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October 31, 2005
Happy Halloween
Really, nothing in the movie business seems that important today, as the left supported the right in getting rid of a treat and now has stuck America with a extreme rightist trick in The Supreme Court.
Sometimes, it is horrible to get what you ask for. And the ideologue that the left demanded from George Bush is now in place.
I know that I am off topic and that a small war could start in the comments section between some of you. So in this case only, as soon as I see the first comment that is not a comment about how YOU feel and is instead an attack on someone else's opinion, I'll be shutting down the comments section on this topic.
But I do feel that I needed to make comment on this issue. I am deeply sad about the left's current inability to get out of its own way.
Posted by poland at 10:48 PM | Comments (213)
Cruel & Crude, But Funny
A Zipperfish Attack On Scientology
Posted by poland at 08:12 AM | Comments (12)
October 30, 2005
Weekend Estimates - 10/30/05
Not much new to add from the Friday analysis…
Zorro & The Temple Of Doom is a bit of a disappointment here, but is doing great guns overseas, actually up about 22% from the original, grossing about $27 million in 50 territories. So don’t think of Big Z as a red inker for Sony, but still… it’s not quite a killer here at home.
Still, even with Zorro and Saw II slicing the top two slots up, the weekend will be down by about $3 million from last year’s Saw/Ray/Grudge triple team and about $9 million from the all-time high for the weekend.
Of course, the other thing to consider when comparing numbers is that studios are now planning for the rest of the world with much more focus… in many cases, more so for the rest of the world than for here. Like Troy or The Last Samurai, Sony expects the international total to be a multiple of three, four, or even five times domestic.
Still hanging out under 300 screens, Good Night, And Good Luck and Capote are still playing strong. The question is how long each can hold and whether either can expand much. They both have the good fortune of a November clear-out by a number of movies, so they continue to have their demo to themselves for a while. The fear factor is that expansion and a lack of increased audience can be perceived as a disappointment for awards season. On the other hand, success could lock up awards nominations. GN&GL is scheduled to cross the 500 screen threshold next weekend, so we will see how it goes then. In the two weeks after that, Bee Season, Pride & Prejudice, and Breakfast on Pluto enter the market in competition.
Saw II - 31.3 (10,620) - 31.3
The Legend of Zorro - 16.4 (4,670) - 16.4
Prime - 6.4 (3,510) - 6.5
Dreamer - 6.2 (2,500) - 32% - 17.5
Wallace & Gromit - 4.5 (1,540) - 47% - 49.9
The Weather Man - 4.2 (2,770) - 4.2
Doom - 3.9 (1,290) - 75% - 22.7
North Country - 3.6 (1,400) - 44% - 12.1
The Fog - 3.3 (1,280) - 50% - 25.5
Flightplan - 2.7 (1,520) - 43% - 81.2
----------------
Good Night, and GL - 2.0 (7,240) - 13% - 7.2
Capote - 1.0 (6,520) - 64% - 3.4
Shopgirl - .45 (10,760) - 96% - 0.76
Posted by poland at 06:57 PM | Comments (42)
Annie Dull
I don’t have a lot to say about Prime - which I just paid $9.50 to watch - so I’ll just lay it out quickly.
It took until about the halfway mark before I realized that this film was meant to be Ben Younger’s take on Woody Allen. Wacky relationship that seems doomed but is meant to be hopeful for the audience. Wacky side characters and flashbacks like granny hitting herself in the head with a frying pan. A touch of sex, usually wacky in some way.
Younger’s big contribution – and you can almost here the beer bottles being jostled and the long pulls on the cigarette while he was describing his vision in some terrible cool downtown space – is that the woman is older and the man is younger.
But here is the problem. Mr. Younger – and by extension, his character in the film - is as young and dumb as Allen was sharp and insightful. Not that he isn’t a very sharp guy. He must be very charming in a meeting. But he doesn’t have anything to say about anything. And with due respect to the cult of Boiler Room… more of the same from that effort.
It reminded me a lot of a freshman acting class. Everyone wants to do Chekov and Strindberg, but they don’t really understand. Moreover, the young actors are taught to develop a backstory and depth for their characters, so every moment feels emotionally grounded, even in a comedy… but few actually understand what that means.
Younger might have gotten away with it if it weren’t for the presence of Meryl Streep, who wins every scene she is in with ease… because she is really there… feeling something. Uma Thurman is trying to please the director… trying really hard. She has the tools, but she didn’t have a director who could help her get where she needed to be. And Bryan Greenberg must be incredibly charming in a room, because as a leading man, he manages to make Paul Walker look like a big personality. He’s a good looking kid… but nothing… nothing… nothing…
As a result, we never really know why in God’s name Uma Thurman is dying to “do things (she)’s never wanted to do before.”
We could. But Mr. Younger wants it both ways in every way. And it is amazing how stupid the movie can be about itself.
Here is a guy 14 years younger than the woman, but hey, he’s an artist… maybe she fell in love with the genius of his work. But she doesn’t see his work until she is fairly deep into the relationship.
Here is a woman who has just gotten divorced. That could well mean that she’s gone a year or more without sex. That could make her itchy. And the relationship with the hot young guy that really started as a fling could grow by surprise. But no, the movie suggests there is something deeper from the start and won’t suggest that Uma’s character is anxious to find a sexual partner.
There are advantages of having an inexperienced lover… they can be trained. This idea is passingly referred to, but there is no follow through… again, because Younger seems to be trying to save the young man from seeming like a shallow sex object.
But the thing is, while Bryan Greenberg is convincingly attractive, he is not good looking enough to be objectified. Typical of the movie is a beat where he draws the interest of a supermodel… an interest which must have some reason, whether it is that she is hot for him, interested in sleeping with someone who’s already taken or is attracted to the kindness she’s heard about in his relationship with Uma. Nope. None of the above. Nothing at all. Just another so-what plot point.
Why does Uma want to be with this man, who offers her nothing but a penis she wants to knit a hat for?
And why do we spend the first act seeing people shocked at the age difference when it seems like 4 or 5 years thanks to Ms. Thurman's genes. If Younger (and/or Universal) had the guts to cast a woman who actually looks close to 40 by conventional standards - say, Rene Russo - we might get it. But outside of dressing well, having frames for her paintings, and the ability to buy Merlot... they are effectively the same age. There is nothing wrong with a cultural mismatch, but a filmmaker needs to make a choice... unless they are brilliant... not here...
The whole thing is just so shallow and simple minded. Streep is brilliant. But even her character has almost nothing to do. And the closing montage is such an Allen steal - with none of the depth - that litigation would not be an unworthy idea.
This is really interesting turf… women over 30 dealing with life and love and sex and divorce and the ticking clock, etc… and so far, we have been stuck with Ben Younger and Roger Kumble covering it in studio films and covering it badly.
But the saddest part of all is that it is apparent that Younger simply doesn’t have the balls to follow through on anything… to tell any story… with passion. It’ll play ok on TV… it has moments that work… but they are all empty calories.
Posted by poland at 01:28 AM | Comments (12)
October 29, 2005
Early Friday Estimates - 10/29/05
Horror Porn is a hot category and Lions Gate is the king of the genre.
Saw, Cabin Fever, House of 1000 Corpses, box office disappointments Undead and Haute Tension, The Devil’s Rejects and now, Saw II.
Saw II will likely be the fifth best October opening ever, passing up the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake that really started this trend after 28 Days Later moved the needle earlier that year. There was also a clear influence in the Asian horror craze, which just keeps topping itself, from the teen massacre of Battle Royale to the acupuncture needles of Audition to the mass suicide that opens Suicide Club. Tarantino and Rodriguez have made their contributions, but even while something like Sin City really fits the category, you have to give it credit for at least reaching for something greater.
Ironically, George Romero’s Land of the Dead came up short, perhaps because ripping flesh with teeth was not a primary theme in the advertising, while also at Universal, the Dawn of the Dead remake did almost triple the business.
Still coming are Eli Roth’s Hostel, Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek, Wayne Kramer’s Running Scared, and hopefuls like Final Destination 3, Pulse, and Searchlight’s remake of The Hills Have Eyes.
Ironically, Saw II will do almost as much as last year’s Saw and the second weekend of The Grudge combined. But the weekend will likely still be down from last year as Zorro II and Prime together don’t make up for the lack of a Ray opening.
The Legend of Zorro is a bit of a disappointment, if an expected one, for Sony. The first Zorro film did $22.5 million on its way to $94 million and in days past, a sequel being off by a third wouldn’t be sad, but the new theory is that sequels are as often up as not. And if you can’t capitalize on the original – which in this case is a lifetime (7 years) ago in marketing years.
