitants, owner Edward Gracey (Nathaniel Parker) and his humorless, raspy-voiced butler (the unexpected Terence Stamp), believe Sara is the reincarnated Elizabeth, the love of Gracey's life. Her untimely demise long ago cast the mansion's ghostly residents in a state of purgatory, and the plan is to lift the curse by uniting the two lovers at last.
With the help of a mouthy spirit in a crystal ball (Jennifer Tilly) and the house's constantly startled servants (Wallace Shawn, Dina Waters), Jim and the kids race around the premises to save Sara from a wedding made in hell. Their adventure's most effective set piece (which might be too frightening for very young children) involves a descent into the mansion's well-populated crypt. There's an especially winning touch of whimsy in a barbershop quartet of cemetery busts who consider every uttered word a song cue.
The story doesn't quite bear up to the scrutiny of logic, even its own spirit-world variety -- viewers might wonder, for example, why Elizabeth herself isn't a restless ghost haunting the mansion. But scripter David Berenbaum ("Elf") delivers the family-togetherness message with humor and a light hand, avoiding schmaltz and tossing in a few over-their-heads cracks for the grown-ups in the audience.
Director Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King", "Stuart Little") keeps the tale moving, orchestrating the multiple visual layers with seamless efficiency and energy, abetted by Mark Mancina's unobtrusive score and strong contributions from costumer Mona May. Remi Adefarasin's cinematography captures it all with an appropriate emphasis on ghoulish, autumnal tones.
A low-key, affable Murphy acquits himself well as the Realtor-on-a-roll, and young Jefferies displays keen comic timing as a boy reluctantly facing his fears. Supporting work is mostly bland, though, with Stamp and Tilly enjoyable but disappointingly one-note in their jokey roles.
THE HAUNTED MANSION
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Rob Minkoff
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Don Hahn, Andrew Gunn
Executive producers: Barry Bernardi, Rob Minkoff
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: John Myhre
Music: Mark Mancina
Costume designer: Mona May
Editor: Priscilla Nedd Friendly
Visual effects supervisor: Jay Redd
Special effects makeup designer: Rick Baker
Cast:
Jim Evers: Eddie Murphy
Ramsley: Terence Stamp
Master Gracey: Nathaniel Parker
Sara Evers: Marsha Thomason
Madame Leota: Jennifer Tilly
Ezra: Wallace Shawn
Emma: Dina Waters
Michael: Marc John Jefferies
Megan: Aree Davis
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 12/11/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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