May 4, 2024
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
what a bummer that Warrior tanked. one of the best movies of the year. hardy & edgerton are both fucking incredible.
The reviews have made me want to see Warrior but the trailer lacks a hook. They hit every side of the situation without letting something stand out. One would think if they were selling it to 15-30 males they would, you know, sell convincing violence. Gaming companies do this in their sleep. Maybe there was another trailer but the one I’ve seen barely registers who the star is (presumably Hardy?).
“Warrior” is pure boiler-plate, but the cliches are pitched at such an operatic level of intensity that the damn thing ultimately won me over.
Not sure whether it needed to be 140 minutes, though.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t have minded sitting through an add’l hour of “Contagion.” It’s brilliant filmmaking that actually respects the intelligence of the audience. What a concept, huh?
The marketing was terrible. It looks like one of those bone-crunching numbskull action films that Stallone was doing in the 80s, like OVER THE TOP.
I would like to discuss the mod of this site, Mr. David Poland. Anyone else?
I’m surprised WARRIOR didn’t do better…MMA is huge, or so I thought. Was there a big MMA match last night or something? Wouldn’t surprise me if “Hollywood” released a MMA movie against a huge event.
Also-
I saw ATTACK THE BLOCK finally and it is indeed, pretty awesome. Not sure how it could be a *huge* hit in America with those heavy accents, but a fun, scary, well done film nonetheless.
Sorry London Town, all applications for discussions in a BYOB must first be signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters.
Contagion power, hospital power, disease power, etc.
I was way into it, even though in the back of my head I knew I was essentially watching a 50s sci-fi genre pic gone mad. Loved Soderbergh’s choices throughout and thought his indie-as-studio-blockbuster aesthetic aided basically every aspect of the thing. Smoothly told and never got dumb, much like most of my favorites of his. And scary, to boot.
It’s amazing to me to hear how far studios meddle with other films, and then there’s SS turning in a $60M movie with stars that looks and feels so odd, like this one. Loved the style of it throughout.
was at the theater this morning and on the way out I picked up some theater schwag like posters, etc., they had these WARRIOR companion 8-pg brochures and they whole thing is filled with Biblical quotes and how that references choices made by the characters throughout the film …. “With this booklet in hand, anyone is able to reflect on the film’s rich Judeo-Christian themes” and “a contemporary cinematic retelling of the parable of the Prodigal Son(s) from Luke 15” … just saying, never got that from any of the reviews
i want some dp/60 .. people who go off topic for 50% of the time…50% movie talk – 50% talk about anything else . some actors are really good at that .. could make for a better interview
right now DP is in tiff-land – the magical land where actors go to win awards …if there is an 90% chance DP will only talk to these actors once a year then its worth spending an extra 30 minutes .
Don, MMA is huge…but I think it’s been proven that just because people are into something doesn’t mean they’ll see a movie about it. And filmmakers keep forgetting that at their peril. Karate Kid didn’t do well because only people who liked karate went. Has any movie starring a wrestler aside from The Rock done well?
And it works the opposite as well…like, when The Green Hornet was coming out and everyone was scoffing at it…like since no one knew the property no one would go. Of coruse it wasn’t a huge hit but I think f they had made a non-shitty version of it starring Will Smith it would have done just fine. Star Wars wasn’t an established brand before it was. No one cared about the specifics of how the Titanic sank until they did.
Perm, I’m not understanding your point. maybe its in your sentence framing or punctuation, but Karate Kid did do well, in fact extremely well. $176M.
I think that Warrior was supposed to be this years The Fighter. It’s not about whether you liked boxing or in this case, the MMA. You’re there to see a good movie. Of course it helps if you like the sport, but I know many non-boxing fans who lined up for The Figher, including many women who wouldn’t be caught alive or dead at a boxing match. Because of the good reviews, and especially when it got nominated, thought they would check it out.
Did the marketing drop the ball on Warrior? Should there have been a blatant “This years The Fighter” campaign? The answer my friends is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.
contagiion tomorrow
anyone seen it in imax? worth the extra $3?
My “What the ?!?” moment of the day: flipping through the Comcast menu and the entry for FX tonight actually says “X-Men Origins (Deadpool)”. Ouch for Hugh Jackman, but the title reads correctly on the FX Network website schedule at any rate.
“i want some dp/60 .. people who go off topic for 50% of the time…50% movie talk – 50% talk about anything else . some actors are really good at that .. could make for a better interview”
Jesus Christ sanj, your memory’s challenging goldfish for the Guinness book entry or something?
