A Poster says a Thousand Words...

Well yeah, you caught the mistake. The phrase is “a picture says a thousand words, but as you scroll down the article and read further, you might just want to agree with my mistake.

Posters are the first-ever glimpses of a forthcoming movie, or to put it the other way, the first piece of temptation (apart from trailer) that the director puts before you to try and imagine the power of his film. Therefore, it becomes inevitable that the poster when you see it, arouses your excitement for the film pretty strongly.

The conventional way of designing a poster that has been existing since ages is to take up the lead stars of the movie, either individually to show the firmness of their characters or posing for a scene from the movie to show the relationship that they share, all depending upon the genre of the movie. Thus, if its an action movie (Terminator), you would see the hero Arnie in his dark jacket and goggles, completely devoid of any emotions – suggesting that its nothing but a pure action movie, or if you’re expecting a touching love story, consider Titanic, characters Jack and Rose framed over the picture of the ship that was the centre of exploration. If it were family dramas, it showed a full-of-life young lady dancing in front of blue skies and green meadows (The Sound of Music).


The idea thus seems to be the best way to introduce a film to public.

However, the magic of changing times castes its effect on everything living or that has been created by the living and the movie posters in the past two decades give a striking proof of the same.

The new age movie posters create audience’s idea about the film not by simply picturing the characters in the poster but by giving metaphorical hints to the film’s story and characters that pretty well sum up the entire movie itself. The metaphors could be anything that the film is all about as we will soon see. The object remains the same – to introduce a movie to the public but by arousing public interest by surmising the entire film plot in some minutest aspects of the movie which are capable enough to tell what the film is all about.

Now, let’s have a look at some of the posters that changed the way we look at movie posters and gave a complete touch of the movie itself without the look of its characters.

(1) Jurassic Park:

Jurassic Park was the oldest and the most successful poster that started the trend of metaphorical posters. The epic-scaled movie marked new heights to which a man could reach through modern day science and the aftermath of the same too. The poster you see is simply a facial skeletal of the dinosaur – far better than picturing John Hammond, Dr. Ian Malcolm, Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler or the several breeds of dinosaurs shown in the movie.

(2) The Da Vinci Code:

The film based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel starred Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and many other strong characters searching for the replies of intriguing codes left behind by a dying man. The several codes and symbols which revolved around the works of Leonardo Da Vinci (i.e. Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and others) were the essence of the film and had a stronger impact on the film than any other element. The painting of Mona Lisa being turned over by an array of codes and numbers as were reflected in the poster here increased the curiosity of every movie lover for the film.

(3) Ratatouille:

The story of a food-loving rat that turned into a cook and a cleaner boy who inherited a restaurant was all about following your heart’s desires. The film starred several major characters like Chef Gusteau, Anton Ego, Linguini and Collette but one of its earliest posters just pictured a rat moustache and nose wearing a chef’s cap that signified the central character Remy the rat with a background of Eiffel Tower, Paris – the city where the film was created.

(4) The Dark Knight:

One of the best crime-based movies, The Dark Knight combined the conventional and modern ideas of framing a poster – a determined looking Batman with a skyscraper in background Of course, that was just the conventional part. The metaphorical burning batman logo engrafted in the building signified the Batman’s arch enemy in the movie and the action that the movie was all about.

(5) Angels & Demons:

Another movie based on Dan Brown’s novel directed by same director (Ron Howard) again starred Tom Hanks as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon in search of replies to cryptic clues left behind by the brotherhood “Illuminati”. Set against a Vatican background, dark cathedrals, catacombs and graves, the movie as the name signifies was a battle between good and evil, a subject that could have been treated with a very monotonous poster. However, as you see here, the earliest poster was an edifice against a background of Vatican city that had features of both, compassion (angels) and cruelty and deceit (demons)

(6) Up
Pixar’s adventure story of Carl Fredrickson, a boy named Russell and several other characters begins when Carl decides to blow away his house with thousands of balloons to see Paradise Falls as a tribute to his dead wife’s wishes.


Several posters were printed for the movie, one featuring the movie characters hanging down on each other’s support through the house – the conventional way. The other poster however pictured a house floating in air supported by colorful balloons against blue sky minus all the movie characters – and it successfully retains the crux of the entire film, even adds to its beauty.

(7) Avatar

Cameron needed to stir the world with the magnum opus that marked his comeback since his last direction, Titanic. The wonder was beautifully created with just the look of a olive-eyed half-face in deep blue – just enough to hint that the film is out of this world – as it really turned out to be.

The inquisitive face of Navi tribe was good enough to create a curiosity in all the movie fans worldwide about what Cameron’s going to present us with.

A modern day poster thus emphasises on a movie goer's imagination to feast on the poster and fill up his ideas or simply wonder in awe at the impression of the images in it. To sum it all up, it can be said that lesser the known elements of a movie in its poster, the better it gives out the real picture, or like the title says, speaks a thousand words.

