Chicago is My Home

29
Jun

Rabid Appleheads Sleep Overnight at Michigan Avenue Store For iPhone

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Photography, Technology

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CHICAGO – Some people don’t just want this gadget. They say they need it – almost like they need to breathe.

In anticipation of Friday’s release of the iPhone, we spotted the more rabid zealots camping out on Thursday in front of the Apple store on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. The first two people in line set up shop Thursday afternoon.

“We’ve been working in shifts since 2 p.m. on Thursday,” said Chicagoan Tyler Tessman. “At that time, there was [only one other person]: a lady sitting by the flowers about 10 feet away. She said she worked for Apple’s public relations department and did not speak with us further.”

“We wanted to be part of the excitement,” said Chicagoan Nicholas Haubrich, who came with Tessman. “This phone will change technology.”

On Sept. 26, 2002, MidwestBusiness.com (then ePrairie.com) published what is widely believed to be the first concept image of the Apple iPhone. At the time, it was a rendering from an artist not employed by the company. It was believed that Apple wouldn’t enter into the mobile phone market.

It wasn’t until Jan. 2007 that the iPhone was confirmed publicly. Fierce Wireless, a daily monitor for the wireless industry, published on Dec. 18, 2006 a timeline of the then-rumored iPhone.

Note: This article was originally published at MidwestBusiness.com and is being reprinted here with permission.

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24
Jun

Cell Phone Video Shot of Sophia Bush in Chicago

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Video

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Phil Tadros has submitted to me a video of Sophia Bush from “The Hitcher,” “One Tree Hill” and “Van Wilder” that he shot in Chicago with his cell phone.

Photo of Sophia Bush by Eric Charbonneau from WireImage.com

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22
Jun

Taika Waititi’s Geeky, Deadpan ‘Eagle vs. Shark’ is Antidote to Slapstick

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Film

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CHICAGO – “Playing out extreme or unusual characters in the straightest of ways is what makes deadpan serious so funny,” said “Eagle vs. Shark” director Taika Waititi. “It is the antidote to slapstick.”

As for the million-dollar question to a comic about what makes funny really flippin’ funny, he says it’s about letting loose and being real.

Jemaine Clement and Loren Horsley star in “Eagle vs. Shark”.
Photo courtesy of Miramax

“It’s about not trying to push the funny,” Waititi said in a Chicago interview with Adam Fendelman. “It’s looking at truth in human situations and having empathy. I especially love the funny that comes out of tragedy. I like situations so uncomfortable that you produce that nervous, cringe kind of laughter.”

Known professionally as Taika Waititi along with Taika Cohen (he’s Kiwi; not Jewish), the New Zealand independent film “Eagle vs. Shark” is the first feature-length film for the young comic star. It was shot for $1.35 million in 25 days using a homegrown crew of 35 close-knit people.

The film, which opens in Chicago on June 22 and heads to the U.K. and New Zealand in August, harmonizes a story that’s wrapped in dead-serious droll with how cool it is to be geeky.

Two dominant animals – the eagle and the shark – represent sky and water. In the animal kingdom, they live in worlds that would never meet. Just as both animals are loners, the main characters are also outcasts who bridge a wide divide.

“Though the characters are weird and the situations extreme, everyone can relate because it’s about family dysfunction and the tragedy of day-to-day living,” Waititi said. “Being a human is being a geek.”

Jemaine Clement plays Jarrod and Loren Horsley plays Lily, which is a role she created after wandering the streets of Utah completely in character. Horsley said: “The test worked. I took Lily out for a trial walk and the Red Sea parted. No one wanted to be near her.”

Photo courtesy of Miramax

“Creating Lily was a cathartic process,” Horsley said in an interview with Adam Fendelman. “Being a human is strange. Lily was about finding that vulnerable, awkward feeling. Growing up, I was a loner who was raised by hippies in a conservative place. I was weird. I know that feeling very well.”

While his project embraces a style that decidedly parallels “Napoleon Dynamite,” Waititi says that film wasn’t an inspiration for his. The script for “Eagle vs. Shark” was written before becoming acquainted with its smash-hit brethren, which has grossed $46 million in worldwide receipts on a $400,000 production budget.

While Clement’s expressionless character is strikingly akin to Napoleon Dynamite, it was Horsley’s that really took the cake from this critic. The magnetic eccentricity in her eyes, the gawky facial expressions and her innocently peculiar mannerisms were distinctly charming. She’s someone you’d want to befriend.

Jarrod, on the other hand, isn’t. Waititi added: “He’s all the very worst traits of every male you’ve ever known – including myself – all plonked into one package.”

“He represents danger and adventure. She represents peace, compassion and acceptance,” Waititi said. “He’s fighting to get out of his circumstances to be better than what he is. It’s a relationship built on those conflicting ideas. They cross over, she becomes more confident and the powers shift.”

To Waititi and Horsley, telling such a story inspires people to reflect upon what it does to them emotionally. They speak of intense disappointment with many films Hollywood has been pooping out over the years and find themselves yearning back to 1970s films in particular.

Loren Horsley, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement in “Eagle vs. Shark”.
Photo courtesy of Miramax

“In the 1970s, Hollywood was making really good, smart films about human behavior. Then someone realized you can make hundreds of millions of dollars,” Waititi said. “I’m sure McDonald’s was a pretty good restaurant when it had one. Now it’s like a hideous beast no one wants to touch. That’s what has happened to Hollywood.”

