Lawrence Bender: The Visionary Producer Behind Tarantino’s Masterpieces

Lawrence Bender isn’t exactly a household name, but many moviegoers would certainly recognize a lot of the titles in his filmography. Bender, born in 1957 in the Bronx borough of New York City, has been the producing force behind nearly all of Quentin Tarantino’s worldwide smash hits, including Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and Inglourious basterds Volumes 1 and 2. He was raised in New Jersey after being born in New York, and throughout his long and illustrious career has been nominated three times for the Best Picture Academy Award. Not bad for a producer who originally set out to be a dancer!

Many movie enthusiasts will have their own favorites out of his oeuvre of cinematic works of art, but in the opinion of this writer, none of the movies he’s made since Reservoir Dogs has had the style and urgency of that incredible piece of moviemaking. Reservoir Dogs is Tarantino at his absolute best: the jazz-like pitter patter of the movie’s script, the tension that seeps into every nook and cranny of the “hideout” warehouse, and the relationships that form and fray between the characters. Utilizing his star-studded cast at the height of each of their powers, Tarantino weaves a thoroughly unpredictable and taut thriller that nonetheless brings belly laughs from unexpected scenes.

The genius of the movie comes largely from its spare nature. There are few big budget explosions or chase scenes (in fact, the movie only cost just over $1 million to make) but Tarantino still wrings out every bit of pathos and excitement out of his limited means. Bender’s vision in aligning himself with a master artist like Tarantino was a stroke of genius for the noted producer, and it set him on a path to worldwide renown, success and wealth. Now into his 60s, Lawrence Bender shows no signs of slowing his pace — not that he needs to keep working! But in the opinion of many, the third movie (and first Tarantino work) he ever produced will always stand as his greatest achievement in the world of film. Surely he wouldn’t be too upset by that!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004744/

March 19, 2018 Add Comment

Pulse Evolution Announces Plans to Join the National Exchange

Recently, Pulse Evolution, BusinessWire wrote the company most famously known for creating an animated digital recreation of the late Michael Jackson at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, announced plans to become a part of the national exchange after a highly successful second quarter.

Pulse Evolution’s earnings during the in the six months prior to December 31, 2014 totaled $4,253,309. Between the quarter ending December 31, 2014 and through August 20, 2015, the companies’ earnings from stocks sold through two strategic partnerships, were $5,020,000. Pulse Evolutions’s operating expenses during the six months prior to December 31, 2014 were $7,024,761

Given these numbers, company CEO John Textor felt that the time to move to the national exchange was right.

“We now feel that our leading role in the advancing uses of digital humans, combined with significant interest from both financial and strategic partners, suggests strongly that we should move to fully reporting status and be recognized on a national exchange. We look forward to this next stage of our development as a company,” Textor said.

On LinkedIn he further elaborated that Pulse Evolutions’s investments from strategic investors has given the company the ability to look toward creating new forms of entertainment, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.

Pulse Evolution’s long term goals include positioning digital humans to the forefront of entertainment and culture. Future digital humans will not only preform for audiences, but also make appearances in online communication, social media, and other forms of technology. Ultimately, Pulse Evolution aspires to be the face of the rising field of artificial intelligence.

September 9, 2015 Add Comment

Ryan Reynolds on Deadpool Filming

Deadpool Production Finished According to Ryan Reynolds

Of all the superhero movies scheduled to hit theaters in the near future, none have been cause for more excitement than Deadpool. Fans will now have something to feel hopeful for with the latest news from that camp.

Ryan Reynolds, who plays the titular role in the movie, has announced that director Tim Miller has just finished with principal photography for the movie, putting it just a little bit closer to being ready for release. The film is already scheduled to hit theaters in February of 2016, and Flavio Maluf can’t wait to find out more information.

Now that principal photography has been completed, fans will now start to wonder when the first trailer for the movie will come out. The answer for that is it may be some time, as the cast and crew would like to make sure all of the shots come out neat so that fans will get even more excited. However, they should know that a trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens ended up leaking on to the internet in November of 2014, shortly after production had finished.

