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In Ash, Flying Lotus’ moody and mellow sci-fi thriller, a woman wakes up to the low hum of a malfunctioning system. A chilly neon blue, inflected with the fire-engine red of an emergency light, bathes the room. Even through her blurry vision, the woman, whose name we later learn is Riya (Eiza Gonzalez), can see the extent of the surrounding damage. The destruction includes overturned tables, flipped chairs, broken test tubes and bloodied bodies. These are the corpses of her crew, and when Riya looks at them, her memory flickers. The blinkered visions reveal a mutiny on the space aircraft. But who turned on whom and why is she the only one left?

Ash answers these questions with a special attention to atmosphere. The film’s seductive and trippy aesthetics help mask the overall dullness of this two-person chamber drama. Flying Lotus, who made his directorial debut eight years ago with Kuso,...

Oh, so Flying Lotus played Electronic Arts’s Dead Space video games. Right? It’s one of the many influences in the musician-turned-filmmaker’s Ash, a science fiction dreadbomb dealing in claustrophobia and doomy vibes. He’s messing around in a familiar Event Horizon and Pandorum sandbox—with nods to Robert Rodriguez’s Earth-set The Faculty—but there’s enough gnarly cosmic horror imagery to set Flying Lotus’ zero-gravity mystery apart.

The sci-fi horror genre only has so many setups filmmakers can choose from, but as Flying Lotus shows, that doesn’t mean new films have to be creatively bankrupt.

Eiza González stars as Riya, an astronaut who regains consciousness on a distant planet to find her crew slaughtered. She has no immediate recollection of what happened as she wanders around the blood-smeared station she calls home. After a few brief and frightening memories flash back, her supposed rescuer arrives...

People tend to overuse the term “mind-blowing” when hyping sci-fi movies, but in the case of Flying Lotus’ visually audacious “Ash,” the word feels apt. Weak on plot but pretty as a sunset (on the whole human race?), “Ash” opens with a shot of the cosmic turmoil swarming inside the brain of an astronaut far, far away from Earth, then pulls back abruptly, zooming out through her pupil to reveal the look of pure panic on the face of sole survivor Riya Ortiz (Eiza González). Cue a shock montage of all her crewmates, each with their head crushed in or blown open.

How’d they all die? Most unpleasantly. Fast-forward 90 minutes, and the final image is another head-spinner. Between those extremes, “Ash” is surprisingly conventional, especially coming from the maniac who conceived 2017 Sundance disrupter “Kuso” and the scatological game-show segment “Ozzy’s Dungeon” from “V/H/S/99”: a colorful, giallo-style homage...

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A decade ago, while on location in Africa with natural history documentary icon David Attenborough, Michael Gunton, who serves as creative director of factual at BBC Studios, had the idea to do another series that goes back in time — effectively BBC’s Planet Earth but with dinosaurs. What then seemed impossible proved to be a real option in more recent years with the evolution of technology and by teaming with innovative filmmaker Jon Favreau.

The result is Prehistoric Planet, an ambitious five-part Apple TV+ docuseries produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit and narrated by Attenborough that takes viewers back 66 million years to the late Cretaceous period and features nearly 100 CG dinosaurs and other animals.

Series producer/showrunner Tim Walker credits Favreau (who executive produced the series with Gunton) as the one who handed the team the “keys to the time machine.

You know nature is healing because the Avatar sequels, seemingly in development since the dawn of recorded history, are once again filming. We know this because producer Jon Landau, and none of the actual official Avatar social channels, is sharing some behind-the-scenes photos of production from the New Zealand set. And these photos are particularly Aliens-y, in a cool way. View this post on Instagram Garrett Warren, 2nd Unit Director, gives stuntman Steve Brown some notes before a take. Garrett, Richard Bluck (2nd Unit Dp) and the Kiwi team have been getting some great shots. …...

Filming on the Avatar sequels was one of the first major productions to resume following a forced hiatus, with producer Jon Landau since providing a few glimpses of what's going on behind-the-scenes of the upcoming sci-fi action franchise. Well, Landau is back, this time giving us a look at the latter element of Avatar 2 courtesy of a few pictures which suggest the war between the humans and the Na'vi is far from over.

The images show off a moment on the second unit of the movie which is currently filming some sequences involving human soldiers. "Garrett Warren, 2nd Unit Director, gives stuntman Steve Brown some notes before a take," Landau wrote alongside the images. "Garrett, Richard Bluck (2nd Unit Dp) and the Kiwi team have been getting some great shots. Keep it up." The all-out war between the indigenous Na'vi and invading humans made up the majority of the...

Exclusive: China-nz-uk production with Karl Urban, Willow Shields gets cast, finance, director.

China-nz-uk 3D fantasy The Wonder, starring Karl Urban (Dredd) and Willow Shields (The Hunger Games) is currently prepping in China with shoot due to get underway early next month.

UK sales outfit Embankment Films has boarded international sales on the $20m feature, which will now be directed by actor-director Saul Rubinek (True Romance) who has taken over from Sliding Doors filmmaker Peter Hewitt.

Additional cast includes Il Postino actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Chinese teen star Wu Lei and leading Chinese actress Joe Chen Chiau-En (The Monkey King).

Also new to the English-language production is financier Tien Ran Media Group, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which is making its first foray into international film production.

Tien Ran replaces Show + Share Investment as the film’s primary Chinese financier.

The Golden Era distributor Stellar Mega Films is due to release locally.

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Despite hinting at an Anglo-centric core, it soon becomes apparent that Beyond The Edge is a documentary-film about Edmund Hillary’s achievements as a mountaineer rather than Britain’s post-war achievements as an intrepid, all-conquering nation. The British Colony’s ‘last hurrah’ – as it was contemporaneously touted – was fulfilled by Kiwi and a Nepalese Sherpa.

Comprising stock footage, voice over work and cinematic scenes that feature silent actors, this documentary-cum-drama finds its pace as the expedition moves into its more critical stages. Of course, the higher Hillary (Chad Moffitt) and Tenzing (Sonam Sherpa) climbed, the less stock footage there was.

This is perhaps the film’s biggest downfall. While the balance between the old, grainy footage and the gleaming, high-definition shots was neat towards the start, it invariably swayed towards the contemporary as we reached the summit, and while this could have been an effective visual device, heightening the tension...

Agreements signed with Metrodome in the UK among others.

Distribution deals for 3D Everest documentary Beyond the Edge have been secured by Altitude Film Sales for key territories including the UK (Metrodome), German-speaking Europe (Polyband), Japan (Kadokawa) and the Middle East (Gulf).

The film, which had its world premiere for at the Toronto International Film Festival, grossed Nz$320,170 ($270,000) on its opening weekend at the box office across 76 screens.

It generated a screen average of Nz$4,200 ($3,500) toppling the previous documentary record holder for the territory, The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls - also from Beyond the Edge filmmaker Leanne Pooley.

The film’s total to date in New Zealand is Nz$505,601 ($425,000).

The docudrama, made in New Zealand this year, charts the story of Sir Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953, using a combination of archive footage and newly-shot 3D recreation.

Mike Runagall, managing director of Altitude Film Sales, said he “will be negotiating further deals at the...

Agreements signed with Metrodome in the UK among others.

Distribution deals for 3D Everest documentary Beyond the Edge have been secured by Altitude Film Sales for key territories including the UK (Metrodome), German-speaking Europe (Polyband), Japan (Kadokawa) and the Middle East (Gulf).

The film, which had its world premiere for at the Toronto International Film Festival, grossed Nz$320,170 ($270,000) on its opening weekend at the box office across 76 screens.

It generated a screen average of Nz$4,200 ($3,500) toppling the previous documentary record holder for the territory, The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls - also from Beyond the Edge filmmaker Leanne Pooley.

The film’s total to date in New Zealand is Nz$505,601 ($425,000).

The docudrama, made in New Zealand this year, charts the story of Sir Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953, using a combination of archive footage and newly-shot 3D recreation.

Mike Runagall, managing director of Altitude Film Sales, said he “will be negotiating further deals at the...

Exclusive: Chinese film producers Chun-Yi Yueh and Changyu Li and UK writer-producers Robert and Ashley Sidaway together with the UK’s Iain Brown and Brown Films have launched the $5m funded Sz Wonder Pictures.

The new outfit will produce five feature films over three years based out of Shenzen, China and Auckland, New Zealand.

The first title is $18m family fantasy adventure The Wonder 3D, directed by BAFTA Award-winner Peter Hewitt (Garfield, The Borrowers) which will start principal photography in October 2013 in Auckland and Shenzhen. The Chinese and Western cast will be announced shortly but Karl Urban and Willow Shields were previously understood to be attached to the project.

Us-based Hyde Park International will handle sales and distribution on the film outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Production partners include venture capital company RuHing Partners in China, New Zealand Film Commission and Film Auckland. Bonding the film in both China and New Zealand is European Film Bonds...

New Zealand Scales Everest Movie ‘Beyond The Edge’ Not to be confused with Sony Pictures’ Doug Liman-directed Everest, New Zealand’s General Film Corporation has announced the start of shooting on Beyond The Edge, a 3D feature about Sir Edmund Hillary’s 1953 ascent of Mt Everest. Local actors Chad Moffitt and Sonam Sherpa will play Hillary and his sherpa Tenzing Norgay for director Leanne Pooley. Matthew Metcalfe is producing and Rialto will release in New Zealand and Australia. Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King production designer Grant Major; cinematographer Richard Bluck, second unit on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and costume designer Barbara Darragh are all aboard. Altitude Film Sales has international rights. Completion is expected in September. EOne Builds Canadian Teams Following eOne’s acquisition of Alliance Films, the company has made new team appointments in Toronto and Montréal. EOne Films Canada has named Frank Mendicino...

Horror author Brian Keene and British Fantasy Award winning writer Paul Finch are working together to create Dark Hollow, a supposed return to the classic horror/monster movie based on Brian Keene's best selling novel of the same name. Nifty!

Paul Campion will direct from a script by Paul Finch, with Elisabeth Pinto producing. Shane Rangi is attached to play the role of the evil satyr Hylinus, and New Zealand's Weta Workshop is attached to design and create the creature makeup. Shooting will take place in Kent, England, with Richard Bluck (Black Sheep, Lord of the Rings) attached as director of photography and shooting on 16mm film for a 35mm theatrical release.

Now if only someone could get to work on The Rising! Then I'd be tickled pink!

Synopsis

"After two miscarriages, writer Adam Shay's marriage is on the rocks. On a walk through local woods rumored to be haunted,...

LAS VEGAS -- Oakley founder Jim Jannard's startup Red unveiled for the first time publicly a working prototype of its anticipated Red One digital cinematography camera on Monday at the NAB convention.

Announced a year ago as a developing digital camera with 4k capabilities and a low $17,500 price tag, the camera was hailed as a tool that could democratize filmmaking, though there were many skeptics that doubted the company could meet its stated goals.

At NAB, in addition to showing the prototype, Red is presenting "Crossing the Line", a 12-minute short directed by Peter Jackson and lensed by Richard Bluck, who served as second unit DP on Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "King Kong".

Bluck said the short was shot on location in New Zealand with two of the Red prototype cameras and Cooke lenses, recording in "Red Code" raw to a hard drive. It was edited using Final Cut Pro, went through a digital color grading process, and was mastered in 4k using Quantel's iQ system.