Prime isn’t. And it’s kind of sad because with all the talk about the movie business suffering because its not serving enough niche groups, like adults, here comes a movie with adult, female appeal and it will die a death that is even worse than In Her Shoes. Universal has had success in the comedy category before with repeating the premise and one or two jokes over and over and over again, but it didn’t work here. Maybe Uma needed to be banging Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson to find an answer. One thing that is clear… U couldn’t find a way to get across the idea that this performance by Uma was sexy enough to make it interesting for guys. Moreover, since the movie skews older, how many people really want to pay to see a gorgeous Amazon in her 30s get laid by a 20something and complain about it?
The Weather Man got school cafeteria milk thrown at it… it didn’t generate enough cash to pay for a milkshake.
Saw II - $ 12.6 - 2949 - New
The Legend of Zorro - $ 5.6 - 3520 - New
Prime - $ 2.1 - 1829 - New
Dreamer - $1.9 - 2491 - - 39%
The Weather Man - $1.4 - 1510 - New
Doom - $1.3 - 3042 - - 77%
Wallace & Gromit - $1.2 - 2935 - - 43%
North Country - $1.1 - 2555 - - 44%
The Fog - $1.1 - 2587 - - 45%
Flightplan - $.9 - 1766 - - 30%
Posted by poland at 07:35 PM | Comments (31)
October 28, 2005
Whose Weekend Is It Anyway?
Zorro 2 & Saw 2 both involve sharp instruments. Prime involves Uma Thurman, a young penis, and Meryl Streep as a Jewish mother in a wig. And The Weather Man is... well... cloudy.
Whaddya think?
Posted by poland at 07:11 AM | Comments (60)
20 Weeks To Oscar 3
It's amazing during this time how many movies go from 0 to 50 or from 50 to 0 in 3 seconds flat. This is that time when every movie "screened great for the Academy" or was " a disaster at the Academy" or there are "problems in post" or "they are withholding it because they can and want to build tension" or "no one saw it" or "they are showing it to people." Lies will be told and apologized for. Truths will be discounted and then seem too obvious to have doubted.
Posted by poland at 07:09 AM | Comments (24)
October 27, 2005
Example #2372
This is why I find the NYT so frustrating.
The first problem with Sharon Waxman's piece on King Kong is that it makes old news appear to be new news... and more so, surprising news. People have been talking about a 3 hour running time for six weeks now… and anyone at New Line can tell you that Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh expand their vision as they work… all three Rings films, but especially II and III were over-budget and longer than “expected.” And New Line was happy to spend tens of millions more for added content for expanded DVD versions.
10 Facts -
1. The deal for King Kong was for $150 million, including the fee for Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens. It was not a daring leap at all, as it was attached to a set amount for the production… which was not particularly high for a big movie.
2. Michael Bay hasn’t made a movie for as little as $150 million since 1997.
3. Universal increased the budget by about $25 million a year ago. So the actual budget overrun of $32 million is less than 20%.
4. Waxman takes the original $150 million budget, reduces it by the $20 million fee to Jackson, Walsh & Boyens - which was always a bit of spin - and then says that $207 million means "the extra length has helped increase the budget by a third." That is tortured math.
5. Four of the nine highest grossing films of all-time were at 3 hours or longer (three Rings films and Titanic). Two of the top five films this year are over 2 hours 20 minutes. Troy was the highest grossing “long” film (2:43) in 2004… and grossed $497 million worldwide.
6. Even at $207 million to deliver the film and $125 million marketing worldwide, the film breaks even at about $600 million worldwide. That would make it only the 27th highest grosser of all time. And that doesn’t include any ancillaries, including DVD, whose net would be all profit if the film hits $600 million. That profit would be more than $150 million.
7. Projecting all revenues streams, even at this budget, King Kong will break even at about $200 million worldwide or about $75 million domestic. Thirteen films in this year in which the New York Times has obsessively sold “The Slump,” have grossed more than $200 million worldwide, with two prime months still to come. Only Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith has passed $600 million worldwide, though War of The Worlds did $590 million.
8. Titanic was 3 hours, 15 minutes, not just 3 hours.
9. The deal for Warner Bros to put Harry Potter on IMAX was done many months ago and in fact, the Christmas season will find WB trying to find IMAX screens for a one-week re-release of The Polar Express. And the fiscal upside to a movie playing IMAX is relatively insignificant if the film is successful. The $40 million or so that The Polar Express did on IMAX was about 25% of its domestic box office. On a movie like Spider-Man, which Kong aspires to, that $40 million would be about 10% and unlike Polar Express, it would be seem that the IMAX opportunity is key to those ticket sales.
10. There will be at least two films more costly than King Kong next summer. There were three last year and four in 2003. None of them failed to crack $200 million worldwide.
I'm not complaining that the NYT did a story on Kong being long and over-budget. I am complaining that they took a position and sold it, instead of seeking truth by thorough and balanced reporting.
And if Peter Jackson was willing to exchange e-mails with the Times, why couldn't they wait for a clarification of his position on how the overages would be split? It's not as though the running time hasn't been written about. It was casually in my Oscar charts last week. And the budget... "shocking shocking."
I'll feel better if the film grosses $500 million-plus and the NYT runs a nice story on how wrong they were. Ha ha! That'll happen when Judy Miller next spends Christmas at Bill Keller's house.
Posted by poland at 10:24 AM | Comments (47)
October 26, 2005
Sarris Raves Jarhead
He seems to be writing mostly about the book and other influences... and not very much about the film... except he liked it... he really, really liked it.
Interesting.
Posted by poland at 07:46 PM | Comments (73)
Munich... The Color Blue?
"All my life I had to fight. I had to fight the Egyptians. I had to fight Torquemada. I had to fight the Nazis. A Jew child ain't safe in the family of men, but I ain't never thought I'd have to fight in my own Olympics!"
(The Munich poster shown above is the international poster... not domestic... and not fake.)
Posted by poland at 06:43 PM | Comments (29)
Bad Subject Line Of The Day
From WallStreetJournal.com
TECH ALERT: Supreme Court Rejects RIM Request
Subhead - But Justice Thomas Admits To Being Bi Curious
(Real Subhead - "The Supreme Court rejected Research In Motion's request to freeze lower court proceedings in a patent dispute between the BlackBerry maker and NTP.")
Posted by poland at 06:30 PM | Comments (2)
A Terrific Review
You may or may not agree with Matt Zoller Seitz's take on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but regardless, I think that Seitz shows great insight on the less than thrilled perspective, making the review well worth a once over even if you disagree. To wit:
"The result is an oddly underachieving movie. Black balances mayhem and silliness so expertly that he could have taken us much further from the beaten path if he'd wanted to. But it seems he didn't want to. Kiss Kiss is rudely amusing but never dangerous; it's as self-aware as Hollywood action movie screenplays can get without actually being smart. The title is misleading; while there's bang-bang galore, there's not much sex and even less sexual chemistry. The real excitement comes from the sight of Harry and Perry and Harmony busting each other's chops while Los Angeles explodes around them—the same source tapped by all of Black's scripts. It should have been called Quip Quip Bang Bang."
And this "put it in the memory bank" gem: "Downey... has perfected a modern version of Bob Hope's fast-talking coward/weasel character from the Road pictures."
Posted by poland at 08:18 AM | Comments (6)
Again...
Variety reports that Aaron Eckhart will star opposite Catherine Zeta Jones in anEnglish remake of Mostly Martha.
And as I responded when CZJ was first announced, GREAT! Eckhart is perfect... as the Martha character. And Jones is perfect as the charming chef who won't take "no" for an answer.
It is possible that the original sex roles will work... but it would be so much better, especially with these actors, the other way around. And it would be innovative as well.
Posted by poland at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)
Odd
A story runs in The Hollywood Reporter today about Eric roth signing on to adapt Shantaram, which came to WB via Graham King, who bought it specifically for Johnnt Depp last year.
Meanwhile, on the Reuters wire, the story is presented as being about Johnny Depp being attached to the project... which is not news.
I have been aware that Reuters edits down THR stories for the wire, but this is actually embarrassing in a real way, making Borys Kit looking like a goof for re-reporting old news, when in fact, he is doing a new element in the story.
Posted by poland at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2005
More Internet Junk
This came over the transom today...
Here's another game that is not Halloween-related, but is a good test of your concentration. There are two pictures nearly identical to each other; you have to find three differences between them. I was able to find two before I gave up...you have to look very closely...look at the town.
If you can find three differences, then you are part of an elite group of individuals. This has been tested on 8,000 people, and supposedly only 19 people out of 8,000 found all three differences. There is no trick, all three differences exist.
Click here:
http://members.home.nl/saen/Special/Zoeken.swf
Posted by poland at 11:15 PM | Comments (12)
Kris Tapley: Columnist
"Is it just me, or might 2005 pan out to be a showcase season for the next generation of filmmaking talent?"
Is it just him?
Posted by poland at 05:44 PM | Comments (52)
Doing Pieces Right
"October 25, 2005 -- THE movie adaptation of James Frey's harrowing rehab memoir, "A Million Little Pieces," is not going well. We're told director Laurence Dunmore left the project in frustration a few months ago..."
Ironically, as I watched Dunsmore's not-very-good The Libertine with Johnny Depp giving a fine performance that gets lost in the murk, I was thinking quite specifically that working in a similar vein, Depp would win an Oscar playing the lead in A Million Tiny Pieces, in great part because the role is so raw and well lit, both literally and figuratively. And I was also thinking that there is no one better for the role right now than Depp, since his looks are noteable, but not distracting, as Pitt's are. He can be a real person on screen.
With the right director, Rachel McAdams, mentioned as a candidate for the role of the girl he meets in the rehab, might well have the award-winning breakout of her career, on top of her girl-next-store home run skills. With the wrong director, a very sensitive and gifted young actress might be destroyed. And that isn't hyperbole. This is a very dark ride and McAdams goes deep in her work. Very tough stuff and a director who fucks with her head in a role like this could really fuck with her head.
Soderbergh or Francois' Ozon or maybe Tim Roth would really be "the right director." Van Sant could do a brilliant job, but would have to be willing to work within some amount of convention.
Posted by poland at 08:35 AM | Comments (12)
October 24, 2005
The Mouth
It’s a couple months away from production on Dreamgirls and it’s time to make a decision. And no decision could be more critical for this project than one still unmade decision. Everyone in the film is a star, but “I’m Telling You” is the showstopper of showstoppers. And still in contention to sing it, as Effie, is Fantasia Barrino, who hopes to co-star opposite Beyonce’, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Usher, Anika Noni Rose, and Danny Glover.
And now, the guy who has to love her and leave her onscreen is on board. Last week, Jamie Foxx told Zap2It and then The New York Post, ""If Fantasia does the movie, it's completely in the stratosphere. It's nuts."
Kanye West is kind of into her too... he's got Fantasia opening for him on his national tour for the next few months.... where she may run into Jamie and his Golddigger again.
There has been some resistance to Fantasia on internet fan boards because she doesn’t fit the “classical” idea of Effie as overweight. But many of the Effies in the various companies of Dreamgirls that didn’t feature Tony winner Jennifer Holliday weren’t heavy. And since this is the hard literalism of film, we have to believe that Jamie Foxx is happily having sex with this character before their world changes. Fantasia is unique enough looking without losing the believability of her being sexy to many people… including, it seems, Jamie Foxx.
Fantasia’s people may have made a bad misstep by placing a story in The Star a couple of months back to force the issue… which is exactly the way to get producer/studio owner/impresario of the original show on Broadway David Geffen to say, “Fuck off,” which he has done before in casting this project when demands overcame commitment to the film.
Just as people wondered whether Beyonce’ was anything more than a stunt, American Idol winner Fantasia has to overcome. Beyonce’ fought for the role and earned it… Foxx was perfect and before he came back on board at a price, he was proving very hard to replace… Eddie Murphy is perfect… and Fantasia, after hundreds have auditioned, seems to be The One. And as a result, Fantasia could be the first American Idol personality to leap miles beyond the American Idol tag… because she’s that kind of talented and I anticipate this movie being that kind of important.
Fortunately, David Geffen has proven in his sharply successful list of credits as a producer of films that taking chances with casting is not only likely, but probable.
Even though it was not a financial smash, Little Shop of Horrors is a movie classic, taking Ellen Greene from Off-Broadway, never before musicalized Rick Moranis from Ghostbusters, a legendary cameo from Steve Martin as the masochistic dentist working on Bill Murray and even still little known actors like Christopher Guest, Tisha Campbell and Everybody Hates Chris mom, Tachina Arnold.
Geffen put Tom Cruise in Interview with a Vampire when everyone – including Anne Rice – screamed about how crazy a choice it was… before they saw the work on screen. On top of that, there was a still emerging Brad Pitt, the child Kirsten Dunst and letter-perfect cameos from Antonio Banderas and Stephen Rea.
Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice… Paul Brickman making Risky Business with Tom Cruise… Albert Brooks' last two great films, Lost in America and Defending Your Life… His investment in Neil Jordan and even Scorsese and Cronenberg.
Geffen is a major risk taker… the play is the thing.
The most amazing thing in all of this… Barrino never sang “And I’m Telling You…” on American Idol. It would have brought the house down, but probably have made the casting too much of a gimmick. Fate is a kind mistress sometimes.
Posted by poland at 08:31 PM | Comments (38)
Unexpected 9/11 Moment
I'm working this afternoon and Contact is on my TV. The 1997 film was years before 9/11.
In the sequence in which a radical religious terrorist blows up the travelling pod on the spacecraft they built... it wasn't the explosion itself, but how that small explosion in one compartment led to a chain reaction destroying the whole device... very much like the World Trade Center, billowing smoke and all.
I must admit, I heard myself gasp out loud.
Posted by poland at 12:07 AM | Comments (15)
October 23, 2005
Sunday Estimate Analysis
Not much more to say.
Stay did $2.1 million... less than Good Night, And Good Luck, which was on fewer than 1/8th the number of screens. But when a studio bails on a film, audiences really know to run then, no?
The Fog held better than expected... but that probably has a lot to do with no other film filling that horror void... Doom being perceived as something else. Saw II was probably staying clear of Doom's opening, but they may well have won here had they launched. Sony should send Lions Gate 55% of a $2 million check for not opening.
There were only four $10,000-plus per-screens in movieland this weekend, two of which are star vehicles just setting up wide releases - Good Night, And Good Luck ($10,310 per on 225 screens), Capote ($11,090 per on 55 screens), Shopgirl ($28,800 per on 8 screens)and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ($21,650 per on 8 screens). A slight dissapointment is The Squid & The Whale, which mustered up $6380 per on 40 screens.
3-Day Estimates Weekend % Change Cume
Doom 15.5m - 15.5m
Dreamer 9.3m - 9.3m
Wallace & Gromit 8.8m -24% 44.1m
The Fog 7.2m -39% 21.5m
North Country 6.2m - 6.2m
Elizabethtown 5.9m -44% 19.2m
Flightplan 4.8m -27% 77.3m
In Her Shoes 4.0m -34% 26.3m
A History of Violence 2.8m -22% 26.5m
Two for the Money 2.4m -49% 20.7m
Domino 2.3m -50% 8.6m
Posted by poland at 08:26 PM | Comments (26)
With due respect to many great posts...
... my favorite blog exchange in a while has got to be...
To Hollywood outsiders: The Grove is considered Naboo, The Arclight is Coruscant and Burbank 16 is Tatooine.
The acoustics in Mann's Chinese (the big theater) are just awful, like watching a movie in a high school gym. That would make it The Death Star.
Posted by: Crow T Robot at October 22, 2005 06:03 AM
Followed by...
What's the Mustafar of LA theaters?
I thought no one liked the prequels. Shouldn't we be comparing LA theaters to original trilogy planets?
Posted by: Blackcloud at October 22, 2005 03:25 PM
Posted by poland at 09:35 AM | Comments (15)
October 22, 2005
Early Friday Analysis
Doom is looking like it will land somewhere between $16.5 million and $19 million. Either number is lower than the film was tracking and it is way off of what some people thought the tracking meant, because of weaknesses in reaching young moviegoers via surveys. With a start in the range of Universal’s Friday Night Lights, the prospects on this one for a second weekend are a lot weaker, both on quality and the range of people with an interest.
Dreamer is living in the land of Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie… the enthusiasm from DreamWorks just didn’t seem to be there.
And North Country has to be a major disappointment for Warner Bros, especially after deciding to go out on 2555 screens. Based on recent history, the best they could hope for is Pay It Forward-like business, which although it was mocked endlessly, went on to gross $34 million after a $9.6 million start. The equivalent for North Country - which will not be mocked - could be about $25 million total domestic... which is $5 million more than Whale Rider, which received endless extravagent praise, could muster, even with a Best Actress nomination.
It’s been a sorry month. And irritatingly, next weekend seems to be the first really interesting weekend, with three films that have very specific targets and all of which could find their way to solid success in horror (Saw II), comedy (Prime) and action/adventure (Zorro II). And of course, they are all piled up.
