Sully 2016 Official Poster

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the first official photo and poster for Clint Eastwood's upcoming film SULLY, starring Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, and Laura Linney. 

Sully 2016 - Official Trailer

From Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood (“American Sniper,” “Million Dollar Baby”) comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “Sully,” starring Oscar winner Tom Hanks (“Bridge of Spies,” “Forrest Gump”) as Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed the “Miracle on the Hudson” when Captain “Sully” Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the frigid waters of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and his career.

“Sully” also stars Aaron Eckhart (“Olympus Has Fallen,” “The Dark Knight”) as Sully’s co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, and Oscar nominee Laura Linney (“The Savages,” “Kinsey,” Showtime’s “The Big C”) as Sully’s wife, Lorraine Sullenberger.

Eastwood is directing the film from a screenplay by Todd Komarnicki, based on the book Highest Duty by Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow. The project is being produced by Eastwood, Frank Marshall, Allyn Stewart and Tim Moore, with Kipp Nelson and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers.

The film reunites Eastwood with several of his longtime collaborators, who most recently worked with the director on the worldwide hit “American Sniper”: director of photography Tom Stern and production designer James J. Murakami, who were both Oscar-nominated for their work on “The Changeling”; costume designer Deborah Hopper; and editor Blu Murray.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Flashlight Films production, a Kennedy/Marshall Company production, a Malpaso production, “Sully.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Aaron Eckhart talks about Clint Eastwood’s new film Sully

In Tom Hanks’ latest film, he suits up as Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger — the U.S. Airways pilot who made a heroic emergency landing on the Hudson River in 2009. And the two-time Oscar winner embraced the role in every way, co-star Aaron Eckhart, who plays co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, says in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE.

“He really embodied him, and obviously spent a lot of time with Sully, and just physically with his hair, and the moustache,” Eckhart says. “He started holding himself straight like Sully did, and his economy of speech, and all of that sort of stuff that really nailed the precision of Captain Sullenberger. It was really impressive.” Sully himself regularly visited the set of the Clint Eastwood-directed film, which depicts the miraculous landing and the subsequent investigation that threatened to destroy the pilot’s reputation and career. An Airbus A320 was disassembled and transported to a pool on the Warner Bros. set.

“I’ve been making movies for a long time, but whenever you see a complete plane in a pool right there — it blew us away, everybody was very impressed with that,” Eckhart says. When they filmed on the Hudson in New York City, the scene was very evocative of the day of the landing. “We had all of the actual boats that were used in the rescue on the Hudson, a lot of the same people who were all there,” he says. “It was quite moving to hear them tell their tale and to get the feel of what it was like. It was very cold, and everybody said it was very quiet.”

Hanks and Eckhart even practiced on a simulator of the Airbus A320 to capture the emotions and pressure of the fateful flight. “For simulation we had the exact flight pattern mapped out on the simulator as they flew on that particular flight, and that was interesting because you get up in the air, you’re 3,000 feet or whatever it is, and you have three minutes to figure out what will happen and then to troubleshoot it and then to land the plane and make the decision to land on the Hudson, that’s not a lot of time,” Eckhart says. “Then we had the transcripts and the radio conversation between Sully and the tower, to hear how calm he was and how precise. It was great filming those scenes and everybody getting out on the wing and seeing Tom take charge. It was a blast.”

American Cinematographer Podcasts – with Jack N. Green, ASC

I recently discovered this excellent podcast by Eastwood’s regular Cinematographer Jack N. Green

Jack N. Green, ASC, connects with AC via Skype to discuss his work on Clint Eastwood’s acclaimed Western Unforgiven. Touching on his three-decade collaboration with Eastwood, Green discusses several aspects of the project, including the decision to shoot in Alberta, Canada; how he worked with production designer Henry Bumstead to develop a period-correct lighting scheme and muted color palette; the importance of shooting anamorphic; and what it’s like to collaborate with a director who is also the star.

