Best known for his work on early “Star Wars” tie-ins and a series of Tolkein calendars in the ’70s, artist Tim Hildebrandt has passed away at age 67 from a diabetes-related illness. Twin brother Greg Hildebrandt, who he collaborated with on every project, has written this message to his fans:June 11, 2006Tim Hildebrandt has passed away. And, with him, so has an era.Tim, 67, died today from complications due to diabetes. He is survived by his mother Germaine, twin brother Greg, sister Janie, wife Rita, son Charles, nieces Mary and Laura, and nephew Gregory.

Tim was an otherworldly artist. For 47 years, his captivating work fostered the dreams and fantasies of millions of fans, young and old.

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Posted in Star Wars •

Laberinto del Fauno, El, or Pan’s Labyrinth as it is known in English is a fantasy/horror film that has been wowing audiences in Cannes. The Hollywood Reporter described it as ‘An engrossing mix of horror, fantasy and stark drama‘. The LA times was equally impressed, describing it as ‘Part fairy tale, part drama, part magical fantasy, made with an impeccable sense of atmosphere and mood.’ Salon.com said that it was ‘Hands down the most exciting and original film I saw at Cannes‘.

Pan’s Labyrinth is a Spanish language movie created by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro who has won internation acclaim for his his previous projects which include Hellboy, Blade II and Mimic. Del Toro started his professional life as a make-up designer, and formed his own company, Necropia, in the early 80s. His abundant imagination and visual flair has stamped his works with a unique identity permeated by religious iconography that stems back to a childhood where he was raised by his Catholic grandmother. This fascination with religious themes and in particular the myth of resurrection has produced some truly remarkable celluliod imagery. A key image in the trailer features the ‘insect’ (think Cronos and Mimic), a recurring metaphor in Del Toro films, simultaneously signifying birth, regeneration (Christ) and the repellent and alien. Judging by the photographs emerging from the production of his latest exploration of light and darkness, Pan’s Labyrinth promises to be his most interesting work to date.

Del Toro seems to be on a roll, with this movie in the can and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army on the way in 2007. He has also written a draft of a new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s work, The Witches.

“This film has been the single most fulfilling creative experience of my career,” said del Toro. “Hopefully it represents a future direction for my work. Pan’s Labyrinth is a passion project and it took over two years of my life to see it made the way I wanted it.”

According to reports, the character of Vidal, Ofelia’s evil stepfather seems set to become a memorable movie villain and the real monster of the piece. His corruption is cleverly juxtaposed against the fantastical darkness of the labyrinth’s inhabitants which include includes fairies, mandrakes and a sinister giant Toad (briefly glimpsed in the trailer) to demonstrate how even the most harrowing of nightmares can pale in comparison to the evils of humanity.

The faun Pan, played by Doug Jones who you may remember as Abe Sapien in Hellboy, acts as Ofelia’s guide through the labyrinth. In addition to this role, he also plays the skeletal Pale Man, a nightmarish creature who feasts on children and has an unusual optical arrangement (which you may have noticed on one of the X-Realms banners). Jones was originally trying to learn his lines phonetically, but has since been overdubbed by a Spanish actor. Ofelia is played by Ivana Baquero who has a Spanish language film resume extending back to 2005.

The creature effects in the movie are produced partly by CGI created by Cafi FX and puppetry from DDT Efectos Especiales. The trailer and stills leave you in no doubt as to their quality. The haunting score is written by Javier Navarrete, who worked with Del Toro on The Devil’s Backbone.

On January 23, 2006, Bob Berney, president of Picturehouse, announced that the company has acquired all North American rights to the movie. Pan’s labyrinth will be on general release in the USA in October and will show in its original Spanish, with English subtitles. A UK release date is unkown, but the film will hit French screens on November 1st.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

To conclude our X-Men 3 special, we have the film’s director Brett Ratner himself sharing his thoughts on the latest X-Men film. Ratner took over the helm of the X-Men series from Bryan Singer, who had successfully directed X-Men (2000) and X-Men 2: X-Men United (2003) and then left the series to relaunch the Superman franchise with Superman Returns (which opens at the end of June). Ratner started his career as a music video director (he was behind Madonna’s ‘Beautiful Stranger’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘Heartbreaker’ videos) and made his breakthrough in film with Money Talks in 1997, which he followed up with the hugely successful Rush Hour (1998) and Rush Hour 2 (2001). He’s also directed the films The Family Man (2000), Red Dragon (2002) and After The Sunset (2004), and is currently working on reuniting Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan for Rush Hour 3, which is scheduled for a 2007 release.

Brett Ratner

…on the development from the first two films to the third
In approaching the third film I’m able to really understand the universe and the world. And the two movies are really blueprints for me, because yeah I’m trying to go for more emotion, I’m trying to go for more action, I’m trying to bring some levity and some poignant moments to this movie, but I’m not really working outside the box. I’m keeping consistant with the tone of the first two films.

…on the actors’ return
All these actors, every single one of them coming back says a lot about their love of these characters and their love of this franchise. And I’m like a kid in the candy store, this is like a dream come true. I’m here working with some of the greatest actors in the world, some of the most beautiful actors in the world. I’m able to experiment and to try things and to have fun and create something that is different than enything I had ever done before.

…on the cure
The themes in this film deal with human relationships and choices that are put upon them because of this thing that has been created. And by the way, not created with malice, or with malicousness, or with the intention of destroying mutants. It was really done out of love, out of confusion maybe. Now it could be used in a harmful way, and that’s where the irony comes in, that’s where the conflict comes in. When is it appropriate to take the cure? To use the cure against somebody? We don’t have a cliché president in this movie who is anti-mutant and hates the mutants, and was against the mutants or fearful of the mutants. In this movie there’s a mutant in the government. Beast is a government official, he’s the Secretary of the Department on Mutant Affairs. So there’s a lot more open-mindedness and at the same time there’s a lot more scary stuff happening.

That’s it for our X-Men 3 special, we hope you enjoyed the unique insights the cast and crew were able to share with us. Look out for similar interview features for other upcoming films in the near future!

X-Men: The Last Stand is now in playing cinemas. Click here to read our review, and go here to discuss the film with others at the X-Boards.

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •