Looper

[Asgard]

Johnson's film is about a futuristic mob contract killer, played by Gordon-Levitt, who sends his victims back 30 years in time after killing them to hide the evidence.

Lol, thats quite the inventive and brilliant method of destroying evidence. Put a bullet in your target's head, then send the corpse 30 years into the past.

 

[Crockett]

After Brick, The Brothers Bloom and even the episode in the third season of Breaking Bad that Johnson directed I'm definitely interested to see what he'll bring with this movie. It's wondeful that he's re-collaborate with JGL as well.

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=78517

Rian Johnson's Looper Gets a Release Date

Source: ComingSoon.net
June 9, 2011

Having been picked up for distribution by FilmDistrict at last month's Cannes Film Festival, the third feature film from Rian Johnson, Looper, will be released by Sony's TriStar Pictures division on September 28, 2012, presumably to give Johnson the time needed to edit the movie which recently finished filming as well as do whatever FX need to be done. The movie stars Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt and it involves assassins who use a time travel element to send their victims back into the past.

So far, it's only one of three movies already scheduled for September next year including Resident Evil: Retribution and the animated Hotel Transylvania.

 

[rashad]

Early Buzz: Rian Johnson’s ‘Looper’
Posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 by Russ Fischer
http://www.slashfilm.com/early-buzz-rian-johnsons-looper/#more-115565

Devin at Badass Digest says,

Looper represents a major leap for Johnson, a huge step forward in style and scope. It’s smart and funny and thrilling, the kind of science fiction movie that wildly entertains while never shortchanging characters or ideas. Johnson tackles time travel with confidence; at first the rules are waved away, but eventually the ways that time travel works begins to become clear to us. The rules have to work, because Looper is tight as a drum, and any hiccup in how things work would send the story careening.
Looper is set in a strongly sketched future world that’s just about two weeks from today. It’s a film dotted with small details that feel thoroughly thought out, reminding me of what Duncan Jones did with Moon.

There may yet be changes to Looper, but the movie I saw was great. Bigger than Johnson’s last two films, Looper has one thing in common with them – like Brick and Brothers Bloom it’s a film that plays in a genre, but never at the expense of characters. This is an action film, and Johnson proves that not only does he have excellent action chops, he has interesting ideas on how to shoot his action so that it doesn’t look like every other action scene you’ve ever seen. Looper proves that Johnson is ready to move into the big, expensive movie game, and that he has the kind of instincts that might allow him to make a big, expensive movie that’s actually good.

Jeremy Smith at AICN says of the core idea,

it’s examined in the mainstream-skewing framework of a crackerjack sci-fi/action flick that recalls the genre-blending daring of the ’70s and ’80s. And it’s not just a time travel movie. Just when LOOPER seems to be settling into one type of film, it veers off in another direction, then settles down again, then goes absolutely bonkers without sacrificing clarity of story or theme. This is masterful filmmaking – a stirring reminder that genre entertainment can be both smart and accessible.

LOOPER is an intricately structured story enlivened by Johnson’s trademark wit and wounded romanticism. It’s an invigorating, thrilling, ceaselessly inventive film, a miracle in an era of by-committee studio filmmaking. And while it’s still months from being finished, barring any postproduction monkey business, it’s already a great movie.

And Mike D’Angelo, a critic who has done Cannes coverage for the AV Club, among much other work, said via Twitter:

Apparently it’s now ok to reveal that I’ve seen @rcjohnso’s LOOPER and it’s damn good. Takes a brilliant premise & thrillingly subverts it. (Rian’s a friend so apply salt as needed. But the test-screening reviews—of a cut two months further along than what I saw—seem to concur.) I should note that “damn good” is an extremely qualified assessment of a film that was a long long way from finished. My love may grow… It begins with a terrific, unique idea and then doesn’t go at all where you’d expect with it. Esp. w/r/t Bruce Willis.

 

[Brian2887]

It kills me that this is still nearly a full year away from being released. I've been hyped since The Brother's Bloom was released and Johnson was already talking about this project.

 

[KRIM]

Lol, thats quite the inventive and brilliant method of destroying evidence. Put a bullet in your target's head, then send the corpse 30 years into the past.

I'm fairly sure the method is to send the target to the past, then have the contract killers in that time do the kill.

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=85602

A Look at the Looper's Time Machine

Source: Rian Johnson
January 3, 2012

Writer/director Rian Johnson has given this first look at the time machine in his upcoming sci-fi pic Looper on the film's Tumblr account, where you'll find more behind-the-scenes photos.

In the September 28 release, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a contract killer who works for the mob of the future, and who kills victims that are then sent back in time 30 years so there's no trace of the crime. One day, however, he recognizes one of his targets (Bruce Willis) as a future version of himself.

Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Xu Qing, Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels and Piper Perabo co-star.

 

[redhawk23]

The more I see and hear about this film, the more excited I become.

 

[Crockett]

Pics of JGL.




He looks barely recognizable.


Description from the trailer shown at Wondercon.

Spoiler

The trailer opens with Joseph Gordon-Levitt standing in a desolate cornfield looking at a beautiful antique timepiece. He is holding a gigantic, cannon-like gun and is standing next to a beige mat. In voiceover, he explains, "Time travel has not yet been invented. Thirty years from now, it has." A person suddenly appears on the mat, bound and wearing a bag over his head. Without a moment's hesitation, Gordon-Levitt instantly shoots and kills the person.