Born in Daley City, Calif., Jack N. Green, ASC, was enjoying still photography as a hobby and pursuing a career as a barber — the family business — when one of his customers, a former combat cameraman, asked him to help out at a new Bay Area production company. Green subsequently spent more than 20 years working as a camera assistant and operator on a variety of projects. He moved up to director of photography on Eastwood’s Heartbreak Ridge, and his other features include Bird, The Bridges of Madison County, Twister, Speed 2: Cruise Control and Girl, Interrupted. Green received an ASC Award nomination for The Bridges of Madison County, and he was honored with the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

Click here

Two rare original pieces of unused Escape from Alcatraz artwork for sale

PLEASE NOTE: THESE ARE NOW SOLD
For Sale: The Clint Eastwood Archive is pleased to announce the sale of these two original pieces of beautiful, unused artwork for the Clint Eastwood / Don Siegel film Escape from Alcatraz (1979). The film was the last Eastwood movie from an incredible decade and significantly the last teaming of Eastwood and his mentor Don Siegel. The final ‘busting out’ artwork used for the worldwide poster eventually fell to Birney Lettick – however, these two rare examples were commissioned and drawn by the award winning artist Victor Gadino. These two pieces of unique conceptual art are quite stunning, with many fans choosing this artwork as their overall preferred choice. Naturally, original artwork such as this does not appear every day, so this is a rare opportunity to purchase something rather special. These are of course specialist items and therefore carry a specialist price. Should anyone be interested in purchasing, please contact me through though the archive or comments section below. 

Comments or contact details have to be approved by myself before being published, PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT be publishing any details or comments relating to this sale in order to protect identity and observe confidentiality.

-The Clint Eastwood Archive-  

(1)    "Escape from Alcatraz", Comprehensive movie poster design, Clint Eastwood, 1979, 11.5 x 12.5 image, graphite on board, signed in border: $1,500

(2)    "Escape from Alcatraz", Comprehensive movie poster design, Clint Eastwood, 1979, 14.75 x 12 image, graphite on board, signed in border: $1,500

American Sniper Blu-ray The Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition

Just a reminder that Warner Home Video has now released a 2 disc edition of American Sniper. 132 min | Rated R | released May 03, 2016 UPC 883929525393

This new edition of the film features a special commemorative disc with 60 minutes of brand-new bonus content, including revealing in-depth documentaries narrated by Bradley Cooper. American Sniper stars Cooper as Chris Kyle, whose skills as a lethal sniper and qualities as a human being made him a hero both on and off the battlefield.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will donate $1.00 of the purchases to Chris Kyle Frog Foundation up to $150,000 from April 19, 2016 through December 31, 2016, void in Alabama, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi and South Carolina.

The aim of the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation is to provide meaningful, interactive experiences to service members, first responders and their families, aimed at enriching their family relationships. Prior to his untimely passing in February 2013, Chris had begun casting his vision for the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation to provide experiences for service and first responder families to work through many of the difficulties he and Taya had experienced post-deployment. As Executive Director of the foundation, Taya and a dedicated team are ensuring Chris vision, desire and legacy to the country he served carries on now and into the future. For more information on the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, please visit www.chriskylefrogfoundation.org

NEW Chris Kyle: The Man behind the Legend -- In never-before-seen home movies, family, friends

and fellow soldiers reveal another side of Chris Kyle.

NEW Navy SEALS: In War and Peace -- Join Taya Kyle and legendary SEAL Marcus Luttrell as they illuminate the secret world of America's elite fighting force.

Bringing the War Home: The Cost of Heroism - Previously only limited availability! Discover the challenges faced by many U.S. veterans whose return home can often be as daunting as their time at war.

One Soldier's Story: The Journey of American Sniper Join director Clint Eastwood, cast and crew as they overcome enormous creative and logistic obstacles to bring the truth of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's story to the screen.

The Making of American Sniper

I did hold off and consider buying this Edition, but I have to say, I was quite happy with the extra features contained on the original release. I did finally opt for the HMV Exclusive steelbook Blu-ray, which is a nicely presented package – and already Out of Print.