1. Doom - $6m
2. Dreamer - $2.8m
3. The Fog - $2.2m ($17.1m)
4. Wallace & Gromit - $2.1m ($37.9)
5. Elizabethtown - $1,96m ($15.9)
6. North Country - $1.94m
7. Flightplan - $1.4m ($74.4m)
8. In Her Shoes - $1.3m ($24.1m)
9. A History Of Violence - $850,000 ($24.8m)
10. Two For The Money - $730,000 ($19.5m)
Posted by poland at 06:42 PM | Comments (41)
Why Old Media Fails At Blogging
The latest example is Richard Rushfield, a good veteran reporter, "blogging" on the Hollywood Film Festival.
What's wrong with it?
1. A mention of "a reporter" hosting a Q&A doesn't mention that the reporter was Stephen Gaydos of Variety... competition. (Never mind that I was across the hall hosting a North Country Q&A).
2. Both Q&As were slightly disrupted by problems with the microphones…. The kind of thing that is classic blog fodder… far more so than, say, conversations with strangers from the valley. I can’t speak for what the response from talent was in the Fierce People room, but Charlize Theron did some great shtick before finally insisting that we stop trying to make the mikes work.
3. The “motorcade-sized security cordon” with Charlize was actually made up mostly of the many “real” people who came up to talk to her and director Niki Caro after the film. Charlize was with 2 or 3 people, but was extremely accessible and game, even though I gather that she is uncomfortable with these events.
Again, the reporter is not the problem. It is the insider nature of Old Media outlets like the Los Angeles Times. What has driven the blog revolution is the clarity, the silliness, and the passion for the discussion. And those things all seem to scare Old Media to death.
Of course, take it all with a grain of salt from me… I am hated by certain editors of L.A. Times and they have not been shy about taking a piss in my general direction whenever they have a chance. I like Rushfield, though he seemed very careful in avoiding me last night, in spite of being within a foot of me for much of the evening. You make the call.
Posted by poland at 12:30 AM | Comments (15)
October 21, 2005
B.O. Query
How much can Doom gross?
Posted by poland at 11:21 PM | Comments (39)
The Apprentice: Geoff Ammer
Finally… an episode of reality TV that hits close to home.
Sony’s president of worldwide marketing Geoffrey Ammer appeared with Jon Favreau on a Zathura-themed episode of The Apprentice last night. He didn’t say much, but I can see him with his own show any day now.
Even better, it could be a combination of The Apprentice and America’s Next Top Model where vendors have to come up with 1-sheets and TV spots overnight and every week one bad idea gets sent home.
And I’m excited that Donald Trump finally confirmed rumors that Mr. Ammer is tight with Wyclef Jean. Explains a lot.
Meanwhile, a name change to Zenthura might not be a bad idea. Don't be surprised if the blonde who kept mispronouncing the name ends up as an exeutive assistant in Culver City by year's end.
Posted by poland at 06:44 AM | Comments (8)
October 20, 2005
19 Weeks To Go
Posted by poland at 06:28 PM | Comments (50)
Free for All
What do you have to say?
Posted by poland at 07:45 AM | Comments (34)
October 18, 2005
Get Out Your Angerchiefs
How does it feeeeeel?
Posted by poland at 10:27 PM | Comments (76)
If You've Been Wondering...
... what happened to James Rocchi of NetFlix, he's set up his own blog here, which not-so-coincidentally has something nice to say about me (which is why he sent me the link).
But James is a member of the community... or as is so often the case these days, another white male film critic looking for a gig... so give him a look and maybe you'll want to keep up with what he has to say.
Posted by poland at 08:07 PM | Comments (8)
MCN Is Having Technical Difficulties
UPDATE: Back In Business at 2p...
We're working on trying to get things working again so we can update...
Posted by poland at 07:26 PM | Comments (1)
Mark Cuban Throws Another Idea Into The Ring
======================================================
indieWIRE: ALERT ++ Monday, October 17, 2005
======================================================
Cuban and Wagner Unveil Truly Indie, New Distribution Initiative Featuring Filmmaker Funded Theatrical Releases
(indieWIRE: 10.17.05) -- Three films have been tapped to launch Truly Indie, a new distribution initiative formed by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Truly Indie will enable theatrical distribution funded by filmmakers themselves, mainly through 2929's Landmark Theaters, the country's biggest arthouse theater circuit.
Offering a sort of twist on the service deal model, a filmmaker pays an up front fee that covers all distribution costs (marketing, advertising, and publicity). Securing a one-week run in at least five markets (or as many as twenty markets), the filmmaker keeps 100% of the box office receipts and retains all rights to their film. The first three projects on tap for the venture are Ian Gamazon and Neill dela Llana's "Cavite," Mari Marchbanks' "Fall to Grace," and Donal Logue's "Tennis Anyone."l. [Eugene Hernandez]
indieWIRE spoke with 2929's Mark Cuban and Magnolia/Landmark's Bill Banowsky and will publish a story shortly at indieWIRE.com
Posted by poland at 12:06 AM | Comments (9)
October 17, 2005
Girls Gone Wild
Another entry in the "how much hype can we get for rethinking a classic movie" game... only this one isn't easy to get to.
Haley Mills falls hard for Haley Mills in The Apparent Trap
How To Get There: Click here, then click "Paul Lacalandra," then click "Ordinary Girls" and wait to load!
Posted by poland at 11:16 PM | Comments (8)
October 16, 2005
Remember When...
From imdb's notoriously unreliable WENN last week -
Foxx Back On Board for 'Dreamgirls'
Oscar winner Jamie Foxx went back to the bargaining table with producers after hearing his new film was set to feature Beyonce Knowles and Eddie Murphy. Negotiations for upcoming movie Dreamgirls broke down after Ray star Foxx, fresh from his Academy Award win, priced himself out of the market. But when he heard who was in talks to appear in the film, he offered to slash his salary to take part. He explains, "The first time, it was just me in the movie - no Eddie Murphy, no Beyonce. Then I hear Eddie's doing it, and I'm like, 'Hey, pay me a dollar.' I hear Beyonce's doing it, 'Pay me a quarter.' I just wanted to be part of that. At the end of the day, who cares, man? It's Eddie Murphy; he's my hero. If Dreamgirls works out as I think it will, it will be the greatest thing in the world, a real event. Maybe you won't get $15 million, maybe you get $3 million, maybe $2 million... (but) you are getting more than a paycheck."
Of course, this is a nice spin by Mr. Foxx, so let's remember his original demands, aware that he surely knew more than me back then...
* $15 million for the role (1/4 of the budget, even though there is a $20 million-plus actor who is working mostly for backend and no fewer than two major recording stars who are doing the same)
* 15 percent of the gross
And much more on THB - April 12, 2005
And the turnaround, as written about on The Hot Blog- May 12, 2005
As I was in May, I am happy that Mr. Foxx made a wiser decision. Everyone wins. And the film, still without an Effie - though there is a great one on tape somewhere, handicapped by prior career choices - may be a very important film.
We'll let it lie here. And I am sure that DreamWorks will be happy to cash that multi-million dollar refund check from Foxx when they read that his price is now just $2 or $3 million.
Posted by poland at 11:44 PM | Comments (22)
Sunday Estimates - 10/16
Not a whole lot new to say.
If you look at the comparison to last year, the newcomers, weak as they were this weekend, performed about the same as the last year’s duo of Team America and Shall We Dance. The differential is Shark Tale doing $22 million in its third weekend last year. As usual, “slumpage” is about the movies, not the mood. Wallace & Gromit just hasn’t found the hot button for little kids that makes animated films insanely popular, almost regardless of quality.
3-Day Estimates
Title - Weekend - (% Off) - Cume
The Fog - 12.2m - 12.2m
Wallace & Gromit - 11.7m - 27% - 33.3m
Elizabethtown - 11m - 11m
Flightplan - 6.5m - 39.8% - 70.8m
In Her Shoes - 6.1m - 39.1% - 20.1m
Domino - 4.7m - 4.7m
Two for the Money - 4.6m - 47% - 16.5m
A History of Violence - 3.6m - 29% - 22.4m
The Corpse Bride - 3.5m - 46.9% - 47.7m
The Gospel - 3.2m - 57.5% - 12.2m
Posted by poland at 07:25 PM | Comments (38)
October 15, 2005
DreamWorks "Back" In Universal Dealing
Sept 27, Hot Blog - “You’ll probably hear rumblings about WB being interested soon. And then, expect the Universal/DreamWorks deal to be done before November 15. No other option makes sense for either side.”
Oct 15, LA Times - “Two weeks after abruptly halting talks with NBC Universal, DreamWorks' owners received a counterproposal Friday from the General Electric Co.-owned studio” and “In recent weeks, Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc., has initiated discussions with DreamWorks.”
Duh.
So it was Paramount as the pliant cuckold, spreading its corporate legs wide enough to put the real target, Universal, back on the scent that they were really not that far off of anyway.
The math is not hard to figure out. DreamWorks is roughly $1.2 BILLION in the hole when you count the Paul Allen money. It’s over. Men as powerful as Steven Spielberg and David Geffen don’t want to spend so much of their time sticking chewing gum on their house of cards when there are plenty of people out there who are more than willing to feather their nest with platinum down.
More than just a "Nyah nyah, told you so," looking at this story with remotely clear eyes is a good look at how worthless entertainment journalism has become. One has to respect David Geffen for using the media to negotiate deals, just as Brad Grey has repeatedly, because it is a tool that can be used. But should the media be a tool that can be used by businessmen? Shouldn't there be some counterbalance, just as there is on the Op-Ed pages for politics? Is it right for major papers to simply print what “sources close to the story” tell them every time when it turns out so often that the information is nothing but a negotiating tactic.
We all know the score in this game. We know who uses the media as their publicist. Well, most of us. There are a few reporters who sincerely seem to believe that they are reporting something when things magically drop into their laps. That, my friends, is where the work starts… getting that crumb is not getting the story.
Geez… I though Geffen would wait another month before flipping the switch on Universal again. It’s too obvious. But not for the media.
But this is the same media that bends over when Harvey Weinstein announces that he’s raised one-quarter of what he told everyone he was after, mostly (apparently) in $10 million chunks, and still spins the story of the huge corporation that he and his brother dreamed of and “report” how he’s charmed Wall Street. It’s a classic scam… and you have to give Weinstein credit for his genius at both spin and finding suckers to print this crap. He spin and spins without ever getting the money he needs… comes up with a pittance, which could as realistically as not be more than 50% his and his brother’s money… and then uses the New York Times and L.A. Times and the trades, etc. to sell the great future The Weinstein Company has to potential investors.
And hey… The Weinstein Company may have a great future. Their bookkeeping games are legendary, so I don’t know if the future is that great for the investors. But there is no doubt, Harvey Weinstein can offer up a great, fun, exciting ride for anyone who wants to get on his coattails.
The are only two facts that I have issue with in Claudia Eller’s story on the “revived negotiations.” 1. The Dreamgirls deal may have been one tool Geffen used to signal Universal that he was serious (can’t write that without laughing) about Paramount, but Paramount was not the first studio the film was pitched to for co-financing. The $35 million deal signals nothing in reality.
2. I was of the understanding that both parties did want the deal closed by year-end for tax purposes and in fact, that clearing out the DreamWorks library by year-end was very much the plan. Things change. But the deal can effectively close and can actually occur in whatever quarter works for everyone. That’s just paperwork.
No doubt, there is some ego in being the only person writing realistically about some of this stuff. But I would far prefer that I was lost in a crowd of entertainment journalists who think as complexly on the page as off.
The New LAT Story / The Old Hot Blog Story
Posted by poland at 08:12 PM | Comments (3)
Early Weekend Analysis - 9/15
Blech.
And once again, the box office teaches us the basics of marketing.
The Fog is just as unclear as a premise this year as it was 25 years ago when the only selling points – and this is not a sexist statement, but tough reality – were Adrienne Barbeau’s breasts. In many ways, this was the same lesson as Dark Water suffered earlier this year. These movies are completely capable of finding a ridiculously large audience. But the sale can’t be a mystery. The Ring had a pretty clear set up… “watch this video and die a week later… whaddya gonna do about it?” The Grudge had that image of the wet headed girl and the advantage of still being able to get the pre-sell that Ring did for it… which Ring 2 lost the momentum of by being 6 months late. The Exorcism of Emily Rose made a similar pitch to the successful sell of White Noise, except it was even clearer with the exorcism and it swung to teen girls, who really love those films. The Fog was vague as hell. Even Selma Blair, on Letterman, described her padded bosom as what her husband found the most scary about the film. That is not a rave.
Elizabethtown is less of a disaster at opening than you might expect. A $12 million start could well lead to a $50 million domestic gross… if word of mouth is any good… especially among women. It seems the nicest thing anyone can seem to find to say about it is that it’s not as bad as they expected. But you never know. People write off Must Love Dogs, which grossed $44 million on Diane Lane and John Cusack this summer… and like Cinderella Man… that number is really pretty reasonable. If you look back at the last few years, the romantic comedies that broke significantly wider than that were rare and usually had something else going on… most notably a release date at Christmas or the spring. Hitch, 50 First Dates, Bringin’ Down The House, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, 2 Weeks Notice, Maid In Manhattan. If you are going to greenlight a romantic comedy and you don’t have Will Smith or Adam Sandler – it would be fascinating to see how Tom Cruise would do in one about now – or a hot star of the moment, you should have both a very clear marketing hook and a spring date. Or you should budget anticipating a total domestic gross of no more than $40 million.
Wallace & Gromit barks their way to $50 million domestic eventually… In Her Shoes sashays to $30 million… Flightplan’s $80 million seems like a disappointment, but again, is not hideous in perspective, especially when you consider that it should have a real life overseas…
Domino died twice this year. Part of this is a clear release date after four moves. Part of it is that you can’t really sell a hard R to teen girls unless you have a true phenomenon going and they were the core audience for a Keira Knightley gets tough movie. (I expect very strong DVD rental and potentially buys from girls… with the added upside of a film that will play more comfortably on DVD, where the hyper second half will not be as jarring.)
Waiting is holding a bit better than expected and could get to $20 million domestic instead of $15 million, which would be a huge win for Lions Gate and Crazy Rob McKittrick.
And Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride is actually well ahead of A Nightmare Before Christmas. It has passed Nightmare after 4 weekends while Nightmare ran for 8 weeks to get to $45 million. Bride probably plays decently for another couple of pre-chicken Little weeks and the incremental growth over the first film of this Burton-created genre is about right. If WB had greater expectations, that was delusional. But what is real is that DVD sales, which were on video and a lot smaller in 1993, will make this film even more profitable than Nightmare.
Early Friday Estimates
1. The Fog - $4.1 million
2. Elizabethtown - $3.8 million
3. Wallace & Gromit - $3.1 million ($25.1m)
4. In Her Shoes - $1.9 million ($16m)
5. Flightplan - $1.9 million ($66.6m)
6. Domino - $1.6 million
7. Two for the Money - $1.5 million ($13.3m)
8. A History of Violence - $1.1 million ($19.4m)
9. Waiting - $1.01 million ($9.4m)
10. The Corpse Bride - $1 million ($45.4m)
Posted by poland at 06:54 PM | Comments (22)
October 14, 2005
Are You Ready for This Weekend?
Will you go to Elizabethtown... play Dominos... or is it a a Fog?
Posted by poland at 09:00 PM | Comments (54)
October 13, 2005
So Who Should Be Atoning for What?
Who are the great sinners of Hollywood?
And please, let's not make this about other members of this community... pick bigger targets...
Posted by poland at 10:20 PM | Comments (73)
October 12, 2005
How Do You Want Your Art?
.... On the nose or via metaphor.
Posted by poland at 05:35 PM | Comments (53)
October 11, 2005
Blown Up & Blue
Posted by poland at 02:34 AM | Comments (59)
October 10, 2005
A Blog Gag From The Director Of Waiting?
A Sunday Night Post To The Entry, "Self Destructing Blog":
I am going to go ahead and post a small snippet of my newest blog entry, that I will be posting once the other half of the video clip is loaded...
"There has been quite a bit of energy expended on a couple message boards and blogs about our lil "fight." This gentleman, Poland, even posted a blog over at The Hot Blog talking about the career self-destruction I was going through, and it was met by some very spirited debate. From what I read, some of the people commenting got really impassioned, and for that I'm truly sorry (especially to "Lazarus," who defended me tooth and nail)... There were some who seemed legitimately concerned for my career longevity (in particular "Bodhizefa") and the damaging effect it would have, so I hate that any real emotion was expended for a practical joke.
But what a practical joke it was..."
There is more to the entry post, but that seemed the most pertinent. Again, to anyone that I riled up, my apologies...
rob
Posted by: Rob McKittrick at October 10, 2005 07:33 AM
Check out McKittrick's blog to see when and if he posts "the sequel"
Posted by poland at 08:32 AM | Comments (33)
October 09, 2005
Sunday Estimates Analysis - 10/9
Well…
Wallace & Gromit picked up a little in the estimates, but it’s still hardly overwhelming. Still, if the movie gets into the $60 million range, it’s a lot better than the $50 million range. And again, it looks like international business is where this film will be earning its keep.