“I would like to discuss the mod of this site, Mr. David Poland. Anyone else?”
I lean more towards the rockers than the mods myself. Anyone else?
Hallick – adding another 30 minutes might be a good idea .. instead of extra 15 minutes ..
don’t get important news wrong …
CBS News Ends Relationship With Source of Bogus Steve Jobs Death Tweet
It has removed all content associated with Shira Lazar’s independently-produced web series “What’s Trending” from its site.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cbs-news-ends-relationship-source-233725
That’s harsh. Yikes.
Actionman – I didn’t see it on IMAX but I did see it on a huge screen with great sound. Can’t imagine the IMAX experience would add anything. It’s shot in a style much closer to the Girlfriend Experience than anything else. In all honesty it looks like a $2M film that would be a $2M film except for the INSANE things that actually happen in the movie, the movie stars, and the enormous number of locations all over the world. It doesn’t look especially big or slick.
I saw Contagion in faux-IMAX for a ridiculous $16.50 because that was the next show. Worth the price increase? Nah, but it’s a brilliant movie, coldly dispassionate in that Traffic sort of way, but with inexorable sharklike momentum and one brilliant, small detail after another. Every moment feels like it takes place in 2011 which, when you think about it, isn’t true of many movies.
Also caught Higher Ground, which is heartbreaking, honest, and original. Two of my top five for the year to date in one weekend. Fall is officially here. 🙂
“Hallick – adding another 30 minutes might be a good idea .. instead of extra 15 minutes ..”
Paul Mazursky’s DP/171, Harry Markopolos’ DP/78, Jack Larson’s DP/145…longer interviews with certain guests have been a trend in Poland’s interviews lately. I’m sure we’ll see more of that.
Just saw “Warrior” and loved it. I really hope it finds an audience.
I actually really liked the direction a great deal. I was moved by the end of every single fight which is a hard feat to pull off in a movie with fight after fight after fight. I thought the sound mixing was problematic — parts were incredibly difficult to hear — but the look of the film was super.
You don’t need to pay the extra money to see CONTAGION in IMAX unless you want to be bored on a bigger screen than normal. It’s not a very good movie, I don’t think.
And that’s a good point above, TBP, about MMA and WWE. I just thought MMA people would flock to it. They seemed to LOVE my friends MMA film HAMILL but that guy is a real person and overcame alot to get in the ring (he’s deaf).
Paul Mazursky’s DP/171, Harry Markopolos’ DP/78, Jack Larson’s DP/145 – these seem easy for DP – try something harder where DP has little knowledge of the
movies some actors have done …or forgot about
watched Larry Crowne – the ending bsaically made this a tv movie with 2 big movie stars.
I guess Peter Dante’s TV commercials for Bucky Larson did even more to repulse potential viewers than the trailer did. RIP The idea of Nick Swardson’s name above any other title.
bulldog68, I meant that Karate Kid did well and it wasn’t because people who go to karate dojos and take classes made that happen.
Like The Warrior…thinking people will flock to it because it’s about MMA is a fallacy. MMA fans will watch MMA, not necessarily anything connected to it. Why watch fake MMA? Or take golf…there’s almost 30 million people who play golf these days, if the internet has not lied to me. So why not make a golf movie, it’s practically guaranteed to make over 300 million, right? By that logic it is, but in reality not even close.
What helped the Fighter but killed Warrior? OLD PEOPLE! Old people can understand boxing. MMA means absolutely nothing to an older audience. If you can’t get the older people for a film like this, then you are most assuredly fucked at the box office.
Yeah, and I’m not so sure that The Warrior’s marketing team ever really sold the idea that the movie isn’t just some cheap lame Never Back Down kind of movie that NO one wants to see.
“What helped the Fighter but killed Warrior? OLD PEOPLE! Old people can understand boxing. MMA means absolutely nothing to an older audience. If you can’t get the older people for a film like this, then you are most assuredly fucked at the box office.”
If anything, I’d think “old people” would recognize MMA as a modernized version of bare knuckles brawling. And to top it off, giving your lead characters names like Brendan and Tommy Conlon is hardly straying off the reservation when it comes to a fight movie of any stripe.
But come on now, we all know “The Help” is the old person catnip of the moment right now.
Hal, MMA doesn’t register with older people. If you make a fight picture that features a style of fighting that older people simply do not like, then you are screwing yourself out of a large part of the audience who go to fight pictures.
I doubt this. All the marketing I saw made it look like just another boxing movie, not an MMA one. That could be the problem right there.
Plus subject matter per se isn’t an automatic turnoff. I thought DOUBT was one of the best movies of 2008, and I normally have less than zero interest in (and knowledge of) nuns.
“Warrior” also does a terrible job of orienting us to the sport. Unless you already know mixed martial arts well, there’s no way to tell who’s winning the (many) bouts or why they’re winning, up to and including the final bout, whose participants were given away in all of the marketing with the result that the movie feels like a two-hour wait for the finale we all knew was coming.
WARRIOR is kind of miraculous for how great it is. I’m pretty surprised we’ve had two flat-out wonderful familial themed sports movies (this and THE FIGHTER) two years in a row but I’m not compalining. Hardy, Edgerton and Nolte are fantanstic, and I really appreciated how character-based and low key the beginning segments of the film are. There’s a very effective escalation that builds to and earns the operatic ending, which had me SOBBING in the theater. F***ing loved it.
Warrior is a well-made, very well-acted family sports drama, but in the end, it’s still one of those movies where you’re cutting around to different people watching the big bout on TV and cheering on our characters as audience surrogates. Nothing wrong with that, but I can’t pretend this is some kind of exemplary genre-redefiner. It’s not that it’s not hokey; it’s just a little more grounded and respectable in its hokiness than most movies of its ilk. The Fighter has a lot more genuine character and odd angles. Warrior strikes me as The Fighter for people who were disappointed that The Fighter wasn’t more like Rocky.
Let me chime in and be the one dude who says, yeah, you know what, seeing Contagion in IMAX *is* worth the extra $3 (I’m not sure if it was worth the extra FIVE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS more it now costs to see an IMAX movie at AMC theaters in New York — at some point, they decided to bump 2-D IMAX prices up to always be about a buck less than 3-D IMAX, which seems ridiculous to me). That is, if you see it on an actual IMAX screen (one built before 2007 or so). I like seeing new-ish movies in IMAX 2-D (or used to way more often, pre mega price-bump) just to see immaculate film projection on a gigantic screen, understanding that most movies, especially 2.35 ones, would have to be letterboxed on the traditional IMAX screen and basically look not much bigger than a typical biggest screen in a big multiplex. But because Contagion is 1.85 (and maybe was adjusted even further for IMAX? I’m not sure), there was only a small bar at the top of the screen; it came closer to using the full IMAX screen than any regular (non-40-minute-IMAX-produced) features I’ve seen outside of those, like Tron 2, Transformers 2 (ugh), and Dark Knight, that actually used the full space by shooting some sequences in IMAX. (I feel like no one even mentioned that about Tron 2, maybe because faux-MAX has become the norm, or people pay more attention to 3-D now, but that movie was absolutely STUNNING in IMAX, such that I minded its many story deficiencies far less than I probably should’ve.)
So: I thought Contagion looked great in IMAX, and it felt different than just being on the biggest screen at a big multiplex. It’s also probably, you have to figure, one of the only chances we’ll get to see a Soderbergh movie in IMAX? Maybe Man from UNCLE? Maybe something splashy post-break? But I thought it was totally worth a few extra bucks and one of the most satisfying IMAX experiences I’ve had in awhile.
I think what is so neat about WARRIOR is the way it both embraces and subverts the traditioinal sports movie cliches. It doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel but it’s so engaged and emotionally invested in what it’s doing that I was incredibly wrapped up in it by it by the film’s incredibly well staged and composed finale.
Jesse, maybe it’s just me but I think AMC has the most inconsistent and confusing pricing I think I’ve ever seen at a movie theater. I love their bargain showings but I feel like they’re always doing odd things to shift their pricing schemes at a moment’s notice, or at least, it’s so overly convoluted and complex that I can’t seem to get it straight, despite going to the movies at least once a week.
contagion is a masterwork, yet again, for soderbergh. brilliant stuff.
“‘Warrior’ also does a terrible job of orienting us to the sport.”
I totally agree with this. I had no prior knowledge of the rules of MMA, and totally checked out during the last hour. Like, just tell me who won the match because I can’t follow what’s going on.
Plus, having grown up in Pittsburgh, I resented the bullshit Flatbush (?) accents Hardy and Edgerton were using. Where exactly did they think their characters were from?
last episode of entourage – nobody cares ? nobody watches ?
this season has been a total waste – they forgot about the movie stars doing stupid and fun things on the show ..
…it turned into some crazy drama at times with some characters ..
My favorite line about Entourage came from 30 Rock when they talked about shows being saved from cancellation
“They sent light bulbs to save “Friday Night Lights”, hot sauce to save “Roswell” and douchebags to save “Entourage”.”
That Entourage finale was so indicative of the lazy ass writing that has permeated that show since about the end of season 2. Doug Elin and crew haven’t had the faintest idea what they were doing other than washing, rinsing and repeating, over and over again. They managed an ounce of redemption last season only in that it wasn’t the typical, movie of the season, bimbo of the season, E/Sloan make up/break up crap. But the drug addiction storyline was still lazy, just original for Entourage. But then by the 2nd or 3rd episode of the final season, they gave Vince a pass and wound up letting him, “not really be an addict”.
So, let me get this straight…
Vince is getting married to the reporter who loathed him just a few short days ago? The,”smart, sophisticated, unattainable hot Brit” does a complete 180 in a mater of 24 hours? Not only a 180 but agrees to get married? LMAOROTFL.
E gets chance # 1.256 million with Sloan and hops on yet another private plane to fly away into the sunset? Sloan, the other”smart, sophisticated” woman just forgives E’s shit behavior and buy’s Vince’s line about him fucking Melinda being a sign of respect in some twisted way?
This series should have lasted 3 years at the most. Just fluffy fun and when that fluffy fun became overly repetitive, they should have axed it.
Oh and by the way, NO MOVIE PLEASE!!! As big a fuck up as this finale was, all a movie could do is make it even more unbelievable. Just leave well enough alone.
On a side note, kind of bummed Lex won’t be around to tell me how wrong I am.
Oh yeah, one last thing:
The one thing I will say for the show is the music supervisor for the first two seasons did some amazing work of finding absolutely pitch PERFECT music for the show. There were so many moments in those first two seasons that I remember vividly because of the music they attached to specific scenes. The Korean’s Keep Me In Your Mind was just one example.
tiff press conferences … about 10 movies featured with lots of actors … they are about 30 minutes long so they
compete with the dp/30 ..
http://www.domeproductions.com/archivelist.html
i’m watching the take this waltz press conference – Seth Rogen / Sarah Silverman – its kinda funny ….they got a real question from somebody from L’Oreal Paris asking about makeup tips ..
shouldn’t every movie have a press conference … thats like 100 movies x 30 minutes …. seems like a big waste if they don’t do that .
the way i see it tiff is for rich people – theres like 5 million people in the city and only 1% – 2% of them pay the 20 bucks for the movie ticket ..
i want a dp/30 – the business side of movie festivals – all the minor stuff included like how much money sponsors pay so actors can drink from water bottles ..who pays for the fancy limos – who pays for the airfare …who pays for the hotels ..
guess its lucky it didn’t happen in the US …cause then
people would be super mad at the oil companies …
plus this would get coverage for a few weeks on cnn …
but it didn’t and poor people don’t have blogs and digital cameras…
Nairobi pipeline blaze ‘kills 100’
More than 100 people have died after a petrol pipeline explosion and fire in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, police say.
Parts of bodies littered the remains of burning shacks for some 300m (1,000ft) around the site of the blast, locals said.
Bodies were also seen floating in a nearby river, into which burns victims had reportedly leapt after catching fire.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14879401
Paramount called me this morning. They said they wanted to convert my wedding video to 3D and release it theatrically in 2012.
So, what happened to Lex this time? Another banning, or did he pull another fade?
Last week DP made reference to Lex being banned for the rest of the month, if I remember correctly.
nice job DP getting Bobcat Goldthwait and Sarah Polley .. its been years since they had a dp/30
Bobcat humor is not for everybody ..but i like his interviews …funny and direct ..
2 minutes of Bobcat in Police Academy movies .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsBugR9dpdU
Lex, if you’re still reading: You’ll be happy to know that Nicole Kidman is barefoot throughout all of Trespass. Seriously.
Is Trespass as generic and lame as it looks (unlike the kick ass Trespass with Bill Paxton and the underrated William Sadler)?
Ew, Nicole Kidman is over 22!
Why did the producers of Creature think it was a good idea to release it in 1500+ theaters?
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/creature-feature-s-opening-one-of-the-worst-ever-at-the-box-office.html
Yeah, that idea seemed astounding…especially if you’ve seen the film. It’s like the most boring DTV movie, who did they think was their audience?
Not sure if anyone else was a Spartacus fan, but I can’t believe Andy Whitfield died. He was just 39! What a shame.
