News

It has been quite the cinematic baptism of fire for director Wes Ball. Following his varied work behind the scenes his excellent short film Ruin (which can be seen here) saw that he was chosen to bring James Dashner’s acclaimed Ya novel series The Maze Runner to the big screen. In a world of Hunger

The post Exclusive Interview: Wes Ball on the Challenges of directing Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The Maze Runner Digital HD Release Review

The Maze Runner hit theaters as a bit of a curiosity. Unlike most Ya novels that get adapted into films, The Maze Runner didn’t have the same kind of mainstream traction that most do, though lesser-known titles are not unheard of, and it didn’t aim to attract a star with pull beyond the target demographic. While Dylan O’Brien has some small amount of variety to his credits, he’s really just the guy from Teen Wolf, which means you have to already be extremely likely to be familiar with The Maze Runner to know who he is.

That isn’t a bad way to go. In fact, it’s probably a genius way to go, but it isn’t the norm, and doesn’t make for the broadest opportunity.

That’s a shame, because apart from a couple of problematic notes,...

There aren't many filmmakers who get to take a crack at a major young adult franchise with their first feature film, but director Wes Ball managed to do just that with The Maze Runner, which arrives on Blu-ray and DVD December 16. Based on the popular novel trilogy by James Dashner, The Maze Runner is set in a mysterious and massive maze known as The Glade, where a number of young men find themselves inexplicably trapped, with no memory of how or why they were put there. Dylan O'Brien stars as Thomas, the latest addition to The Glade who may be the one to lead them out of the maze for good.

After working as a graphic artist for several years, Wes Ball makes his directorial debut with The Maze Runner, an ambitious project that managed to win over fans and critics alike, taking in over $330 million at the box office during its theatrical run.

The migration of young adult dystopias from bookshelf to silver screen has been a mixed bag, some being incredibly faithful, some less so. However, we have reached a point where these depressing, unrealistic worlds have saturated the screen category to the point where they seem cut from the same pattern. Now, I admit, far too many films adhere to the predictable three act structure but in this sub-genre, the seams are far more obvious with a lot less variety. As a result, it befalls to the producer and director to find a way to be interesting.

This fall we welcomed the latest contestant in this competition and The Maze Runner, based on the novel trilogy by James Dashner, wins points for atmosphere. After that, it is stunningly dull. In this near-future world, some great solar flames have laid waste to most of the world. As a result, a disease known...

20th Century Fox has announced that it will be bringing The Maze Runner to Blu-Ray on December 16th. Directed by Wes Ball, the film stars Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, and Blake Cooper and proved to be a huge hit at the box office this fall, taking in over $300 million on a budget of just $34 million. Of course, a sequel is already in production and has been set for a September 18th, 2015 release.

But back to the Blu-Ray – the disc will come packed with extras, including a 24-page prequel comic book, deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, commentary from Ball and more. A full list of special features can be found below:

24-Page Prequel Comic Book Deleted Scenes with Commentary from Wes Ball Navigating The Maze: The Making of The Maze Runner (A Five Part Documentary that includes: The Maze is Born, Creating the World, Finding the Gang, The Movie Inside the Maze,...

If you're one of those people who is getting a little tired of all the dystopian young adult sci-fi films hitting the big screen, "Saturday Night Live" has just the thing for you. Taking aim at The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Giver and more, the late night sketch series delivered this perfect trailer parody for a fake film called The Group Hopper. Throwing around a bunch of weird terms that have to be explained, especially to the recently arrived hero waiting to be sorted into some kind of group, comedian Pete Davidson finds himself in a world he doesn't understand, but is all to familiar to us. Watch below! Here's the fake trailer for The Group Hopper from "Saturday Night Live" on YouTube: The Maze Runner marks the feature directorial debut of Wes Ball (of Ruin), working from a script by Noah Oppenheim and James Dashner (who...

We chat to director Wes Ball about adapting The Maze Runner for the big screen, sequel development, and more...

Earlier this year, Den Of Geek was treated to advance preview to some scenes from the new film The Maze Runner (just out in the Us), and damn fine they are too. Directing the movie is Wes Ball, who created a sensation with his 2011 short film, Ruin, and we caught up with the director to chat about the film, Young Adult novels, The Hunger Games and UK television show Skins.

