Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Ang Lee)

[Ezee E]

Starring Vin Diesel, Kristen Stewart, Garret Hedlund, Chris Tucker, Steve Martin, and Joe Alwyn (main star).

Sounds like every Iraq War Movie we've seen this decade.

But Ang Lee's directing, so I'll be there.

[dreamdead]

Sounds like every Iraq War Movie we've seen this decade.

But Ang Lee's directing, so I'll be there.

It depends how much Lee and his screenwriters add to Fountain's novel. Almost all of the novel concerns time away from the war, where they've been received as heroes because of the embedded video crew from Fox News that recorded their strike against terrorists. Maybe 1/10 of the novel draws on that scenario; the rest is all Heller's Catch-22 satire about how patriotism is mobilized by a consensus populace that isn't interested in engaging the intricacies of the politics of war. As a novel it's vastly different from the films that have been made about the war thus far...

The Yellow Birds, which is set to star Benedict Cumberbatch, is the film adaptation that is more likely to feel like a mirror of other Iraq War films if they don't get the interiority right...

[Lazlo]

So, he's shooting this at 120FPS (WUT?!) in 3D on the Sony F65 to immerse "viewers in modern-day military combat". Lunacy. More than twice the frame rate as The Hobbit. Sounds like the most silky-smooth video-looking thing ever. Always intriguing when talented dudes try something out of the box, though.

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/an...3d-1201477952/

[Lazlo]

First trailer. Looks affecting. Lee's great. Curious to see what 120fps even looks like. Interesting that they didn't use the YouTube's option to upload stuff in 60fps.

[

Show Spoiler

So, a dude just disintegrates into a cloud of blood in this. WTF?

]

[number8]

Clips of this freaked people out at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. Everyone said the native 4K 120fps 3D footage was freakishly real. The problem is that there is currently no projector capable of showing it. At the conference, they had to jury rig two laser projectors to show it. So they don't know how the fuck they're gonna release this in its native format. They probably won't.

[Lazlo]

Clips of this freaked people out at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. Everyone said the native 4K 120fps 3D footage was freakishly real. The problem is that there is currently no projector capable of showing it. At the conference, they had to jury rig two laser projectors to show it. So they don't know how the fuck they're gonna release this in its native format. They probably won't.

That's a bummer. Hopefully there's something that can get close, maybe a 60fps option. When this was announced I thought 120 sounded ridiculous given that Cameron and Jackson were only ever talking about 60. I'd consider driving a few hours to Atlanta or DC to see it projected natively if there's a smaller run where they're able to replicate the NAB package in a few places.

[dreamdead]

This trailer doesn't really showcase any of the satire that's Fountain's greatest authorial strength. While it's a satire of Iraq that's viewed through an irreparably damaged boyish psyche, and that element comes through in the trailer, I hope that Lee and the screenwriters don't neglect to show the absurdity that's fundamental to Fountain's exploration.

Otherwise, I'm still in. I'm a fan of most of Lee's recent projects, and so hopefully someone in Atlanta/Athens will be able to showcase the way it's designed to be viewed.

[Henry Gale]

The title still feels so awkward, but I'm into everything else about this so far so I'm sure it won't bother me by year's end.

I was someone who hated how the first Hobbit's 60fps looked for at least the first quarter of it, and then oddly really came around to it somewhere along the way. I went from, "Fuck this. This isn't cinema." to "I've never seen anything like this, I like that, and I think I want more of it." by the end. I also think initially my eyes couldn't quite register it properly because, again, I'd never had to perceive anything like it before, but over time I adjusted both optically and subsequently with my overall opinion.

The effect seemed much more muted with the other two in the trilogy, but I still weirdly clamour for seeing that first one the way I did previously, or at the very least more movies like it. Looking forward to Lee's movie here being an even better next step for it.

[Peng]

I have heard about the book's satire element from quite a few people, and am not surprised that the trailer tries to market it straight, given that American Sniper is a hit. Wonder though (and anticipate quite a bit) how that target group might react to the actual film.

[Ezee E]

I have heard about the book's satire element from quite a few people, and am not surprised that the trailer tries to market it straight, given that American Sniper is a hit. Wonder though (and anticipate quite a bit) how that target group might react to the actual film.

