Kathryn Bigelow in Time Magazine: 'Zero Dark Thirty' The Most Talked About Movie of The Year?

I believe it is. I don't think any movie has been talked about nearly as much as 'Zero Dark Thirty'.

Cover story

Time on ZDT


















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Spanish Poster for 'The Very Obscure Night' aka 'Zero Dark Thirty'

It's just funny -- the translation. Nice poster, though.

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And One More (Supremely Confident) ZDT Poster

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BOTY

Jessica Chastain's 'Maya' is perhaps the badass of the year, aka BOTY. She makes all the superhero silliness look more vapid than you'd think possible. The characters in prestige dramas don't compare.

New trailer doesn't do a lot for the movie however it promotes Maya. She's front and center. She's what the movie is about. I haven't seen it but can't help feeling Maya's conflicts and decisions reflect what we as a country have been through. Her determination and anger is what we as an audience connect with.

I love 'Zero Dark Thirty'. This is the most self-assured presentation I can remember. Some are calling ZDT the best of the year. It probably is.





















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Clip from 'Zero Dark Thirty'

Kathryn Bigelow is so the man. This is good.

Zero Dark Thirty - Clip No. 1

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"With Your Velcro And All Your Gear"

At the one minute mark in the video below 'Zero Dark Thirty' is referred to as a movie by director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal. That's rare -- when a writer's name gets equal billing. And, that happens across the web in just about any movie blog write up about ZDT. You see it all the time: 'Zero Dark Thirty' is a Bigelow/Boal movie.

Why? Because Boal's writing is that good and, here, we get another snippet of his excellent dialogue. I believe it's edited -- we don't get all the words -- but it's still very nice.

At about 2:30 Maya (Jessica Chastain in another badass bit) says, "I didn't even want to use you guys. With your Velcro and all your gear. I wanted to drop a bomb."

So...what's so special about that? What's special is it says more than the sum of its parts. With just a few words Boal has gotten us deep into the scene. Another writer would have been obvious and spelled out what Maya was thinking. Another writer would probably not have thought it was that special a moment and we would have gotten more words than we needed, and they would, in all likelihood, have communicated less. The scene would have come off less energized, less sharply cut (no matter who directed), more mundane -- a bit of a filler.

Something as incidental as Velcro would never have been mentioned. The writer would have deemed it beneath his professional orientation to use such a word. Here, though, Velcro symbolizes the nitty gritty of putting boots on the ground, the risks inherent to sending a Seal team, and the messy results that would surely follow.

When Maya says 'Velcro' you think of the grating 'shink' that comes with using this material, but you also get a sense of its utilitarian nature. Guys that use Velcro are either dorks who don't care how they look or dress, or they're experts who need it to execute their mission. The Seal team, certainly, would be the latter.

Maya never calls this man an 'expert' but we know (or hope) he is simply because he uses Velcro. (Yeah, it's that dumb, and that good). Nothing she says indicates how well she knows him yet we understand they have an intimate relationship, even if they just met because Maya would rather 'drop a bomb' than send this guy and his Velcro-shinking team. Maya displays no overt technical savvy, yet it's clear she knows field operations -- Can you tell me how a Seal utilizes Velcro and why? She doesn't say anything that could, objectively, be called ballsy but it's pretty clear she's willing to go toe-to-toe with anyone. This is due to one word and that defines her character better than any long-winded speech, no matter how well crafted. When Maya says 'Velcro' it reveals an agenda and her concerns, is dramatic without being stagy, and it's entertaining.

Boal's writing is between the lines. It gets under your skin and draws you in without being writerly or technique-y. It's effective yet elusive. You feel its effect but don't sense it makes a show of its construction or intent.

Thanks to Boal, Bigelow is given something to work with, even down to the frame level, and we get lines like this and images like the one above. I'm betting Boal's script says something like "Maya's reflection is set against a framed American flag." Visually and wordlessly, this shot says something about what Maya stands for. Apparently, nothing is going on -- she's just standing there -- but there's a lot happening. That's good writing given life by a good director. That's sly and clever and you don't get that too often in movies these days.

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Copy That?

'Zero Dark Thirty' stops you in your tracks. Camera, script, story, plot, direction, acting -- it's there frame to frame. It's almost too good.

Here's yet another clip where Jessica Chastain's character, Maya, puts her cards on the table and it's pretty damn well done.

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Another Great Poster for 'Zero Dark Thirty'

There's a calmness about this rollout. An assurance. This poster is extremely confident.

This graphic is so self-assured it almost carries a sense of threat.

Here's our protagonist. Be glad she's not looking for you.

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'Zero Dark Thirty' Poster

I'm liking this one.

Director Kathryn Bigelow has a great visual style. She shoots imagery that would make good stills. Not seen that often in movies.

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Pure Atmosphere And Innuendo

So far, it's like this movie is as top-secret as the mission it's based on. Trailers have been high-quality visually, to be sure, but give us little to work on story-wise. But, then again, we already know the plot, yes?

So, what's to complain about.






















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New 'Zero Dark Thirty' Images Just Have That Look

Looks real, shows a lot of confidence. I like how the guy's eyes are out of focus. Talk about assurance.

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Flat Poster for 'Zero Dark Thirty'

Really want to see this but the teaser trailer was just okay and, now, this poster does little to inspire me.

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Low-Confidence Trailer for 'Code Name: Geronimo'

This plays flat. Very flat. Flattened might be an apt description. Plus, at 2:40 seconds, the trailer is too long and it sketches almost the entire plot -- bad signs, weak approach.

However, there's more to this. Harvey Weinstein may be using the flick simply to fuel the Obama campaign and he may not care that the property might come in a distant second to Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal's 'Zero Dark Thirty' which is due in December. This from IndieWire:

In the meantime, Weinstein is riding the momentum of a Spring that saw his Cannes 2011 pick-up “The Artist” win the best picture prize at the Oscars and his Tribeca 2011 pick-up “Bully” snowball into a national cause, anti-bullying legislation and a high-profile White House screening. At the time, he was quoted as saying, "This is an incredible turn of events and shows that art can have a transcending effect.”

So why not use a movie to help win Obama the presidency?

At a Cannes party late Wednesday night, Voltage Pictures’ Zev Foreman, a producer of “Geronimo,” claimed that the John Stockwell-directed movie could easily be ready by the end of summer. Meaning, the Weinstein Co. could promote and release it right through the fall campaign and up through the vote in early November.

While no decision on a release date has yet been made, Foreman notes, “Harvey’s a big supporter of Obama, so I think I know what he’s going to do.” A pre-election release would have the added benefit of stealing some of the thunder from Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal’s SEAL Team 6 movie, “Zero Dark Thirty,” which is currently scheduled for December.

Fine, but as entertainment, judging from this trailer, 'Code Name: Geronimo' is one to skip. The rest, I suppose, depends on the CN:G release date which is October in Brazil, November in Italy, but no set date for the U.S.




















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First Still/Teaser Trailer for Kathryn Bigelow's 'Zero Dark Thirty'

EW delivers the still

Kathryn Bigelow brings it. Writer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) has a character-centric style with a lot of forward motion. The subject is compelling. And, this teaser is tight. Oh, and having the coolest title in a long time helps.

This is the goods.

























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