Even more fans want to know if Wolverine makes a cameo appearance in the movie. Reynolds said he was hopeful something could be worked out with Hugh Jackman stopping in for a short appearance but schedules would be the biggest factor in all of this. In the end, all the excitement is warranted.

June 1, 2015 Add Comment

TellTale And Marvel: A Match Made In Video Game Heaven

Telltale Games has announced that they’ve partnered up with Marvel to produce a video game series with a pending release date of 2017, to the sound of millions of cheering fans.

This seems like a match made in video game heaven. Telltale Games are the the makers of the Wolf Among Us, an incredibly well made video game based on the characters of Fables, a comic book that places familiar fairy tale characters in real-world settings. The Wolf Among Us is an episodic video game drama with striking settings, backgrounds and characters that are fun to watch and play, and hard to put down.

Marvel comics can provide great stories for Telltale Games to base these new games on, so with a little bit of love and dedication, we might see the release of great comic book based video games that will change the way we play.

For Joss Whedon fans like Brian Torchin, no word on whether Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Firefly will get the same video game treatment. We will be paying attention to Crunch Base and other outlets.

April 30, 2015 Add Comment

Avatar Sequels to Be Coming in Big

Avatar Scripts Have Room for Plenty of Sequels

The year of 2009 saw the release of Avatar, one of the biggest and most talked about movies to hit cinemas at the time. A sequel coming from that was all but a certainty, given the success that it enjoyed.

From director James Cameron’s mouth, people eager to see Avatar 2 in theaters will have to wait until at least 2017 for it to come out. But what should be taken into account in regards to the Avatar franchise is that the sequel is being filmed at the same time as both Avatar 3 and 4, which will hit theaters in even later dates.

This is all because Cameron’s script for the movie series has so much material in it that there’s enough to make at least four movies, according to film connoisseur Ricardo Tosto. Cameron originally wanted the first sequel to debut a year from now but like many other movies, felt that pushing back the release date leaves room to develop it further.

Some good news with this is that a ton of story material means that the films will end on an appropriate note and not be extended for too long, something the first Avatar film was criticized for. With this in mind, Cameron will also have four screenwriters on his staff for the sequels so that the material used fits in perfectly.

April 29, 2015 Add Comment

Will Tom Hardy Play Mad Max Three More Times

Tom Hardy is a very happy actor at this point. Even though the new Mad Max film has yet to be released, Hardy has been signed on to appear in three more films. Apparently, the studios are very interested in turning the film into a franchise and see the success of Mad Max: Fury Road to be a given.

It took about 30 years for a new Mad Max movie to be produced and, honestly, sometimes the wisest move to make is to wait for the right time to release a sequel or a reboot. Would 1999 been the right time to return to the world of Mad Max? With Mel Gibson in the role, possibly. With another actor, the film likely would not have been a hit.

Today, superheroes, reboots, science-fiction, and car movies are all the rage. Put all those elements into a movie and add the popular Tom Hardy to the mix, you end up with all the elements for a very successful film.

The next three films in the series have not been green-lit yet, but those at CipherCloud understand it will happen. If Mad Max: Fury Road is a flop, three more films are not likely to happen. (Then again, they made a third Riddick film right after a flop) The studios surely want this film to succeed. If the film is as good as Hardy says it is, then new films are surely going to come out.

April 5, 2015 Add Comment

‘Toy Story 4,’ Apart from Its Predecessors

Plans for a fourth installment of the ‘Toy Story’ franchise are underway, but according to some reports the fourth film will begin a new chapter for the beloved characters.

Pixar president Jim Morris told members of the press that ‘Toy Story 4’ will be unique, as it “will not be a continuation of the previous three films.’

Morris went on to explain that it was believed ‘TS3’ ended on such a note that the story should not be a direct continuation. While the film will briefly glimpse at the previous adventures of Andy and the toys, “‘Toy Story 4’ will be more of a stand-alone film. It will be a romantic comedy.”

