Julie Taymor's The Tempest trailer

[Katurian2]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 4:34pm

The first theatrical trailer for Taymor's Tempest was released today. Reeve Carney makes a bit of an appearance as well and Alan Cumming shows his face but not much else.


Looks like a bit of an LSD-fueled fiasco to me. The only thing I'm really excited for is Ben Wishaw.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/10/05/movie-trailer-julie-taymors-the-tempest/

UPDATE: Apple trailer link for better quality:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/miramax/thetempest/

Updated On: 10/5/10 at 04:34 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 5:16pm

Funny how Ariel's bird wings look very much like what Cathy Zuber designed for Sam Mendes production of the Tempest last year..... How much you wanna bet Taymor saw that?

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 5:34pm

Julie Taymor rapes yet another classic.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 5:36pm

That is certainly possible, and directors and designers take inspiration from others all the time so it may even be likely. One set of big black bird wings do tend to look like another set of big black bird wings though, so maybe not.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 6:09pm

"Funny how Ariel's bird wings look very much like what Cathy Zuber designed for Sam Mendes production of the Tempest last year..... How much you wanna bet Taymor saw that?"

As much as I'd like to dig on Taymor, this thing wrapped filming long before then, I think.

It looks like a mess. I haven't heard good word of mouth.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 6:25pm

Well for the cast's sake, I hope this isn't as much of a mess as it would appear to be. With such amazing actors in this, it'll be all on her if it doesn't work.

[Weez]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 6:25pm

Guys, I think when you've got an androgynous-tending-towards-masculine spirit masquerading as a scary harpy, black wings are pretty much a given. Unless you're Julian Bleach. <3

But Ben Whishaw could play Ariel in jeans and t-shirt and he'd be absolutely perfect. Why on earth would anyone want to hide him in obnoxious clouds of CGI? That is utterly beyond me!

And yet, I can't help but want to see this anyway. I don't like the play a great deal to begin with, so it's not like they're going to break it for me, and I'll be interested to see how/if some of the stranger seeming elements work.

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 6:48pm

Weez, who or what is your avatar?

[luke-h***]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 7:07pm

I just watched it without the sound for reasons being that my friend is currently watching The Producers in my room.

It looks absolutely beautiful. Way beyond my expectations. I'm a massive Shakespeare fan, and a big Julie Taymor fan.
I love arty things. I really do think this looks beautiful!

[Weez]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 7:23pm

Weez, who or what is your avatar?

Inspired by this very thread, I've gone back to Julian Bleach as harpy Ariel in the RSC's 2006 production of The Tempest directed by Rupert Goold. People tend to mistake me for male when I have this avatar, but I love it far too much to go without it forever. XD

Seriously though, if I were directing The Tempest and I had Ben Whishaw as Ariel, he'd do the whole role in nobbut a pair of jeans, and an awesome tribal mask for the harpy scene! CGI my ass, Taymor! :P

Updated On: 10/5/10 at 07:23 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 7:44pm

It was filmed before hand BUT the wing sequence is all post which could have been done well after the principal shooting.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 7:46pm

Here's the NYT review picture to refresh on the BAM wings. Yeah, it's similar to Taymor's CGI vomit, but it's pretty standard for the harpy scene. It seems like there are two mainstream designs for Ariel in The Tempest- one being fairy-esque and light and the other being dark or tribal like these examples. Of course, there are a million other ways to do him as well .... but these are the most common.

And yeah, I would totally pay just to see Wishaw in that costume for the whole movie. Tight black jeans... topless... mmmmhmmmm

Updated On: 10/5/10 at 07:46 PM

[Katurian2]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 7:55pm

And here's the trailer image of Whishaw for comparison. Unfortunately, his glorious chest is obscured by the terrible black sludge... but you can judge for yourself how similar the two are...

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 10:13pm

Not seeing much similarity beyond them both just being guys with wings.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 10:32pm

I am seeing quite a bit. It was one reason I commented on it when I saw the trailer.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 10:43pm

I'm certainly curious to see what Taymor does with The Tempest. There's a lot of room to play around with the show. Frankly, I wasn't a fan of the show until I saw the 2006 RSC production, which I found to be truly amazing (Weez's avatar certainly brings back some fond memories). But I am wary of Taymor's vision (Titus is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and I was less than happy with what she did with it)- for the sake of the cast I'm really hoping it's solid.

[Weez]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 9:01am

While we're on somewhere near the topic, does anyone else think Ben Whishaw and Christian Camargo look a bit similar (albeit rather differently sized)?

[trentsketch]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 9:45am

I'm still in denial over a female Prospero. Doesn't that undermine the intentions of the play regarding the entire character of Miranda? It could raise some interesting issues in the dynamics between Prospera and Caliban or Prospera and Ferdinand, but at what cost to the actual content of the play?

I've heard very bad things from some people I trust dearly regarding this film after the NYFF screening. Very bad things. Like, Julie Taymor doesn't know how to restrain herself in editing or effects or concept to the detriment of the film. Like, Taymor puts way too much emphasis on the fools in the play at the expense of the overall story. Like, Helen Mirren and the rest of the cast try like hell to dig out of the CGI nightmare Taymor created but fail to do so.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 10:02am

But that is Taymor, always has been. Style over substance. Self indulgent tableaux override any narrative in a Taymor project. Often times leaving audience members scratching their heads and claiming,"Don't know what she meant, there were some awesome visuals. She must be a genius!"

[tazber]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 10:05am

I also watched it without sound b/c I was in a campus computer lab without speakers.

It looks cool, and Taymor is nothing if not visionary but her track record on film is not stellar. Across The Universe was a bore beyond belief and Titus was tonally all over the place.

But hey, at least this isn't in 3D.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 10:46am

The trailer looks cool, and I enjoyed TITUS enough (a great deal, actually, it seems to me to be one of the best films of Shakespeare's plays) to be there as close to opening day as possible.

For me, the big problem with Taymor's film projects is not the CGI or the tone being all over the place, or style over substance, but the rather tiresome scripts she has chosen. Hard to argue that she's got a pretty good piece of source material this time, one where her love of effects and overt stylings are actually appropriate and can actually be a boon to the material.
I'm psyched to see this.

Of course, it might suck. One never knows.

[NYC Hearted]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 11:33am

I get Narnia vibes from the styling and art direction of the film. Here's to hoping it isn't awful.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 12:09pm

Meh. I'll stick with PROSPERO'S BOOKS. Better special effects, John Geilgud, and a naked Mark Rylance.

[Q]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 12:12pm

That turned me off completely.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 1:49pm

Borstal, I love Prospero's Books. But to be accurate, EVERYONE was naked. Such a shame that film isn't on DVD, (and not for the nudity!!!- it's a wonderful visual feast)

I don't think there's any specific copying here. Every Tempest I've ever seen has had something like this- for instance the RSC John Wood production back in the 80s.