Yeah, seems like the wrong thing to do here if it truly is a satire in the end.

[MadMan]

Good trailer and the cast is reliable. I like Ang Lee so I'll check this out.

[amberlita]

Where was Chris Tucker in the trailer?

[Henry Gale]

Where was Chris Tucker in the trailer?

He actually did mo-cap for the CG character that looks like Vin Diesel. Vin Diesel does the voice of that tree they're sitting under in the trailer. (Typecasting.)

[Lazlo]

It's weird to me there haven't been articles or some sort of official press release indicating what theaters will have this in a HFR format. I know there's only a handful that can show what Lee calls "the whole shebang" (4K 3D 120fps) but I remember reading there will be theaters that show it at 48fps or 60fps. There were a couple of theaters in my town (Charlotte) that showed The Hobbit at 48fps so I'd imagine they'd have Billy Lynn that way too. Other movies that showed in unusual formats, whether it was The Hobbit in HFR, The Hateful Eight in 70mm, or Interstellar on IMAX 70mm or just plain ol' 35mm, had websites that would show you what theaters had it in what format. Can't seem to find something similar for Billy Lynn.

You'd think a movie that was touting its technological advances would be more vocal about where it can be seen in these formats. Or maybe they're bummed it can't be shown in "the whole shebang" format in all but 2-5 screens.

[transmogrifier]

It also probably doesn't help that the movie itself is not supposed to be all that good, so maybe the enthusiasm isn't there from either side (audience or studio).

[Ezee E]

It also probably doesn't help that the movie itself is not supposed to be all that good, so maybe the enthusiasm isn't there from either side (audience or studio).

Yeah, NYFF basically killed any enthusiasm it had going for it. I don't know that there's even one rave out there. Although I guess the 10 minute war scene is pretty darn good.

It's Ang Lee, so I'm seeing it anyway.

[Lazlo]

It also probably doesn't help that the movie itself is not supposed to be all that good, so maybe the enthusiasm isn't there from either side (audience or studio).

I'm sure audience enthusiasm isn't there. I've barely seen the thing advertised. I dunno. Best I can tell from Fandango (which isn't super reliable until the actual release date) we're just getting a 24fps 3D version here. I'll still see it because it's Lee. But I wanted to at least get somewhere close to what he wanted us to see.

[Lazlo]

Guess those reviews might be to blame for this: It's not even playing in 3D in my city, much less HFR. Weird.

[number8]

It seems that the 48 or 60fps 3D versions are only for the international market (primarily China), where the quality of theater equipment are better than US chains. For US, it's just these:

The film opens in New York and Los Angeles this weekend before expanding next weekend to 800+ screens, in descending order of enhancement:

1. 120 fps, 3D, 4K resolution — This is Lee's preferred version of the film, with all the bells and whistles. Unfortunately, it's only available in two theaters — the ArcLight Hollywood's Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, and the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York.

2. 120 fps, Dolby Vision 3D, 2K resolution — This version is as close as people outside of New York and Los Angeles will get to seeing the film as Lee intended. Unfortunately (again), it's only screening at one theater, the AMC Village on The Parkway in Dallas.

3. 120 fps, 2D — Select theaters nationwide will screen this version, including those in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

4. 24 fps, 2D — This version is how Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk will be presented on all other screens.

[Lazlo]

It seems that the 48 or 60fps 3D versions are only for the international market (primarily China), where the quality of theater equipment are better than US chains. For US, it's just these:

Woof, some technological leap forward. Why bother if you aren't going to screen it wider? Plenty of places had The Hobbit in HFR. Maybe it's more of a burden to make 48fps/60fps versions since that's not the native format? So weird.

[number8]

I dunno about that. They did make those versions already. They're screening in Chinese theaters.

It's probably more a financial thing. Are Americans going to spend the extra 3D fees to watch a critically tepid movie about a shellshocked veteran instead of hobbits?

[Lazlo]

I dunno about that. They did make those versions already. They're screening in Chinese theaters.

It's probably more a financial thing. Are Americans going to spend the extra 3D fees to watch a critically tepid movie about a shellshocked veteran instead of hobbits?

I mean, no, they probably aren't. But why even make it like that in the first place? I guess just because Lee said he wanted to. But you'd think that clout would extend to the release strategy too.