Echoing the perks realized today by many indie filmmakers across the globe, Waititi craves the freedom, creativity and control achieved through independent film.

“A small film can be your film. The studio can really muddy your vision,” Waititi said. “Our actors know they’re not going to get paid much money. They do it for the love of filmmaking, the story and the chance to work with creative people. That’s why so many movie stars these days are dying to get into indie films.”

He added: “They can’t stand being in such big franchises. They get depressed when they’re done. Sure, they make millions, but that doesn’t satisfy them creatively.”

While in his hotel room for the Chicago junket, Waititi says he couldn’t find a film on TV that’d keep him glued for two hours. Like you’d expect from indie talent, Waititi and Horsley were overwhelmed by the grandeur of Chicago’s Four Seasons setting.

“It’s surreal,” Horsley said. “Right before this interview, we were running around the room – doing laps – and laughing at how huge it is. About 0.1 percent of people actually live like this.”

Photo courtesy of Miramax

“I don’t feel like a star at all,” Waititi said. “I feel like a guy in a band just starting out. I feel like a Beverly Hillbilly. Soon we’ll return to New Zealand and go back to paying rent in our little apartment with five other people. We’ll be fighting over bills.”

While many Americans who aren’t rich could quickly figure out what to do with gobs of dough if it fell from the sky, Horsley says she can’t conceive of how to handle millions of dollars.

For Waititi, he says living life ideally would be making films like this, traveling, frequenting the festival circuit, viewing evocative films and making just enough loot to pay the man. He says his films don’t have to tip the scales so long as people connect with his message.

Beyond box-office receipts as a barometer of a film’s success, Waititi understands that the mark of a good film is one that is timeless. When asked what he thinks “Eagle vs. Shark” will look like in 30 years, he said: “Its feeling is already clumsy and archaic. The technology is already obsolete. Setting it here and now automatically dates it.”

Rather than a fine wine maturing with age, Horsley said: “It’s more like a strange cheese. While you don’t know if it’ll mold or dissolve, it will be delicious.”

© 2007 Adam Fendelman

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21
Jun

Chicago Photographer Captures Bat Spotlight, Rooftop Set From ‘The Dark Knight’

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Film, Photography

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I have been alerted to new photos from “The Dark Knight” in Chicago. The first shows the bat spotlight. The second shows a rooftop set.

These images are courtesy of Chicago photographer Jeremy Farmer. His Flickr stream can be found here.

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21
Jun

Midway Games in Chicago Releases Video Detailing Making of John Woo’s Stranglehold

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Film, Video Game

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Chicago-based Midway Games on Thursday released a new video detailing the making of the third-person action-adventure game Stranglehold.

The widescreen version of the video can be found here. The 720p HD version can be found here.

The video reveals many behind-the-scenes moments during the game’s production along with candid interviews with the product development team, insight into John Woo’s directorial involvement and a sneak peak into the sound booth with Chow Yun Fat during his voice-over session.

Stranglehold is scheduled to be released in Aug. 2007 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC.

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18
Jun

Photos of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart Captured Filming ‘The Dark Knight’

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Film, Photography

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Photos of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart shooting “The Dark Knight” have been captured by a Chicago photographer.

As you see the Gleacher Center at the University of Chicago in the Aaron Eckhart photo, these were shot from downtown Chicago. The photos have been posted at Flickr by a user named “yunerz”.

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18
Jun

On Michigan Avenue, Apple Store’s Glass Breaks But Holds

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Photography

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While strolling through the Apple store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Phil Tadros recently noticed a shattered glass pane at the top of the stairs with a caution sign streaming over it. The glass held in place.

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17
Jun

New Batsuit For Upcoming Film ‘The Dark Knight’ Seen By Chicago Mobile Phone

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Film, Photography

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While I was out of town this weekend, I was informed that Sarah Piper Brown captured via cell phone “The Dark Knight” batsuit on a Chicago set.

After these photos were shot by Sarah, they were transferred to the Treo of a friend named Troy at the Holiday Club near the Clarendon set. Troy then ran in to Phil Tadros.

I finally received them from Phil’s friend and colleague, Anand Danak, and published them on HollywoodChicago.com. These mobile photos were taken on June 16. It is unclear whether Christian Bale is within or whether this is a stuntman.

Here is a link to the photo that appeared in Entertainment Weekly, which is the only other picture of the batsuit known at this time.

By the way, I recently screened the film “Rescue Dawn,” which is being touted as Bale’s performance of his lifetime.

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15
Jun

On the Set: Into the Wee Hours of the Morning, ‘The Dark Knight’ Lights Up

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Film, Video

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I told Phil Tadros, my on-the-street Hollywood cameraman, that his first two “The Dark Knight” video segments were good but could be better.

I encouraged him to dig deeper. This time, we bring you what you’ve been asking for: set footage. As in his second segment, he again uses the access-a-friend’s-apartment route.

This video was shot around 1 a.m. on Friday, June 15 at Clarendon and Cuyler in Chicago. At the 1:29 video mark, Gary Oldman (who plays Lt. James Gordon) can be seen in the black suit.

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14
Jun

Photo: ‘A Mighty Heart’ Director Michael Winterbottom in Chicago

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Film, Photography

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I snapped this photo of “A Mighty Heart” director Michael Winterbottom following our interview today:

Winterbottom, by the way, was asked to direct “Good Will Hunting” for $1.5 million. He declined. I will be publishing my story about the film and the interview shortly. The film opens on June 22.

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