Author: dpugh007

From the first screenings of Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar, you could hear the controversy coming. Audiences in different cities complained about the sound in the film. Nolan’s mix, or something in the presentation, resulted in several lines of dialogue – seemingly important lines – being blown out by sound effects and music. Was this an artistic choice by Nolan? Or was it the fault of individual theaters?

/Film reported on the sound issues, and as the story spread over days, no one would comment. Not Nolan’s camp, not Paramount Pictures and not IMAX. The only update was from one theater in upstate New York, which blamed Nolan for the sound. Now, finally, Nolan has responded to the controversy. Does he accept blame? Does he even think there’s a problem? Read Nolan’s quotes about the Interstellar sound problems below.

Nolan chose The Hollywood Reporter as the outlet to respond to the reported Interstellar sound problems:

“I’ve always loved films that approach sound in an impressionistic way and that is an unusual approach for a mainstream blockbuster, but I feel it’s the right approach for this experiential film,” the director said. “Many of the filmmakers I’ve admired over the years have used sound in bold and adventurous ways. I don’t agree with the idea that you can only achieve clarity through dialogue. Clarity of story, clarity of emotions—I  try to achieve that in a very layered way using all the different things at my disposal—picture and sound.”

Well that certainly sounds like any points in the film where dialogue can’t be heard was intentional. He continues:

“Usually [I visit] six or seven [theaters]. I like to hear it out where people are going to see it, not just in the cocoon of the dub stage. That is something I have done for years, because everything we are doing is intended to communicate something to the audience,” he said. “The theaters I have been at have been doing a terrific job in terms of presenting the film in the way I intended. “Broadly, speaking there is no question when you mix a film in an unconventional way as this, you’re bound to catch some people off guard, but hopefully people can appreciate the experience for what it’s intended to be.”

Among the specific theaters Nolan visited and check were the TCL Chinese IMAX and Arclight Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles as well as the AMC Lincoln Square IMAX in New York. More Nolan:

“We made carefully considered creative decisions,” Nolan said. “There are particular moments in this film where I decided to use dialogue as a sound effect, so sometimes it’s mixed slightly underneath the other sound effects or in the other sound effects to emphasize how loud the surrounding noise is. It’s not that nobody has ever done these things before, but it’s a little unconventional for a Hollywood movie.”

In the interview, Nolan then discusses a few specific scenes in the film where he did this. [BEGIN SPOILERS] One such example, is the final one between Michael Caine and Jessica Chastain:

The creative intent there is to be truthful to the situation – an elderly man dying and saying something somewhat unexpected. We are following the emotional state of Jessica’s character as she starts to understand what he’s been saying. Information is communicated in various different ways over the next few scenes. That’s the way I like to work; I don’t like to hang everything on one particular line. I like to follow the experience of the character.

END SPOILERS

In the end, Nolan said he and his team mixed the sound “for months and months and we talked about everything.” So any of those sound issues we heard are the way he want it. And if you saw the film in a theater where you could hear everything? Well, that isn’t what Nolan wanted. It’s odd, but that’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

What do you think?

The post Christopher Nolan Finally Responds to ‘Interstellar’ Sound Controversy appeared first on /Film.

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UPDATE: This original story ran on October 13. Now Deadline has heard the same thing, making it even more likely. Original story follows with minor updates.

The massive news that Robert Downey Jr. will play Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War answered a bunch of burning questions about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It gave us our overall storyline for Phase 3: Civil War. It tells us when Marvel will bring Iron Man back again: not Iron Man 4, but in Cap 3. And it tells us the directors of Captain America 3, Joe and Anthony Russo, are very well liked and trusted at Marvel Studios.

Which is why, along with the Downey Jr. news, rumors began to swirl that the Russo Brothers are in line to direct Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and maybe even Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 if Joss Whedon decides not to return. Below, read more about the Avengers 3 director news and how Phase 3 and 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are shaping up,

Badass Digest posted the rumor in their coverage of the Downey Jr. news. Here’s the excerpt:

How closely will Captain America 3 tie in with Avengers 3? I’ve been told that the Russo Brothers are in talks to direct Avengers 3 and possibly 4. Sources tell me that they’re the favorites of Marvel right now and that they are the guys Kevin Feige want to pick up the mantle from Joss Whedon.

This is assuming, of course, that Whedon doesn’t want to come back. Everything I’ve heard is that Ultron has been a huge grind on him so I think he’s probably done for a while. And the Russos are super hungry after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If Captain America 3 is the bridge to Avengers 3, it makes a lot of sense for them to helm.

So basically it looks like this. Avengers Age of Ultron screws everyone up big time. Tony Stark invents a being, Ultron, that almost destroys the world. The Avengers win, of course, but Stark doesn’t want to be a superhero anymore. This sets up Captain America 3 where the two battle it out in Civil War. This won’t be a literal adaptation of the comic book story, but something similar. Divergent viewpoints going head to head over the meaning of superheroism.

That much seems obvious. According to Badass, from there, Captain America is not in Avengers 3. That’s more a story for new characters like Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, maybe some others. Then, don’t forget the Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe the fallout of their story in Part 2 will finally lead Thanos to Earth in Avengers 4, and that will be the event that forces everyone to team up.

Now, the issue is Robert Downey Jr. isn’t signed for Avengers 4. Just Avengers 3. So we’ll see how this all plays out. It’s all just a lot of educated guesswork and speculation at the moment. But something like that seems to be how things are shaping up. And they could be shaping up with the Russo Brothers right in the middle.

What do you think of the Avengers 3 director news?

The post The Russo Brothers Could Direct ‘Avengers: Infinity War: Parts 1 and 2′ appeared first on /Film.

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