Extras Included:

One Soldier's Story: The Journey of American Sniper (1080p, 31:04): this piece looks at the filmmakers' interest in Kyle's story prior to the book, meetings with Kyle prior to his death, character details and Kyle's evolution through various scripts, casting, Kyle's murder during the production's early stages, the movie's evolution and Taya Kyle's contributions, hiring Clint Eastwood, the cast and crew's time with Taya, shooting locations in the Middle East and California, military authenticity, real life SEAL Kevin Lacz's contributions, Cooper's physical and firearm preparations for the role, Cooper's role as producer, Cooper's and Miller's chemistry, and reaction to the finished movie.

The Making of American Sniper (1080p, 28:35): A piece that, with a different rhythm and through interviews, offers another look at the movie, including cast and crew's early work on the script and building the character, story themes, Cooper's performance, the movie's authenticity, Kyle's journey, and more. Many of the same core ideas from the first supplement are also reflected here.

Hollywood Auction reveals some rare Firefox items

Internet site invaluable has featured some very interesting Firefox related items coming up for auction. There appears to be two separate lots one of which features storyboards and construction photographs and the other featuring the Firefox conning tower and diorama display model. Very nice items at a rather expensive price, but of course, these are very rare items. I have provided a link at the bottom for further details. I believe the auction date is July 1^st 2016. My thanks to Davy Triumph

1253. Firefox full-scale jet storyboards and construction photographs. (Warner Bros., 1982) Collection of production materials related to the full-scale model of the fictional Mikoyan MiG-31 “Firefox” that is the central focus of the film. Including (25+) RC colour photographs ranging from 3.5 x 5 in. to 8 x 10 in. documenting the construction process from the earliest stages of shop fabrication to the celebration of the fully realised scale model with images including star and director Clint Eastwood. Also includes (60+) pages of printed storyboard panels of planned scenes for the film. In production used vintage very good condition. Provenance: The collection of Grant McCune. $300 - $500

1255. Firefox conning tower and diorama display with blueprints. (Warner Bros., 1982) Consisting of 30 x 30 x 2.5 in. square base of carved Styrofoam representing arctic snow. Fiberglass shell on wooden armature 18.5 x 13 in. expertly painted submarine conning tower breaking through the surface of the ice and with 2-miniature sailors in parkas on deck. Also, a hexagonal 18 in x 9.5 in. tent constructed from lead with wire rigging and 6.5 in. foam latex and resin figure. Weather station antennae fabricated from wire and cast resin components standing 14 in. tall. Retaining display placard attached to the surface reading, “Conning tower with weather station miniature from Firefox, 1982. Made by Apogee Productions, Inc. Provenance: The collection of Grant McCune. $2,000 - $3,000

Visit site here

Auction House, Profiles in History, Auction Title Day 3: Hollywood Auction 83 - Auction Date, July 1st 2016, 11:00 AM PST, Location 26662 Agoura Rd, Calabasas, CA, 91302 USA , Phone: 310-859-7701

Email: info@profilesinhistory.com Buyer's Premium 28%

The Dead Pool closed set sign - in use

It’s always good to find a piece of provenance when it comes to Eastwood memorabilia, and as a few friends of mine know, I do dig deep when it comes to research. So I spent about an hour yesterday continuing on the (seemingly) never ending task of sorting out my features, cuttings and articles and came across a full page spread from The San Francisco Chronicle (dated Thursday March 10^th 1988) which covered Eastwood shooting The Dead Pool back on location in the city. Looking at the pictures carefully, I happened to notice this one of 2 young fans outside of Eastwood’s trailer and spotted in the window the Warner Bros Dead Pool studio sign. It was great to finally see it (in use), as I had not seen any evidence of it before. I obtained one of these original studio signs many years ago along with a few others. It’s always nice to have these as they often have a different font or a totally different design concept, and of course, having pictures such as this always tends to make the smile stretch a little wider.   

Review: Peter Hanley book on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Review: Peter Hanley’s book on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – prepare to be overwhelmed.

Sergio Leone’s epic western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has become something of milestone in terms of its cultural following. For fans, it is a film that doesn’t tend to gather dust on the shelf, there is something magnetic about its pull, something that practically demands an annual revisiting. It is an ‘experience’ that must be seen on the big screen should anyone be afforded the opportunity. Viewing it at home, even with the benefit of a large high definition screen and a Blu-ray, only serves as a reminder of its genuine widescreen theatrical splendour.

