ALL'S WELLS THAT ENDS WELLS.Byline: - Glenn Whipp Given the fact that he's H.G. Wells' great-grandson, Simon Wells seemed a natural choice to direct the latest version of the classic sci-fi novel ``The Time Machine.'' A natural choice, that is, unless you consider that Wells had never directed outside of animation, which put him at a distinct disadvantage when it came to helming an expensive and complicated movie laden with huge sets, outsize out·size n. 1. An unusual size, especially a very large size. 2. A garment of unusual size. adj. also out·sized Unusually large, weighty, or extensive. action sequences and lots of visual effects. Wells ultimately cracked under the pressure. Doctors ordered him off the project, diagnosing him with ``extreme exhaustion Exhaustion Situation in which a majority of participants trading in the same asset are either long or short, leaving few investors to take the other side of the transaction when participants wish to close their positions. ,'' and Gore Verbinski (``The Mexican'') ended up completing the final 18 days of shooting. Looking back on the experience, a chipper chipper Drug slang An occasional user of illicit drugs. See Recreational drug use Tobacco A popular term for a person who smokes < 5 cigarettes/day, who may be resistant to nicotine dependence or addiction, and often born to non-smoking parents. Wells reports learning the following lesson: ``Burning the candle at both ends, you end up with no candle.'' Fortunately for Wells, he still ended up with the movie. When he woke up one Sunday and found he literally couldn't get out of bed, Wells figured he'd be fired. But DreamWorks executive Walter Parkes stuck by him, figuring Wells had already put in 11 months on the project and deserved a chance to see it through. ``I'm surprised I wasn't sacked,'' Wells says. ``Given what happened, I'm thrilled thrill v. thrilled, thrill·ing, thrills v.tr. 1. To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. 2. To give great pleasure to; delight. See Synonyms at enrapture. with the results.'' As for his vision of his great-grandfather's work, Wells says he wanted to create ``an essay into the nature of causality causality, in philosophy, the relationship between cause and effect. A distinction is often made between a cause that produces something new (e.g., a moth from a caterpillar) and one that produces a change in an existing substance (e.g. in which we blow a bunch of stuff up.'' He says his wife had a more high-concept description. ``She calls it 'The Age of Innocence' meets 'Aliens,' '' Wells says. ``And that about says it. The movie has plenty of eye candy Images and animated graphics added to Web sites and interactive software that makes the information exciting. In other words, glitz, sizzle and pizzazz. See cornea gumbo. , but hopefully a little depth and emotion, too.'' (March 8) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) ``THE TIME MACHINE'' |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion