‘The Hole 3D’ Chaos at TIFF
We’re paying attention to all the reviews and chatter coming from TIFF but paying extra attention to films we’ve followed throughout production including Joe Dante’s ‘The Hole’ which kicked off the fest by receiving news of winning the inaugural top prize at the Venice 3D Film Festival. Competing against the heavily-promoted ‘Up‘ and ‘Coraline,’ ‘The Hole 3D‘ was considered a long shot but managed to win over the judges with the restrained use of 3D in a live action movie.
The subsequent showing of the film at the Toronto International Film Festival raised everyone out of their seat … due to a fire alarm which required the evacuation of the theater … just before the end of the film! Not sure how it all went down but the Twitters hint at the chaos and frustration resultant from both a projector breaking and the errant alarm – disturbing the audience in their funky 3D glasses.
From IndieWire: This weekend in Toronto a packed audience at the Ryerson Theater took in the North American premiere of Joe Dante’s 3-D “The Hole.” The film - about a pair of brothers whole stumble upon a mysterious hole in their basement - has yet to find distribution stateside. [Photo courtesy of WireImage.
12:20pm, Sep 12 The projector had failed 3 min into Joe Dante’sThe Hole. Yaaar…. tederick
1:38pm, Sep 12 Joe Dante really musta pissed off the wrong demon. THE HOLE had a projector prob at thestart and a fire evacuation before the end. #tiff09 tederick
12:20pm, Sep 12 The projector had failed 3 min into Joe Dante’sThe Hole. Yaaar…. miklow
Despite the chaos, ‘The Hole’ pleased many and disappointed a few. Here’s a round up of the news and reviews from ‘The Hole’ as they come in.
‘The Hole 3D’ Reviews
The Hole This is the movie Zathura was swinging for and didn’t quite hit: the best family adventure since Goonies. Leave it to Joe Dante (Gremlins, Innerspace) to drag us back to that 80s movie vibe by making a kids’ thriller that actually thrills. It features creepy little girls, a psychotic clown doll, and a hole to nowhere. What? You want more than that? Fine: it’s in 3-D! (Matt)
“TIFF Update #5: Dante, Portman, and Hicks Disappoint” – ReelViews Commentary by James Berardinelli
It seems like forever since we’ve heard from director Joe Dante. Back in the ’80s, he was one of the kings of teen-oriented thrillers, with titles like Gremlins and Innerspace on his resume. He continued working into the ’90s but with increasingly limited visibility. The Hole represents a would-be comeback. Dante has employed the basic framework of many family-oriented horror/thriller movies and amped it up by taking it 3-D. The result, unfortunately, is not what one might hope. The Hole is lacking in the creativity department and, while Dante still knows how to get a good jump or two out of viewers, he’s working with a subpar screenplay. Gremlins was made with the 13-year old in mind but worked regardless of the audience member’s age. The Hole was made for the same target demographic but its ability to reach beyond those in their teens is limited at best.
A report from the Venice screenings of Joe Dante’s THE HOLE and George Romero’s SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD comes lurching in! - Ain’t It Cool News
I’ve seen Joe Dante’s Hole and it doesn’t stink. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write, but it’s true. I knew very little about this film going in. I knew it was in 3D and I’d been told it was like Disturbia but with a bottomless hole, which it is for the first ten minutes, then it becomes a dark, really dark, episode of Eerie Indiana. Dante gets to flex his big screen muscles here and he’s been away for far too long. You really get the sense he’s put everything he’s got into this film and the big set pieces are a master at work.
Here’s Producer Johnathan Oaks talking about using 3D in the film:
‘The Hole 3D’ wins in Venice
Variety says: ‘Hole’ wins Venice 3-D film prize – Dante horror pic nabs first ever Premio Persol
ROME — Joe Dante’s family horror film “The Hole” is the winner of the Venice Film Festival’s first Premio Persol to a 3-D feature deemed the most creative among those produced globally between September 2008 and August 2009.”The Hole,” which world-preemed in Venice and is unspooling in Toronto, beat a clutch of hot recent 3-D titles, including ”Up,” “Coraline” and ”My Bloody Valentine.”
Brutal as Hell: Joe Dante’s The Hole Wins Venice Prize - by Britt Hayes
The Hole tells the story of a family that moves into a new home to discover a padlocked trapdoor in the cellar. Two brothers discover that the hole leads them into their deepest, darkest fears. The jury at the Venice Film Festival praised The Hole, saying it best represented “the exploration of this new frontier of cinematic language.”
MTV Blog: Joe Dante’s ‘The Hole’ Named Best 3-D Film Of The Year At Venice Film Festival
It is worth noting that “The Hole,” like “Avatar,” is live-action, and so far the only truly worthwhile 3-D films have been animated. This recognition therefore makes it even more significant, and I’m now even more excited to see it whenever it does open in America. Hopefully now that there’s this prestige and acclaim attached to “The Hole,” it won’t be long before it arrives in U.S. theaters.
Reviews are coming in from TIFF and I will say that all of the good films that have been released this year in 3D have been animated. Maybe this is the first real live action movie that will do 3D some justice. James Cameron’s Avatar was not in the running this year and as you know it is being marketed being groundbreaking.
Geek Tyrant follows up from MTV and asks: Joe Dante’s THE HOLE Best 3-D Film Of The Year?
Out of all of the 3D films that have been released this year so far I would have never thought that Joe Dante’s family friendly horror film, The Hole, would have been named the best 3D film of the year. I have yet to see the film, but it beat out both Coraline and Up which were not only great films, both looked absolutely fantastic in 3D.
However this news gets has sparked a little fire within me, and I’m really looking forward to seeing this movie now. The film still has yet to pick up a U.S. distributor, but it wont be long until it finds one. So does this news sparked your interest in this film? Especially since it beat out Coraline and UP?
Here’s Director Joe Dante introducing a scene on set and discussing the plot of ‘The Hole – 3D’
Twitter Round-up
Boxoffice TIFF UPDATE: Joe Dante’s THE HOLE is funny, scary, and makes witty use of 3D. Why is at TIFF without an American distributor already set? 1:48pm, Sep 11
Larry411 - had some delicious poutine at ny fries in eaton centre, now on way to ryerson for joe dante’s thehole #TIFF09 10:35am, Sep 12
filmjunk About to see Joe Dante’s The Hole. They’re giving out ultra high-tech 3D glasses. This is thefuture. 11:49am, Sep 12
spicy_tuna From yesterday: Joe Dante’s “The Hole” – total cliché, but fun. I’m assuming the end was ok – that’s the one that got evacuated. 9:46am, Sep 13
vivieno Giddy at TIFF waiting for Joe Dante’s The Hole to start!! 3D baby!!!! 11:00 AM Sep 11th
From the set of ‘The Hole’
Crew members of ‘The Hole 3D’ describe the process of shooting in 3D.