In fact, ‘splendour’ is a perfectly befitting term to describe Peter Hanley’s long awaited and long anticipated book ‘Behind the scenes of Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’. It’s all too easy to perhaps take a bias opinion of this book. As a fan of its star, its director and the film as a whole, one’s perspective has to remain objective. A step back is perhaps required before ever thinking of stepping forward. However, when a book of such immense quality arrives, it doesn’t take more than 4 or 5 pages before it becomes all consuming. Its presentation is nothing less than momentous, while its content possesses the rare ability to simply take your breath away.

Objective? Impartial? Hell no, let’s be clear from the outset, this is a book that was born to be loved…

It is practically impossible to initially avoid the wealth of archival pictures that appear in Hanley’s extraordinary book, so don’t even try. As a fan, I thought I had pretty much seen the majority of the movie related images, but each page seemingly revealed something startling and new. Before you know it, you are compelled and the irresistible urge of rapid page turning becomes inevitable. Browsing through it from beginning to end is perhaps the suggested rule of thumb. You owe it to yourself. After all, this book has been a long time coming. Uphold the initial guilt; indeed guzzle upon its visual splendour before savouring it again with more subtle sips. The book’s illustrative plates are quite exquisite and immediately you realise the author’s decision to make this a large format book is perfectly justified. There’s simply no better way of displaying these visual delights. It should also be noted that this book makes additional good use in presenting some incredibly rare photos from both Fistful of Dollars and For a few Dollars more.  

After satisfying the reader’s initial gluttonous tendencies, and turning towards Henley’s in-depth analysis and research, it becomes rather obvious where the time has been spent. The sheer magnitude and breadth of content is simply astounding. Every element of the film’s production is examined in fine detail. Henley’s layout is based upon simple chapters dividing key elements of production. Starting with its historical background, the author takes us through the principal and supporting actors, art direction, cinematography, music score, deleted scenes and just about every other aspect of the film’s production. Henley’s interviews provide an incredible wealth of information. Co-stars such as Aldo Sanbrell (who appeared as one of Angel eyes’ gang) and Frank Brana, who was one of the killers from the opening sequence (and also starred in ‘Fistful of Dollars’ and ‘For a few Dollars More’) are among many who recollect their thoughts and their unique perspective of Leone. The deleted scenes chapter is excellent and explored deeper than ever before in terms of analysis. 

The Blondie/prostitute scene is perhaps nothing new to serious admirers of the film; furthermore we have all seen at least one or two images that we might believe to be the only surviving evidence from the lost scene. However, Henley not only provides a vast variation of onset photos, but also tracks down the actress Silvana Bacci who provides some fascinating insights. There are even full page reproductions of her original contracts; such is the extent of the author’s commitment to detail. 

Leone’s visual style is also examined thoroughly through art direction (Carlo Simi), and assistant directors Fabrizio Gianni and Giancarlo Santi – all of which again provide an entirely new level of detail.

In addition to the incredible photographs, the book is generously woven with various forms of memorabilia including posters and Lobby cards. But again, it doesn’t stop there, with detail stretching far and beyond the expected norms. Looking at the original Italian fotobusta and the generic artwork that surrounds the central image, Henley manages to link its original source to that of the lithograph title page of the 1866 Book of the War! It’s just one of several extraordinary examples in relation to the depth and detail that has been so lovingly applied to Henley’s pages.  

On reflection, I was left with a feeling of minor sadness in that two of the three principal actors are no longer here to appreciate this book and the amazing work which has gone into its production. It is a book that should be truly respected. It’s also a cherished insight. The dedicated chapter on Leone is almost reflective of a privileged browse through a family album. With Leone’s wife and children accompanying him on location or Eastwood drinking wine during an impromptu (Italy v Spain) crew game of football, it’s all just very intimate and very special. Fans of the film, the genre, the actor or director will adore every page of this book.

Now, if someone would only apply the same degree of dedication and analysis to a book on Siegel’s Dirty Harry… 

To order book use the link here 
New Amazon UK link also available here