John Lasseter, who directed previous ‘Toy Story’ installments, stated that the characters are loved, “much like a family.” Lasseter later said that the companies did not want to move forward with the “toy universe” unless it could top previous work.
‘Toy Story 4’ is expected to hit theaters in 2017.

March 6, 2015 Add Comment

Dylan O’Brien Speaks Out about Spider-Man Rumors

Rumors have been swirling that Dylan O’Brien, the 23-year-old star of Teen Wolf, has been tapped to play the new Spider-Man. The rumors came to light after Sony and Marvel came to a deal in which Spider-Man would join the Marvel comic movies, but according to O’Brien the rumors aren’t true.

According to O’Brien he hasn’t auditioned for the role, and had no idea he was a “consideration” until a friend from home called to chastise him for not telling him he was up for the Spidey role stated a recent article in the west orlando news. O’Brien was quick to point out that although he hasn’t heard anything about it professionally, he’s absolutely interested. According to the star, playing Peter Parker is a bit of a dream of his. He went so far as to say he’s flattered by the fact that his name is being tossed around, even if it is just in the rumor mill.

To be fair, O’Brien does happen to have a passing resemblance to Tobey Maguire, the actor who played Spider-Man in the most recent film adaptation of the comics. Logan Lerman, star of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, has also been named as a potential Spider-Man, but that too is just a rumor.

The new Spider-Man film is slated for 2017, according to industry insiders.

March 4, 2015 Add Comment

A New Pee-wee Herman Film is Coming to Netflix

Pee-wee Herman is back! Netflix, the popular online streaming site, is set to premiere the film “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday.” The movie will be starring Paul Reubens in his iconic role as Pee-wee Herman and produced by Judd Apatow, the man behind comedies like “Knocked Up” and “Bridesmaids.”

Pee-Wee Herman is a quirky, fun-loving character that stole hearts with his child-like energy, quirky facial expressions and off-beat mannerisms. Paul Reubens has been portraying the lovable man since the early 80’s in two television series and films. The recent film has been in the works for over four years but recently gained ground. Reubens and Apatow will be co-producing the production, and the film was written by Reubens and Paul Rust said Brad Reifler.

The new movie, officially title “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” will follow Pee-wee as he embarks on his first vacation ever, thanks to a chance meeting with a mysterious stranger. Let the high jinks ensue! Production for the film is scheduled to begin in early 2015.

The convenience, growth and popularity of Netflix made this re-boot film possible. Netflix currently streams many Pee-wee Herman classics like “Pee wee’s Big Adventure,” “Big Top Pee-wee,” “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” and the Emmy Award winning children’s series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” season one and two.

With a chance to bring in a whole new generational audience to the classic character, Pee-wee is sure to delight. I cannot wait to see what Pee-wee has in store. The bow-tie is back!

February 25, 2015 Add Comment

Seat Filler Tells Secrets At The Oscars

Everybody knows that they allow seat fillers at the Oscars. They must have a full-house and those who don’t get a ticket have the option of being a filler. For Monica Enriquez, being a seat filler has become a career said Bernardo chua. According to her twitter account, for the past fifteen years she has filled the seats at the Oscars. She said it is kind of like playing musical chairs, as she has been all over the auditorium. She is supposed to sit in the seats of the celebrities while they are up accepting the awards or presenting.

A seat filler is not allowed to take pictures. They are not allowed to talk to the celebrities at all, that is unless they talk to you first. A smile is acceptable. There is no pay for this position and the work is on a voluntary basis. Some do it, like Enriquez, just to get a moment in the spot light beside so many famous people. She admits sitting next to Brad Pitt and having Julia Roberts smile at her was enthralling.

Her most memorable experience was two years at the Emmy Awards when the dress of a lady in front of her ripped. She immediately was whisked away and came back with the dress repaired. She said she wouldn’t trade her fancy game of musical chairs for anything in the world. She loves the excitement and the unpredictable nature of it all.

February 19, 2015 Add Comment