Post by Rabbit2009 on Aug 27, 2009 22:25:16 GMT -5
This thread will be dedicated to articles regarding "9" found in mainstream media (LA Times, NY Times, CNN, Times, etc.)
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www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-nine22-2009aug22,0,921060.story
This article is mostly about how the number 9 is basically proliferating everywhere in the film industry. But, there are some interesting tidbits in it regarding ACKER'S 9.
Is the number nine having a Hollywood moment?
August has brought the release of "District 9," a sci-fi film about aliens landing in South Africa........ on the heels of June's stop-motion animated Israeli film "$9.99." Sept. 9 -- yes, that's 09/09/09 -- will see the release of "9," an animated apocalyptic thriller from producer Tim Burton. And on Nov. 25, Rob Marshall's screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Nine" will arrive in theaters.
Is this proliferation of nines in movie titles a coincidence, or could it be part of a mystical master plan?
These basic theories fit the premise of the animated film "9," in which mechanical "stitch-punk" creatures made by a scientist and named 1 through 9 are left to sort things out when Earth has been poisoned to the point that humanity is dying. "They're successive versions," explains "9" writer and director Shane Acker. "1 being the first and most primitive and 9 being the last and most advanced one the scientist made before he perished."
"9" director Acker claims that his 09/09/09 release date was a lucky break.
"It just kind of fell into place," he says.
While it's hard to believe that Focus Features didn't work a little to land that date, Acker gets the benefit of the doubt on the matter of the similar titles.
"I made a short with the same title" -- the basis for his feature -- "back in 1999, if you can believe it. So it's fairly obvious to me that everyone's ripping me off," he jokes.
Of course, "Nine" has been around even longer. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1982 and was revived in 2003. It's based on Federico Fellini's 1963 classic "8 1/2 ," so called for the number of movies the main character, Guido Anselmi, has directed -- the half denoting a collaboration.
The musical ignores the half project and finds Anselmi approaching his 40th birthday and creatively blocked while at work on his ninth film.
Still, one has to wonder if all these nines aren't causing confusion in the marketplace, especially with "9" and "Nine." "['Nine'] couldn't be further from our movie" in terms of plot, explains Acker, who says there was a "conversation I wasn't privy to" among the producers of the two films, setting up a "two-month buffer" between the releases. (Neither Focus Features, which is distributing "9," nor the Weinstein Co., producers of "Nine," would comment).
Nevertheless, with settings as varied as Germany, South Africa, Israel and Italy, the 2009 movies with 9 in their titles seem to reflect a growing globalization of entertainment. Or perhaps it does add up to something a little more mystical.
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www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-nine22-2009aug22,0,921060.story
This article is mostly about how the number 9 is basically proliferating everywhere in the film industry. But, there are some interesting tidbits in it regarding ACKER'S 9.
Is the number nine having a Hollywood moment?
August has brought the release of "District 9," a sci-fi film about aliens landing in South Africa........ on the heels of June's stop-motion animated Israeli film "$9.99." Sept. 9 -- yes, that's 09/09/09 -- will see the release of "9," an animated apocalyptic thriller from producer Tim Burton. And on Nov. 25, Rob Marshall's screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Nine" will arrive in theaters.
Is this proliferation of nines in movie titles a coincidence, or could it be part of a mystical master plan?
These basic theories fit the premise of the animated film "9," in which mechanical "stitch-punk" creatures made by a scientist and named 1 through 9 are left to sort things out when Earth has been poisoned to the point that humanity is dying. "They're successive versions," explains "9" writer and director Shane Acker. "1 being the first and most primitive and 9 being the last and most advanced one the scientist made before he perished."
"9" director Acker claims that his 09/09/09 release date was a lucky break.
"It just kind of fell into place," he says.
While it's hard to believe that Focus Features didn't work a little to land that date, Acker gets the benefit of the doubt on the matter of the similar titles.
"I made a short with the same title" -- the basis for his feature -- "back in 1999, if you can believe it. So it's fairly obvious to me that everyone's ripping me off," he jokes.
Of course, "Nine" has been around even longer. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1982 and was revived in 2003. It's based on Federico Fellini's 1963 classic "8 1/2 ," so called for the number of movies the main character, Guido Anselmi, has directed -- the half denoting a collaboration.
The musical ignores the half project and finds Anselmi approaching his 40th birthday and creatively blocked while at work on his ninth film.
Still, one has to wonder if all these nines aren't causing confusion in the marketplace, especially with "9" and "Nine." "['Nine'] couldn't be further from our movie" in terms of plot, explains Acker, who says there was a "conversation I wasn't privy to" among the producers of the two films, setting up a "two-month buffer" between the releases. (Neither Focus Features, which is distributing "9," nor the Weinstein Co., producers of "Nine," would comment).
Nevertheless, with settings as varied as Germany, South Africa, Israel and Italy, the 2009 movies with 9 in their titles seem to reflect a growing globalization of entertainment. Or perhaps it does add up to something a little more mystical.
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