The two real positive stories of the weekend are The Gospel and Waiting, both of which will be profitable for their studios despite not very big numbers. Both films are in niches that aren’t particularly prone to big multiples on opening. But The Gospel will earn enough in theaters, even if just double opening or so, to hit profit before theatrical and Waiting is Lions Gate fifth best opening of the year and likely to break the studio’s Top 20 all-time.
Writer/Director Rob McKittrick will get a career – at least as a writer - out of this opening… ironic since he claims Lions Gate “owes him” for not getting enough traction for the film. He owes them, big time… and it should start with a public apology.
Writer/Director Rob Hardy, who earned his way into this film with his trilogy, Trois, will also get attention, but he is more likely to remain ghettoized by his film, even though it will earn millions more than McKittrick’s.
Fox will get a few more bites of the apple with Walk The Line, The Family Stone, and Cheaper By The Dozen this year, though Marc Forster’s Stay will likely be another poison apple and the studio would be well advised to pluck it out of this month, eat whatever small amount they’ve spent on P&A so far, and to get it off their business plan until February or March, where it can fail more quietly.
But no matter what you think of the In Her Shoes, an opening of less than $10 million is an agonizing failure for everyone involved. It puts the film in the company of Because of Winn-Dixie, Fever Pitch, and Elektra… actually, this opening is the worst of all of them.
And Two For The Money, which I mistakenly attributed to Disney yesterday – this is Universal’s dump – performed to its low expectations. A turd is a turd is a turd and by any studio would smell as foul.
Wallace & Gromit 15.9m 15.9m
Flightplan 10.6m 60.8m
In Her Shoes 9.7m 9.7m
Two for the Money 8.5m 8.5m
The Gospel 7.9m 7.9m
The Corpse Bride 6.4m 42.0m
Waiting 5.5m 5.5m
A History of Violence 5.1m 16.7m
Serenity 4.9m 17.6m
Into the Blue 4.6m 13.6m
Posted by poland at 06:18 PM | Comments (59)
October 08, 2005
Self Destructing Blog
For the most part, Bill Goldman is dead on. But there is one thing that we really do know... if you shit on the poeple who financed your movie, you will find it nearly impossible for find anyone who will trust you with their millions again.
This offense is worse than robbing others. That is forgiven... and forgiven often. But not ripping your own.
So what is Rob McKittrick doing with his blog?
"(Note to Lions Gate: Do NOT try to take this link down. I will only put it back up, and you will seriously anger me. Given how limp our tracking numbers are, YOU OWE ME)"
"I wasn't going to do this...
I was going to be the bigger man...
But I can't fucking take it anymore...
I am going to post a link to a behind-the-scenes clip of Luis Guzman being an absolute bastard to me..."
" I remember the Newline Exec telling us privately, after the other execs had gotten off the conference call, to cut our losses and get the fuck out. He had been down this road before and it never ended well, in his experiences at Newline..."
"I am about to write some negative things about my old agent, McKnight, and one of my producers, Shestack. And for this I am very torn. I don't want to hold anything back when I write these entries, because I think whoever reads this deserves to know the truth, and not read some bullshit white-washing. There is way too much of that in Hollywood."
And apparently, he isn't happy just detroying his own career, but he's going to take his girlfriend with him - "My girlfriend (who works at Lions Gate Publicity actually)"
So, he is going to "out" agents, producers, studios, actors and his girlfriend. Who is left to trust him?
Moreover, if this obvious novice is giving Luis Guzman line readings, did he have the rant he shows - showing, of course, only the part with Guzman reacting, not the part when he asks Guzman to do what Guzman does not want to do - coming to him?
This is the kind of stuff that keeps the studios afraid of the web. It's the kind of "honesty" that is far more selfish than anything else... public masturbation. And that is fine, so long as you aren't using that opportunity to try to hurt others. But I am not the one who Mr. McKittrick has to answer to. If I did have an office he wanted to get into, he'd be Waiting a long, long time.
Posted by poland at 08:13 PM | Comments (81)
Early Box Office Analysis - 10/8
Pretty fucking ugly.
Wallace & Gromit will win the weekend, but the total suggests that it won’t pass $50 million, which puts it in The Road to El Dorado territory… the first real heartbreak for DreamWorks Animation as a stand alone. Of course, it was cheaper than any of the original CG films that they’ve made and the European upside is greater, so it seems unlikely that the film will not make its money back and some small profit in DVD. But the pressure on DWA will mean more pressure on the deal to sell DreamWorks SKG proper.
It is also worth saying that this shouldn’t be a shocker. Chicken Run was beloved, but it only did $106 million domestic smack in the middle of summer, with Mel Gibson as a front man, however clay animated he was. W&G will do about half of that domestically, which for characters that are not well known here and no celebrity cameos to push, isn’t that bad. It’s only ugly in the context of DWA’s prior success, even with crap like Shark Tale… which, again, had a major star out front.
Flightplan continues to do okay… just ok. That makes it a disappointment, probably damaged by release date and Red Eye’s success. How big is the “airplane thriller” niche?
It is hard to quantify just how disappointing the opening of In Her Shoes is.
Shall We Dance opened to $11.8 million last year and got all the way to $58 million. That number would make Fox feel a lot better if they got there.
Mystic River started with $10.4 million on the way to $90 million, but that start was on roughly half the screens of In Her Shoes.
Fox’s Runaway Jury started with $11.8 million and got to $49 million a couple of years ago.
From there, the domestic totals for an opening this size in this month in the last five years just go down.
If you want a Cameron Diaz reference, there aren’t many available in the last 5 years, with the animated Shreks and the hyperactive Charlie’s Angels films stand next to films that really weren’t about her (Gangs of NY, Vanilla Sky), the indie The Invisible Circus and the sex romp, The Sweetest Thing… which opened to $9.4 million on the way to a $25 million total.
The Sweetest Thing seems to be the worst Fox can imagine while Shall We Dance is the best. We’ll see. Numbers are just numbers, waiting to be topped. But IHS doesn't really have the feel of a phenom. But they can hope!
The irony of this opening is that the male niche flick, Two For The Money, which Disney has treated like a rash it was trying to get rid of, did pretty much the same number as In Her Shoes. But for this Pacino throwaway (hoo hah!), this number was pretty much as expected.
The relative winners this weekend are Screen Gems’ The Gospel and Lions Gate’s Waiting, which cost very little, had very little spent in ads, and will be plenty happy with $6 million and $7 million weekends on the way to mid-teen runs, leading to DVD sales, leading to decent profits on both pictures.
If you want some perspective on just how lame this weekend is, only one film in the Top Ten (The Gospel) had more than 200 people buying tickets, breaking out the per-screen, on Friday – all shows. This means that if you saw 500 people buying tickets to the evening screenings of In Her Shoes at The Grove last night, somewhere there is a screen in America where 50 people (if that) showed all day long. And three of the Top Ten were under $700 per screen yesterday. That’s about 100 tickets all day long for each screen. Lots of room to put your feet up.
It’s not a nuclear holocaust. Just a weak weekend. Last weekend, both Serenity and A History of Violence were significantly ahead of anything this Friday that is on more than 1000 screens.
Wallace & Gromit - $4.2m
Flightplan - $3.1m ($53.7m)
In Her Shoes - $3m
Two For The Money - $3m
The Gospel - $2.6m
Waiting - $2.1m
The Corpse Bride - $1.7m ($37.6m)
Serenity - $1.6m ($14.3m)
Into The Blue $1.5 ($10.7m)
A History Of Violence - $1.5m ($12.8m)
Posted by poland at 06:43 PM | Comments (44)
October 07, 2005
The Hot Paramount Rumor Of The Day
Some are theorizing that the move to come is not just Par Classics bringing Tom Ortenberg over but the idea that Paramount will buy Lions Gate overall.
On the other hand, while Ortenberg will not deny or confirm anything, some inside Paramount say that the rumor, which has been dominant for a week now, is just not true.
Ah, rumors...
Meanwhile, former MGMers continue to replace old school Paramounters in the marketing and publicity departments.
Posted by poland at 10:53 PM | Comments (5)
Conservative Bastion Warner Indie Dumps Strangers With Candy
Rush & Molloy today reported the issue of WIP's pick-up of Strangers With Candy at Sundance and their subsequent decision not to release the movie.
Just last January, WIP’s Mark “The Flightless Bird” Gill told The Hollywood Reporter, " Strangers With Candy completely caught me off guard," WIP president Mark Gill said. "It is rude, hilarious and bizarre. We loved it," proving that he could never have mixed feelings about releasing the film on issues of quality or marketability. There must be a more nefarious reason.
