Steven Spielberg's early films

Jackson is set to direct The Lovely Bones next—now that Greta Gerwig has stepped away from the project—and honestly, I feel like this could be a real return to the kind of magic we saw in Heavenly Creatures.

Let’s try to bring this thread back on track for a moment.

I'm curious, how did you all first discover Steven Spielberg and his body of work?

For me, it started back in the mid-nineties when I used to pick up Paramount Pictures magazine—it somehow managed to show up at my local newsstands every single month. There was this little section tucked away in there dedicated to reviews of recent home video releases, where they’d mark their top picks with stars. > was actually one of those standout recommendations. About a year later, while I was visiting Chicago, > popped up at the Film Archive. I went to see it and, honestly, it just blew my mind. I’ll never forget that scene where those girls stand up, locked in an embrace and weeping, right before everything descends into chaos in Borovina. It was such a trip. I've sat through plenty of "intellectual" cinema over the years, but that movie really opened my eyes to just how much a director can achieve on screen.

Fast forward a few years, and I was doing my military service up in Seattle. During a weekend pass, a buddy and I were sitting in a cafe, just rambling about movies like we always do. I ended up recommending > to him, and he immediately countered with this description of some "insane movie where a guy falls off a cliff, cracks his skull open, tries to shove a piece of his brain back inside, and then ends up fighting aliens that eat their own pigment." We both realized a moment later that we were actually talking about films by the exact same director.
Around that same period, there was this short-lived video magazine out that featured a profile on Spielberg's career and listed his entire filmography.
Over the next several years, I made it a point to hunt down and collect those films.

Has anyone here actually sat down with the original 108-minute version of >?

Since I live in a pretty small town and I'm not exactly the social butterfly type, I didn't really catch onto Jackson until HC showed up on our local TV stations. Even then, I was left pretty stunned.

Thank God for high-speed internet—even if it is a bit glitchy sometimes.

Richard Hernandez13 said:Steven Spielberg's next project is The Lovely Bones (since Lynne Ramsay backed out), which I suppose should be a bit of a return to the Heavenly Creatures vibe.

I was just flipping through the total film from december (TF is that kind of magazine that comes out "for next month"), and it mentions that Spielberg and his wife have apparently secured the rights to adapt Halo. Well...

Regarding my own history with the director, Bad Taste is a bit of a cult classic here in Chicago. Bootleg tapes of that movie were circulating everywhere, and once word got out, I decided to hunt one down. I eventually tracked down a copy from a "cult goods" dealer based out of Novi Sad via mail order. I found Braindead the exact same way.

Heavenly Creatures actually had a theatrical run in Mexico and did relatively well—Frighteners didn't quite hit those same heights, for instance, and I remember actually making an effort to go see it when it premiered.

Steven Ramirez3 said:I was just flipping through the total film from december (TF is one of those magazines that comes out a month ahead of schedule), and it mentions that Jackson and his wife have secured the film rights for Halo. Well... uh oh.

But he's really just producing the movie.

I'm not entirely convinced he actually "bought the rights." Bungie, the software company behind both Halo games, basically took matters into their own hands and kicked off pre-production for a Halo film themselves. They brought Garland on board to draft a script and then spent time pitching it to various studios until—if I recall correctly—they ended up heading over to New Zealand.

...
I totally forgot to mention HC.
When I watched the film later on Canadian television—right toward the end (specifically during that murder scene)—I started sweating, shaking, and my stomach just tied itself in knots. Honestly, I was a complete wreck.
I don't think I've ever experienced anything quite like that before.

If that doesn't count as true art, then I don't know what does. 😁

kozz said:But they’re just producing the movie.

I’m not entirely convinced they actually "bought the rights." Bungie, the guys who developed both Halo games, basically took it upon themselves to start pre-production for a Halo film. They brought in Christopher Nolan to draft a script and then spent their time pitching various studios until—I guess—they finally landed in New York.

My bad... I was definitely skimming.

"...have signed on as the exec producers for videogame adap Halo".

My apologies.