But first, Wes noted the Star Wars tee I was wearing and we bonded over our love for the George Lucas space opera.

So, you’re a Star Wars fan?

Star Wars is why I want to make movies!

I was introduced to Return Of The Jedi first and I distinctively remember my dad, he was so excited. We lived in the middle of nowhere,...

Expectations for The Maze Runner, the latest Ya best-seller turned franchise wannabe, seemed low, so much so that critical faint praise suddenly feels like a ringing endorsement. “Don’t let that Ya tag put you off,” says EW’s Chris Nashawaty, in his review. “There isn’t a dying heroine or hunky vampire to be found anywhere in this better-than-average adaptation of the James Dashner bestseller. Just a bunch of confused kids on the run from a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D.”

Based on Dashner’s 2007 post-apocalyptic novel, the first chapter of a trilogy that includes The...

As one of the more enjoyable Ya adaptations and one that skews male in its appeal, The Maze Runner could be a crossover hit this weekend. To be a part of the crowd, you’ll want to go see the story of Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), a guy who wakes up en route to a mysterious courtyard that will be his new home until he can escape the surrounding labyrinth. And afterward, as you try to figure out all the questions you have about the plot and which might be answered in the sequel (and maybe prequel), you’ll want to go through this week’s list of movies to watch, each of them relevant to Wes Ball‘s adaptation of the James Dashner book. First, though, you should also check out Ball’s previous films, all of them shorts. I shared his Student Academy Award winner, A Work in Progress, the...

Director Wes Ball has been toiling away at movie making for well over a decade. He made a couple of short films, worked in both the art and effects departments of some large projects and then in 2011 he made an impressive animated short titled Ruin (which you can, and should, watch online) which turned out to be the best possible calling card for the future director of The Maze Runner.

Based on the first novel of James Dashner's quadrilogy, The Maze Runner is a sci-fi infused, post apocalyptic update on William Golding's "Lord of the Flies." Heck, you can even say it has traces of "Lost" and Cube what with the mysterious set-up and all.

Dylan O'Brien (likeable sidekick on MTV's surprisingly good "Teen [Continued ...]...

On September 19th, 20th Century Fox will unveil the highly anticipated The Maze Runner and according to early numbers, director Wes Ball’s movie is on track for a $30 million opening when it bows next weekend.

Based upon the best-selling novel by James Dashner, when Thomas wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D. Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape.

One of the most popular soundtracks Sony Music has released this year, the original movie score is from American film composer and conductor John Paesano.

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Paesano initially studied classical music with composition professor Sally Dow Miller of Conservatoire de Paris.

When Fox picked up the feature version of animator Wes Ball’s short film Ruin in 2012, the deal quickly led to the studio offering Ball The Maze Runner as his full-length directing debut. Entrusted with the first novel in author James Dashner’s futuristic series of four young adult books, Ball appears to be implementing a strategy that’s predicated more on quickly launching a film franchise than developing a substantive long-form narrative. When The Maze Runner was published in 2009, it became a New York Times bestseller, and it’s easy to understand why: Dashner has fashioned a distinctive, if derivative, dystopian storyline that’s

read more...

When Wes Ball finished reading The Maze Runner, the first book in James Dashner’s hugely popular trilogy about a group of teenage boys mysteriously imprisoned by the sky-high walls of a seemingly impossible-to-crack maze, his mind started spinning as he began to think about what Dashner’s world would look like. He hadn’t even signed on to direct the movie yet, but, with a background in VFX it just seemed natural.

“I went and pulled up some of the 3D assets I made for Ruin,” Ball says of his arresting 2012 short about a post-apocalyptic universe. “This one image...

The most recent trailer for the adaptation of the young adult action adventure novel The Maze Runner looked pretty damn impressive, and we're excited to see where this intriguing sci-fi tale ventures, especially after seeing concept art for the hopeful sequel at Comic-Con last month. Now a featurette has surfaced online introducing us to The Gladers, the group of boys (Dylan O'Brien, Will Poulter and more, eventually joined by Kaya Scodelario) who have been stuck in the area called The Glade, trying to figure out if they're any way out of the maze that connects to their grassy home. This is a great young cast who actually camped out in the big wooded set in New Orleans to build up camaraderie before shooting. Watch! Here's the new featurette for Wes Ball's The Maze Runner from YouTube: The Maze Runner marks the feature directorial debut of Wes Ball (of Ruin...