Clearly, Warner Indie is bending to the conservative notions of the Bush Administration, staying far away from anything that might be misunderstood as leading young high school children astray. After their great success with right wing and Christian groups this summer with March of the Penguins (retitled for Germany, "March of the Short Winged Fuhrer"), one can hardly blame them.
What is Alan Horn hiding? Should we be looking more closely at his high school record?
Of course, Mark “Burgess Meredith” Gill would never be stupid enough to show public disrespect to those involved with this film. Silly political accusations could all go away if he just pointed out that Paramount passed on the movie even though it was born of Viacom business relationships with Worldwide Pants and Comedy Central… so how good can it really be?
Of course, it could not just be the kind of private decision that a film distributor makes about films as they go about business each year, finding their priorities changing and allowing certain filmmakers to take their projects to other distributors rather than having them gather dust on the shelf.
It’s very important that every one of those decisions be analyzed and spun into a publicity ploy for the film in the most unkind of industry games. Right?
(If anyone doesn’t have a sense of humor… while the film being dropped by WIP has been reported, the rest is dripping sarcasm meant as a counterbalance to the insane “Muslim World” coverage of late. A joke. Get it?
Posted by poland at 08:56 PM | Comments (21)
In Her Flats
I don’t know quite what to tell you about In Her Shoes. It’s a good movie, but it falls well short of greatness. The performances are pretty perfect… but the characters aren’t special enough and their words not compelling enough to make them memorable. Curtis Hanson often makes lemons out of lemonade, but he can’t quite overcome the natural studio urge to make a movie about the audience wanting to grab (or emulate) Cameron Diaz’ ever-present ass.
I saw it, I digested it, I shat it out in light of films like The Constant Gardener and History of Violence and 30% of the titles at Telluride & Toronto – even Brokeback Mountain, which I didn’t love, but had to think about – not really worth picking over again.
There is something very prechewed about this film, even if Toni Collette is always fun to watch work. Diaz does what Diaz does best… and there is a reason she is a movie star. And Shirley MacLaine is an icon who gives herself over to the realities of age here, but whose journey is just plain “so what?”
When I saw the film, it was in the context of Oscar season and in that context, it was pricey like a Broadway show. And for that price, it was frustratingly uninvolving. To me, it would be like going to Broadway to see Saturday Night Fever: The Musical or Footloose: The Musical. Silly. I love Ain’t Misbehavin’ because it offered up Fats Waller, who didn’t have the exposure of a 20 year old smash hit movie. But to go to the theater for $100 a seat to eat baby food?
In Her Shoes is better than baby food. But it is soft and while nourishing, it is not a very satisfying meal... unless you have your jaw wired shut. But that doesn’t mean that if someone asks me to go see it with them this weekend, I will recoil in disgust. In fat, I’d be happy to have the meal again… as long as I can have a steak – or at least a nice piece of fish with some good fresh vegetables – for dinner.
Posted by poland at 08:01 PM | Comments (23)
Underrated Actors & Actresses, Pt 2
Part 2 is here.
Posted by poland at 06:10 PM | Comments (9)
Underrated Actors & Actresses, Pt 1
Hot Button today and tomrorow...
Posted by poland at 06:10 PM | Comments (23)
Is Any Movie This Weekend Worth Leaving Home For?
The Gospel
In Her Shoes
Two for the Money
Waiting...
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Posted by poland at 10:06 AM | Comments (15)
The New Cinea Is Here! The New Cinea Is Here!
Well, here, really.
Posted by poland at 03:10 AM | Comments (7)
And So They Go…
It seemed inevitable that Paramount Classics team of Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein would be out the door when The New Paramount came together. Over it’s nine years of existence, the division had only one grosser of over $20 million domestic, Hustle & Flow, and that was just this summer.
But Hustle & Flow was typical of the new regime, which put the film under Paramount Classics for release, but then controlled both the marketing and the ad budget for the title. The result was a success, but there are many – myself included – that feel there was more money in the title that never got past the niche. Who gets the blame? Who gets the credit? How much of either can be objectively determined?
It was a bit better than the years of living in suffocation under Jon Dolgen and Sherry Lansing. But the result is worse for the duo… an exit less than 2 months after the film’s last $1 million-plus weekend in theaters.
The other success this summer was Mad Hot Ballroom, which is the highest grossing studio-released doc not featuring cute birds or Michael Moore. This team can take all the credit for that profitable effort, even if the domestic gross was “just” $8 million.
And that is really the story of this move by Paramount. The studios are getting out of the “classics” business. Sony Pictures Classics is really the only one left. Warner Indie may or may not have been saved by March of the Penguins, but that doc, reimagined as a kids/family film, is the only doc the division has ever released while A Very Long Engagement is the only foreign language film they have released. Fox Searchlight is a great place for filmmakers, but they are concentrating on pretty mainstream fare these days. Miramax will emerge over time, but The Weinstein Company is focusing on projects with mainstream hooks. And now Paramount Classics will be redesigned for the future.
Word has it that the new chief will be Lions Gate’s Tom Ortenberg… which makes sense. Lions Gate has become the biggest stand-alone indie in the game with a combination of high-shock horror titles and Oscar-chasing pick-ups. Even discounting backdoor product like Fahrenheit 9/11, Lions Gate has grown from being a $10m/$20m top gross studio to being capable of consistently hitting the $50 million-plus mark. That puts Ortenberg’s team into – and by this year’s standard, past – Fox Searchlight territory. True, it is more Dimension than an art house label. But that is the new hot model.
Sony’s Screen Gems Division is a bigger profit center than any of the Dependents, releasing almost exclusively crap. But Sony smartly limits that division to only 3 or 4 films a year. And they market the hell out of it.
Ironically, all this disinterest in high-minded films leaves the door open to someone to come along and to take over that niche. Sony Classics has been snapping up a lot of the product. And Bauer-Martinez smells of hustle and no flow. But someone with a couple of hundred million not-quite-as-ambitious dollars could come along and really build an Empire of Good about now.
But that is not likely the future of Paramount Classics. Ortenberg is a smart cookie. And with due respect to stereotypes of broken English, expect Paramount Crassics to emerge and perhaps be a great success.
In the meantime, let’s remember the dependent that brought us 55 films since 1997, launching the feature directing careers of Sofia Coppola, Ken Lonergan, Paul Greengrass, Tod Williams, Yann Samuell and Eva Gardos, supporting directors like Patrice LaConte and Bruce Beresford, and offering up such memorable titles as Train of Life, Mostly Martha and Enduring Love.
Posted by poland at 01:00 AM | Comments (4)
October 06, 2005
Did The LA Times Cross A Line?
From Variety, By Jonathan Bing
CONGRATULATORY ADS have long been the stock in trade of newspapers that cover the entertainment industry, this one included.
But on Sept. 30, the Los Angeles Times gave the old formula a new twist. It peddled its own congratulations to a potential advertiser.
In a house ad in the Calendar section, sandwiched among the double-truck movie spots, was a full-page salute to the Weinstein Company showcasing 17 titles from its production slate.
An ad that size typically costs a studio about $50,000, but this one was free, a gift from the Times to a company that in its previous incarnation spent lavishly on Calendar section promotions. Those ads in turn helped insulate the paper from its own financial problems -- falling circulation and ad sales, and relentless cost-cutting pressure from its corporate parent.
As promotional freebies go, this one had enormous upside for the Weinstein Co., serving as an advance ad for next month's American Film Market, where the Weinsteins are expected to hawk foreign rights to a number of projects. It also helped enhance the company's profile at a pivotal moment, as it negotiates the last of its deals with financial partners.
But the ad also crossed a line most newspaper advertisers would rather not transgress, subverting the usual relationship between ad buyer and seller, and thereby jeopardizing the value of the surrounding real estate. And it raised hackles among other advertisers. "It's in bad taste," one studio marketer told me. "They have an obligation to support all their advertisers. What are they going to do for me?"
Posted by poland at 11:56 PM | Comments (6)
F-ing Enough Already!
It must be a proud day at the L.A. Times. First, last Tuesday, they print a really lousy attack on Sony by Patrick Goldstein that played the insider/outsider game in the worst way. Goldstein used his access to Michael Lynton to beat up Lynton for not answering the question, regarding Albert Brooks’ Seeking Comedy In The Muslim World, that was to the effect of “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” As I have written before, Lynton would have been a jackass to tell Brooks, as he sent his film out to find another distributor, “Well, we just don’t think it’s funny.” And telling that to Goldstein would be even worse. And Goldstein, who is no novice, should have known better. He was played by Brooks and/or Gill, abusive to Sony and Lynton, and didn’t ask any of the hard questions of Brooks, clearly taking sides.
This was followed by a Reuters story that further chased this non-story and got a non-committal comment out of Sony. But the rumors that many at the studio just weren’t that in love with the movie also went into this story.
That leads us to today’s Page Six story that states as a fact that Sony didn’t distribute the film because of the title. It further gives, inaccurately, Mark Gill responsibility for marketing March of the Penguins when the job belongs to Laura Kim, who did a great job in both marketing a publicity for the film. Worse, Brooks delivered a polite private note from Lynton to Page Six to seal the story.
This is really shitty, unprofessional behavior on the part of Brooks. Even in a town that is ethically challenged, this is a breach of etiquette that could keep most studios from ever dealing with Brooks again… understandably.
Of course, Sony still must remain silent because unlike Brooks, they understand that ripping potential creative partners publicly – even ones that are kicking dirt in your face - is bad business.
I have heard from people who love the film and from others who definitely do not. That is besides the point. I hope it's brilliant. But even if it is, that doesn't mean that Sony had to or shoudl have chosen to distribute it if they weren't 100% on it.
But the idea that this is really all about the title is a media scam and it has spiraled out of control and I just wish everybody would stop.
Posted by poland at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)
October 05, 2005
This One I Object To...
The idea of doing Fail Safe as a live TV show was reasonable. The film was shot, originally, in a series of rooms with the tension between chatty, sweaty characters, not so much with any sense of the world outside of those very tight walls. While the effort was sincere, the result was pretty forgettable. But we have the original and we have George Clooney's Good Night, And Good Luck as - I think - a direct result.
But Network…
Network is one of my favorite all-time movies. It was prescient and accurate to its time and its warnings are still very much a part of our lives.
However, it does have a more expansive vision, though much of it still takes place in rooms. And it has incredible, high energy, high-risk performances that I think benefit greatly from how a movie is made. Doing Network as a live TV project is, for me, a terrible misstep.
Peter Finch’s work in the film may seem easy for a good actor to reproduce, but the slight variations in his work in scene after scene are more complex than they appear.
Moreover, in many ways the moment in which the film was made is a part of its greatness. Unlike the Cold War era, we are not far enough removed from this film’s world of TV that it is ironic to look back at. I can see Clooney’s attraction. The reality TV thing in the film has become real. Wonderful to celebrate Chayefsky’s genius. But what was then absurdist is now real and by recreating the work, the lack of distance will, I fear, take away from the text.
I really hope that Clooney rethinks this and stops plans to do this project.
I would much rather see him take the film and create bumpers loaded with interviews and insights and ideas. Deconstruct what exists and celebrate it. But don’t do it as live TV. Remake it in 20 years. But don’t bastardize one of the few films that really was prophetic. Fail Safe worked as a film and as live TV a few years ago because it asked questions. Network is a mistake because it is all answers with no real questions. One is figurative. One is literal.
Stop, George, stop.
Posted by poland at 07:46 PM | Comments (31)
Terrence & Flow
We're screening Hustle & Flow tomorrow night with a Q&A afterwatds with Terrence Howard. If any of you lunatics want to attend to see a terrific movie and this possible Oscar nominee in person (I promise not to attempt to rap during the interview), you are welcome.
Just RSVP on the MCN home page ad mark your affiliation as "hot blog" unless you have a voting affiliation.
Posted by poland at 02:02 AM | Comments (0)
Why I Would Rather Shut Down Than Start Banning People
I wish I could take more joy out of Tom O'Neil's public meltdown here... but I can't. He is a nasty little weasel who has been targetting me personally for two seasons now, but it's sad to see when things fly so far out of control.
Posted by poland at 12:47 AM | Comments (25)
MSN In The Time Warp
Someone Seems To Have Gone Into The Archive To Find The "Underrated Actors & Underrated Actresses" Lists From 1999, Plus They Put Their Under 300 Words Of Copy On 20 Separate Pages To Maximize Ad inventory
Posted by poland at 12:34 AM | Comments (6)
October 03, 2005
Separated At (Marketing) Birth?
NEW: As suggested by a reader in the posts below, this is a site about poster similarities.
Posted by poland at 10:08 PM | Comments (6)
Kate Goes Better With Coke
What I love about the Italian TV clip of the Kate Moss coke thing is the tabloid/Tony Scott-esque stopping and red circling of points of interest, making a little blow in the recording studio look like a very hip examination of the Zapruder tape.
It's very stylish and I can easily see it becoming an American tab TV thing very quickly and being used to death to the point of irritation.
Posted by poland at 07:25 PM | Comments (1)
October 02, 2005
Sunday B.O. - Little To Add
**Emily Rose could get to $80 million
**Lord Of War is going to do a very quiet $25 million
**Transporter 2's $45 million is also very quiet
**40 Yr Old Virgin passed $100 million this weekend
**Proof, An Unfinished Life & Oliver Twist may all now be pronounced d.o.a.
**Wedding Crashers, now the #3 film of the year, should top out just under $210 million
Capote did an estimated $25,250 on 12 screens.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio did $3,850 per on 41 screens.
Everything is Illuminated did $2,950 per on 60 screens.
Flightplan 14.9 (4,350) -40% 3424 46
Serenity 10.2 (4,650) 2188 10.2
The Corpse Bride 9.9 (3,100) -48% 3204 33.1
A History of Violence 8.1 (6,020) 1340 8.8
Into the Blue 7.1 (2,560) 2789 7.1
Just Like Heaven 6.2 (1,740) -36% 3543 38.5
The Exorcism of Emily Rose 4.4 (1,480) -40% 3004 68.6
Roll Bounce 3.9 (2,340) -49% 1661 12.5
Greatest Game Ever Played 3.6 (3,590) 1014 3.6
The 40 Year Old Virgin 3.1 (1,450) -28% 2152 101.4
Lord of War 2.4 (1,150) -52% 2125 21.6
The Constant Gardener 1.5 (1,470) -36% 1004 29.9
Proof 1.2 (4,960) 42% 240 2.5
Transporter 2 1.1 (1,050) -49% 1056 41.7
An Unfinished Life 1.1 (1,330) -36% 805 7.4
Cry Wolf 1.0 (980) -53% 1038 9
March of the Penguins .95 (870) -46% 1089 75.3
Oliver Twist .84 (1,080) 779 0.93
Wedding Crashers .61 (900) -52% 676 206.6
Four Brothers .46 (1,010) -48% 455 73.3
Posted by poland at 10:04 PM | Comments (35)
October 01, 2005
Early Box Office Analysis - 10/1
Flightplan is off 45% Friday-To-Friday… which seems about right.
Serenity is on the way to doing pretty much what should have been expected… about $10 million in hardcore Firefly/Whedon fans (less than 2 million people) and a couple of million bucks from the curious and sci-fi starved. (For anyone who is wondering why I haven’t reviewed this film, it’s because saw it, thought it was s decent TV show shot on a classically cheesy papier-mâché rock TV set with classically TV-level acting... with a bit more wit that usual. But why be mean?)
The Corpse Bride is off 58%, which may creep up over the weekend, but I think the darkness of the piece and the lack of whimsy that was more apparent in The Nightmare Before Christmas pitch is hurting with the young kids... more to the point, with their parents.
History Of Violence is doing okay, but not spectacularly on 1340 screens, heading for about $5000 per screen. It won’t quite be the Constant Gardener number, which speaks to the tweener nature of the film and the marketing… Constant Gardener gave up on teens… HOV did not… But it’s hard to beat the niche if you aren’t a four-quadrant movie and HOV, one of the very best films of the year, is not.
Disney kind of knew they had a hard row to hoe with The Greatest Game Ever Played… and they do.
LATE ADDITION: Completely forgot Into The Blue... as did everyone else. When Ms. Alba has a home video for sale, expect it to gross $100 million plus. Until then, it seems that people understand that we have seen every possible bikini angle in the TV spots, so there is no mystery left. And Paul Walker? Paul who?
Early Friday Numbers
1. Flightplan - $4.5m
2. Serenity - $3.9m
3. Corpse Bride - $2.8m
4. History of Violence - $2.5m
5. Into the Blue - $2.5m
6. Just Like Heaven - $1.9m
7. Exorcism of Emily Rose - $1.3m
8. Greatest Game Ever Played - $1.1m
9. Roll Bounce - $1.0m
10. 40 Year Old Virgin - $.9m
Posted by poland at 08:30 PM | Comments (43)
From GreenCine.com
Fests, 9/28.
You'll definitely want to start with the New York Film Festival video diary (or is it an essay?) by Jamie Stuart at Mutiny City News. If you think twice, you'll realize how Stuart got such beautifully static shots under what must have been hectic conditions, but still. Then there's the wry narration, the just-right implementation of simple effects and the overall pitch-perfect tone. Bravo.
Posted by poland at 09:28 AM | Comments (5)