Meet Thakar
meet.thakar@yahoo.com
FORESHADOW PICTURES

“Johnny Sharma was not intended to be funny”

It was 8 am. My phone beeped suddenly. The reminder for the interview served its purpose as I had unabashedly forgotten the appointment. After a quick bath, I took a sharing rickshaw to Kalaghoda. Manubhai Towers was at a walking distance. Knowing the fact that the office of Foreshadow Pictures was on the 5^th floor, I pressed the elevator button. When the contraption did not give a propitious response at my incessant button-pressing phenomena, I took to stairs. May be this was my punishment for skipping the morning exercise. After reaching the fifth floor, well, first of all I caught my breath, and then moved towards the place where I believed the office was. But I was puzzled to find a hoarding displaying ‘Nine Enterprises: Study Abroad’. I was impressed that Foreshadow Pictures had taken to advertising to such an extent. I plodded myself into an open door. There I found 2 genial men working diligently on their computers below a board displaying all the film-posters of Foreshadow Pictures. All of a sudden, Paritosh Bhole conjured up and greeted me gently. He invited me to an air-conditioned room where I sat on a reclining chair. Ordering some sandwiches from the neighboring Hot Bite restaurant, he himself set in the front of the table - a standard set-up for an interview.

Well, first of all, hearty congratulations at the opening of the Foreshadow Pictures’ own office- a long cherished dream…

Oh yes, of course. But I think I am the wrong person to get congratulated. The entire credit for this remarkable feat should go to Rahul (Bhole), Vinit (Kanojia) and Parikshit (Marathe). It became possible because they realized that the moment was ripe enough for Foreshadow to go professional. Initially, I was cynical about the idea. But with nearly 7 projects in hand now, I think, their stand has been vindicated.

Currently you have been working on a script called ‘A Beautiful Image’ which has caused many to speak enthusiastically about it. Tell us something more.

Well, nothing is yet decided. The script is still in its inchoate stage. Even the name ‘A Beautiful Image’ is not yet fixed. All I can tell you about it is that it’s based on an absurd but novel idea. I still need to work hard on the script but I am afraid I have been facing a blank wall. Let’s see what happens. (Chuckles)

You faced a similar kind of blank wall in retrospect. And then you gave us Johnny Sharma…

No, there was never a blank wall while writing Johnny Sharma. Its complete structure was decided in one seating. The thing that media hyped as ‘blank wall’ was that in draft-1, Johnny Sharma was not intended to be funny. Neither was it intended to be gloomy. I just thought it to be an amusing concept. But when I approached Deep…

You mean Deep Panjwani?

Yeah… He enriched the script with some really innovative and funny inputs. Even then, we did not put it under the comic genre. We used to call it a smart tongue-in-cheek film. But when we witnessed the deafening gales of laughter during the competition(Hot shorts), we saw each other and concluded that we had made a smart tongue-in-cheek “comedy” film, if I am not bragging too much. (Laughs)

You have been noted saying, “Jack Anand is better than Johnny Sharma”. Do you really feel so?

I might have said that but my implications were different. While making Jack Anand, we were better equipped and had an incredible management experience. Thanks to Ganesh (Rananavre). I think the unique feat was to complete the production of such a hefty project in just 2 days. Honestly speaking, I thoroughly enjoy watching both the movies. But I never want to compare them.

That was the cliché answer of every director.

(Uproarious Laughter)

Then what went wrong with Jack Anand?

For me, it is still a fully satisfying film. I still get the goose bumps at the scene of denouement. The most positive thing about the film was that it was a ditto manifestation of the script. We were able to portray what we envisaged. However, I capitulate to the accusation that the language was indeed a problem. I think it could have been translated into a good hindi. I humbly take the entire responsibility for that discredit.

What’s the fuss about Hemlo? Some say that you have been kept away from the project?

No, I would like to clear the air on this matter. I have not been kept away from it. On the contrary, I myself have not shown any prying interest in the project owing to my busy schedule these days. Apart from that, I believe that the very idea, of making a film on a renowned book and hence to read the book then, is ill-founded. It should be the other way round. If you enjoy a book immensely then if you feel to make a movie on it; it’s perfectly all right. Let’s just not make a film because 'V' has made a film on Macbeth and 'B' has made a film on Othello. But I heard some rave reviews about the initial scripting process. The incipient script has been proclaimed by many as being outlandish and promising. If that’s the case, then keep it up! I am with you.

What do you feel about the future of Foreshadow Pictures?

I feel that we are at par with the contemporaries in the technical aspects. Also, we are enthusiastic and passionate. Vinit has been working on an animated film. Ostensibly, Deep is also planning to do so in his summer holidays. Rahul has been working on Hemlo as well as other professional projects. Deep, Vineet(Shah) and Meet(Thakar) have been assiduously working for the betterment of our website. So everything should probably go on smoothly. The only thing that concerns me is that many of us, including me, are very shallow readers. I think every member should be encouraged to read more and more meaningful books. Every good director is a voracious reader. It is an imperative and prerequisite trait. If you are a director but not a good reader then there are very probable chances of you being a Vikram Bhatt or a Michael Bay. Moreover, all the films that we’ve made until now were concept-driven. A good director does not just rely upon the novelty of concept but it is his own perception which counts. If we succeed someday in telling an ordinary story- a story that does not merely depend upon the concept but also upon the human emotions- then we can call ourselves good filmmakers. I think we’ve yet to prove ourselves on those grounds.

