Bob Zemeckis on 'Flight,' Motion-Capture and 'Yellow Submarine'

Banter

The Hollywood News Banter ()

Kim Masters and John Horn, film writer for the Los Angeles Times, banter about some of this week's top Hollywood news stories.

- Who will take over Warner Bros? The Survivor-like competition between three top executives at this formidable studio
- Despite -- or because of? -- its success in the West, Skyfall won't get released in China until 2013
- CBS has almost sold off all its ad-space for the 2013 Super Bowl and the price-tag for a 30-second spot is higher than ever

Main Topic

Zemeckis ()

Director Bob Zemeckis earned fame and power in the movie business with successful films like Back to the Future, Castaway and the Oscar-winning Forrest Gump. But for the last 12 years he's been devoted to making motion-capture movies (Polar Express, Beowolf) and he's found himself the object of skepticism and criticism. His new film is Flight starring Denzel Washington as a gifted pilot who miraculously lands a plane in free fall despite the fact that he's drunk. This adult drama was made for the relatively low budget of $31 million. Zemeckis and Washington cut their fees for the film, and Zemeckis used elaborate previs to be able to shoot the plane crash on the cheap. Zemeckis talks about how in today's Hollywood, filmmakers and studios need to work together to do that. He also defends the value of motion-capture technology, and talks about how he's decided to abandon his long-held plans to remake The Beatles' Yellow Submarine.

Guests:

• Robert Zemeckis: filmmaker