First impressions of The Maze Runner can be deceiving. Wading through the glut of Ya-focused dystopias can be a trying task with little to separate one from the other; the current state of hyperbolic buzz is a blessing and a curse. From this first look at a clip from the forthcoming adaptation of The Maze Runner we seem to be in safe hands and in for something special.

We were on set earlier this year and found the passion for this project to be infectious. Director Wes Ball’s calling card, the short film Ruin, shows exactly why he was picked to take on the project and from each new trailer, and now this clip, there emerges a clearer picture of how Ball is tackling James Dashner’s popular book.

In our Summer Preview section we highlighted how we expect The Maze Runner to set itself apart and there’s no doubting that,...

"No one has ever survived a night in the maze." Fox has unveiled another new trailer for Wes Ball's The Maze Runner, an adaptation of the young adult book by James Dashner about a group of kids trapped in an elaborate, futuristic maze. While this reeks of a wannabe Hunger Games series, it actually has a lot of its own unique offerings. I'm admittedly looking forward to this movie mostly because I have high hopes that director Wes Ball (of the short Ruin) is the next the big thing and this is going to be his kick ass feature debut showing us what he can really do. While this trailer is a bit generic, the movie looks engaging. Dylan O'Brien stars as Thomas, along with Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Here's the latest trailer for Wes Ball's adaptation of The Maze Runner, direct from Yahoo: The Maze Runner...

News from The Maze Runner panel at Comic-Con announced that director Wes Ball is already developing the sequel The Scorch Trials to shoot later this year as long as the first film does well at the box office this fall. With that news came some concept art of the world we'll see in the new film, and now we have a new poster from across the pond to hype up the first film in the hopeful franchise so fans can actually have a chance at seeing the sequel. It shows Dylan O'Brien ("Teen Wolf") running into the titular maze in question with the veteran trapped boys boys (including Will Poulter) and newly arrived singular girl (Kaya Scodelario). The footage at Comic-Con impressed and there should be a new trailer soon. Look! Here's the new UK poster for Wes Ball's The Maze Runner from Empire: The Maze Runner marks the...

The “Ya adaptation” genre has been rather female-dominated when it comes to feature films, but a unique entry is aiming to take hold this fall with Fox’s The Maze Runner. Based on the James Dashner novel of the same name, the story revolves around a teenager who wakes up in the middle of a maze with no memory of who he is, surrounded by other teenage boys who also don’t know who they are, where they are, or what the maze is. Fox touted the film this Friday at San Diego Comic-Con, with Dashner, director Wes Ball, and stars Dylan O’Brien, Will Poulter, and Kaya Scodelario in attendance. In addition to discussing their approach to the adaptation, entering into a marketplace that has recently been dominated by female-led stories, and changes from the book, Ball revealed that they’re hoping to start shooting the sequel The Scorch...

Here we are again, Latino-Review, we’re going back in the past to New Orleans where I visited the set of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and The Maze Runner.

At the time, I was entirely unfamiliar with The Maze Runner book series written by James Dashner and since I’ve read it all. That was motivated by this set visit and my general curiosity at what first time feature director Wes Ball was doing out in the Louisiana Wilderness.

This was an overnight shoot, so the bewildered press stepped out of our transport van after a long drive (with a quick stop at Starbucks to caffeinate for the over-nighter) into the middle of nowhere.

There were a few trailers and a tent set up for craft services, where the coffee would be (everyone made note), but nothing resembling a movie setup was anywhere to be seen. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes...

I never thought, stepping off a bus and onto a Hollywood movie set, that I’d be putting myself in grave danger. But here I was in the middle of God knows where doing just that. I knew the night would be interesting when our studio handler for the evening tells us that before we head out into the Louisiana swamp land, the snake wrangler needs to head out first to make sure the area was safe. “I’m sorry…did you say snake wrangler?” “Yes, this area is home to all sorts of creepy crawlers including Cottonmouth and Water Moccasins.” I regretted asking that question immediately. I watch enough Discovery Channel to know those are Not snakes you want in your general vicinity.

It was 9pm and the day was just getting started on the set of 20th Century Fox’s “The Maze Runner”. While we struggled to stay...