Paritosh Bhole

paritoshbhole@yahoo.co.in

FORESHADOW PICTURES

Is Avatar Anti-American?

"This movie reflects that we are living through war," - James Cameron, Director, AVATAR

Every decade has its share of breakthrough movies, some of which touch us to our core and set us thinking and admiring the picture and the idea behind it. Undoubtedly, Avatar is one such movie of this decade. It is already cruising to bank at least $2.5 billion worldwide and $700 million at United States Box office. Officially, Avatar is the most bankable film of all time across the globe.

The question: is it really a flawless film? Does it really extend to the boundaries of being called one of the best films of all time? According to critics, it is in no way close to perfection. Many of the top critics have quoted that the dialogues are reminiscent of Star Wars saga. The story is absolutely trite; it is "Dancing With The Wolves" in space where our hero goes native after leaving Kansas City. The characters are thinner than a cardboard sheet. Well, this is what the critics say but ‘intelligent beings’ may not always have the final word.

The second trailer clearly suggested a highly predictable story line - that Na’vi's will kill the gung-ho army head and win the battle in the climax. But there are all possibilities that James Cameron clearly aimed at giving us a simple and enjoyable story line with indirect messages!

To an American citizen this movie might sound a little unpatriotic because of several enunciations against the America’s past and present policies. Avatar is not just a popcorn segment but also an intentionally spoken out political statement by James Cameron.

Direct Resemblance to Native Americans

Everybody knows that like any history, America’s past is filled with blood. The Europeans slowly but surely wiped out the indigenous people during “The Indian Wars” from American continent in name of “progress” of New England. Very few Indians are left today who have seamlessly merged with the American society. The merger has not been easy - the ancestors had to sacrifice their roots and culture to adjust with the modern society. The children of indigenous people in 18^th century were sent to the Native American Boarding School to “civilize” or to assimilate them with the European culture where they were not allowed to speak in their own language and made to follow Christianity.

“We are providing them education & teach them English, we build them roads but after many years our relationships are only getting worse because all they want is to play in the mud!” – Parker Selfridge in Avatar

It is not hard to make out that Na’vi people look like Native Americans and their language is inspired from Mayan. James Cameron has clearly expressed his sorrow over large scale extermination of indigenous people from the continent.

The Climate Issue

For a long time there has been a debate in American Congress whether climate change is real or not where all the scientists across the world are already preparing to prevent the catastrophic effects due to global warming. Though United States has emphasized more on green energy, it has still taken controversial stance on international treaty (Kyoto Protocol) to reduce emission of greenhouse gases due to economic priorities. At present, countries like China & India are also contributing a large part of carbon emissions but they are just coming out of third world status! On the other hand the western countries have been emitting greenhouse gases since almost a century now. The world is waiting for America’s major contribution to overcome this threat to mankind’s future.

Avatar portrays Earth as dying world due to energy crisis & global warming in year 2154 and humans who have set out to explore the lush and rich land of Pandora to look for the resources.

“If Grace is with you, look into her memory - the world we come from. There is no green there. They killed their mother and they are going to do this here!” – Jack Sully in Avatar

The Iraq War

The 9/11 event has changed the equation of world politics completely. United States went for war on Afghanistan to dismantle Al-Qaida and find out Osama Bin Laden. Many countries across the globe supported this war due to shock and awe of 9/11 but after Afghanistan, Bush administration continued their venture on Iraq in the name of “threat to national security” and alleged Hussain for possessing Weapons for Mass Destruction (WMD). Bush repeatedly said, “We will fight terror with terror”

“Our only security lies in preemptive attack. We will fight terror with terror.” – Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar

We all know that no WMD were found in Iraq. Many experts on international issues have quoted that war in Iraq was just a battle of oil. In the movie it is shown that the sole reason for human presence at Pandora is highly super conducting material ‘unobtainium’, which would help to over come energy crisis back home.

“This is how it's done! When people sitting on shit you want, you make them your enemies and then you justify taking it!” – Jack Sully in Avatar

The character of Colonel Mile Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in Avatar seems so obsessed with war that he actually does not want the midway out to avoid the conflict. The characters like Jake Sully & Dr. Grace Augustine represent the image of United Nations & International community opposing war and asking for dialogue process.

Iraq war alone put the load of three trillion dollars on American Economy and in this recession time people across the globe hated the policies of Bush Administration and may be that is the reason everyone is able to relate with this movie.

“I have heard people say this film is un-American, while part of being an American is having the freedom to have dissenting ideas”

“The movie reflects that we are living through war. There are boots on the ground, troops who I personally believe were sent there under false pretense, so I hope this will be part of opening our eyes and I don’t know if this is a political agenda exactly, but as an artist I felt a need to say something about what I saw around me. I think we all need to take stewardship of our planet” – James Cameron

Deep Panjwani
universalexperiment@yahoo.co.in
FORESHADOW PICTURES