The scene shifts to him depositing the victim in an incinerator, with the voiceover explaining that gangsters in the 2070s - who rather awesomely look like two-bit hoods from the 1930s - use time travel to get rid of people without the cops ever having a chance of finding them. They pay people like Gordon-Levitt extremely well to dispose of these people in the 2040s, effectively erasing them from history.

The voiceover continues, "The only rule is you never let your target escape. Even if the target is you." At this point, a new figure appears on the mat - it's Bruce Willis, playing the older version of Gordon-Levitt. Unlike the previous victim, he isn't wearing a bag over his head, and the two lock eyes in recognition. Gordon-Levitt hesitates, and Willis turns to escape. It's clear that Willis knew this was coming - which would make sense - and has prepared accordingly, wearing heavy armor on his back that repels the cannon blast.

The next scene finds Gordon-Levitt in his apartment, screaming to nobody in particular - but one would assume he's somehow talking to those gangsters in the future - that he can fix this, that "I will find him and I will kill him." Like a lot of the trailers we've seen today, the rest of the trailer is given over to full-on action craziness, featuring futuristic cars overturning in the middle of high speed chases, farms exploding, and Bruce Willis rushing through diner with his guns drawn.

We don't see much of the rest of the characters in the trailer, although there are a few quick shots of fellow looper Emily Blunt. She is also holding one of the massive cannons, and she has a similar look of uncertainty on her face - for what it's worth, director Rian Johnson made it clear at the panel that she kicks major ass in this movie. There's also a quick shot of a bearded, eccentric-looking Jeff Daniels, who observes: "This time travel **** fries your egg like a brain." Yes, I'm pretty sure that was the correct word order. Honestly, I prefer it that way.

http://io9.com/5894172/get-a-first-glimpse-at-the-twisty-action+packed-time-travel-noir-looper

It sounds great, and it will be out mid-April apparently.

 

[Liam_H]

Looks so much older in these pics than I'm use to seeing. Kind of reminds me of Thomas Jane in that 2nd pic.

 

[dude stannis]

Alec Baldwin in pic 1, Thomas Jane in pic 2!

 

[Project862006]

wow that make up is terrible

i think we can suspend are disbelief that JGL is a young Bruce

because it is a movie lol

we don't need horrendous make up

 

[kvz5]

Jeremy Piven in the 2nd pic!

 

[darkseid26]

Is he wearing some sort of nose piece to resemble Bruce Willis?

 

[Still Wynning]

Is he wearing some sort of nose piece to resemble Bruce Willis?

Looks like he's also wearing hazel contacts in the second pic. He barely looks recognizable.

I have to say, after reading that description, I definitely think I'll be seeing this in theaters. It sounds like such an intriguing concept.

 

[bubbadoom]

wow that make up is terrible

i think we can suspend are disbelief that JGL is a young Bruce

because it is a movie lol

we don't need horrendous make up

I thought it looked pretty nice, what do you fine "terrible" and "horrendous" about it?

 

[Lencho01]

They sorta look alike.

 

[bubbadoom]

There's only so much one can do with make-up, a lot depends upon the face you are working on. Having said that, look at Willis, Mickey Rourke, Alec Baldwin, or Val Kilmer today compared to what they looked like 20 years ago - hardly recognizable as the same guys!

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

Definitely intrigued by the premise of the film. It also helps that it has a great cast to boot.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Even though I'm intrigued by this movie, the makeup's looking pretty bad in those pics.

 

[Sawyer]

There's only so much one can do with make-up, a lot depends upon the face you are working on. Having said that, look at Willis, Mickey Rourke, Alec Baldwin, or Val Kilmer today compared to what they looked like 20 years ago - hardly recognizable as the same guys!

Err----- nah. I'm with you on Rourke and Kilmer, but Willis and Baldwin really haven't changed that much. Hair loss or slight weight gain aside, of course.

Also really don't see how the make-up is "bad". It seems that it's purpose is to make JGL not look like JGL. Well..... mission accomplished.

 

[bubbadoom]

Sawyer - I do not get the "bad" comments either. I looks pretty clean to me -considering the entire center of his face is covered, I think they did a pretty damn good job.

I can still see the Willis of today in things like Die Hard, but not so much in Moonlighting - but he has faired better than most. When I started paying attention to Alec Baldwin from films like Cat in the Hat and shows like 30 Rock, I was amazed that that was the same guy from Beetlejuice - but he too has aged better than Val and Mickey.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Err----- nah. I'm with you on Rourke and Kilmer, but Willis and Baldwin really haven't changed that much. Hair loss or slight weight gain aside, of course.

Also really don't see how the make-up is "bad". It seems that it's purpose is to make JGL not look like JGL. Well..... mission accomplished.

Just because the JGL does not look like himself doesn't mean the makeup looks convincing. Personally, I just think it looks fake. As with most makeup, it probably needs a certain lighting to make it seem more convincing. Hope it looks better in the movie, but it's looking kinda bad so far.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Cool pics, hopefully we get that trailer soon!

 

[Van Petrol]

JGL for a Die Hard reboot!


Finally nice to see some stuff for this movie coming out now. Really looking forward to this.