Pete B., I adored SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND, and was very saddened to read of his passing this morning. He brought such heart, integrity and generosity to that role, and anchored its outlandish insanity with an inherent and undeniable soul and goodness. It’s a shame indeed.
a couple years ago some blogger that had seen all the BP nominated films ranked them all, MCN linked him here and he’s been on my blog rotation since then. Now he’s seen 80%ish of the filmographies of all 210 Best Director nominees and ranked the 210 directors:
http://nighthawknews.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/the-history-of-the-academy-awards-best-director-ranked-bare-bones-edition
I’m glad Creature got an insane release. I’ve needed a modern reference to kill the “blame marketing/blame distribution” excuse that 75% of the misses use. Sheinberg must have gotten some sweet deals to justify that attempt.
Look at Warrior. If those guys came out and blamed the P&A team for the weak opening, I’d recommend a visit to the psych ward. I couldn’t get away from those trailers, and I was firmly aware which weekend was the debut.
I want to see Warrior and Contagion, but in truth, I want to see Drive before any of them. I love those trailers because someone realized the concept is very late 70’s/early 80’s. It could have starred anyone from James Caan circa Rollerball to pre-Rambo Stallone. And the neon title font simply fuckin rocks.
Warrior didn’t have that. It was selling a rock solid story, but in the era of cable drama, that is really not a big enough hook anymore. I mean, didn’t FX try a show like Warrior just a year or two ago?
just noticed Amy Seimetz had like 9 movies in 2011
where is the dp/30 ? hey movie critics – do a interview and beat DP … who knows one day she’ll be in a huge movie and you’ll get more interviews .
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1541272/
Zooey Deschanel blue eyes picture
http://img162.imagevenue.com/aAfkjfp01fo1i-13923/loc171/77985_zooeytag1_123_171lo.jpg
Martin, get ready to blame marketing when Drive bombs.
watched trailer for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ..
finally figured out it was about a spy and british actors and its like complicated and not so easy to figure out
so of course old movie critics will make it #1 pick for oscars ..
plus theres that iron lady trailer ..another british movie .
so more oscars for them ….
old movie critics love to give old british people oscars .
its true . kings speech got one .
i expect 4 dp/30’s from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Drive will not bomb for the same reason that the “Fast and Furious” franchise is still (shockingly) profitable.
If I’d seen a movie this weekend, it would’ve been Contagion, but I’m still stunned Warrior opened that poorly. Should’ve opened last week.
I can’t believe Straw Dogs opens this Friday. Still haven’t seen the trailer in theaters, but I got Warrior every time for the past two months. “I used to be one of those animals.” “You had a choice.” “Daddy’s a princess.” “This is impossible. The two men fighting for the championship are brothers!”
very cool video about teens climbing a bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjAMdbEXSdo
spassky, do you think Drive is even remotely in the same ball park of Fast and the Furious? And I’m not even talking about quality, I mean which movie is a bunch of mouth breathing teens going to see on a Friday night?
Second that Krillian. While generally aware that Straw Dogs was on the horizon, until I saw ads in Sunday’s newspaper I didn’t realize it was being released this weekend. Seems like it’s going to be on DVD by Thanksgiving. Is Marshall Fine a decent critic or a hack? Not sure how seriously to take his rave review of Straw Dogs 2011.
I am psyched for Drive but it’s a crowded weekend and it doesn’t exactly scream breakout hit. Straw Dogs could eat into some of its audience and I Don’t Know How She Does It (another one I didn’t realize was coming out so soon until very recently) will be the date night pick.
Man the rest of September sure is crowded. Four wide releases every weekend.
cars. violence.
i’m not in any way saying it will be a breakout hit, but it doesn’t look in any way like it’s going to bomb either.
drive 2011 has 94% on rottentomatoes .. so high expections .
hopefully the ending doesn’t suck …
I’m no fan of Fine. He’s a good writer but sometimes makes lazy generalizations (“Kick Ass and Super are THE EXACT SAME FILM!”) and indulges in grade-school level criticism (his review of Whip It borders on sexism in its ‘aww, them girls are SO CUTE’ writing off of Drew Barrymore’s skills as a director). BUT he wrote a book about Sam Peckinpah back in 1991, which is why his thoughts on the film (which I have not read as I’m seeing the picture tomorrow) have some theoretical weight. It also explains why he was apparently the first critic to publish a review on Rotten Tomatoes. As for Drive, it allegedly cost $13 million, so I imagine Film District will be happy with a $10 million opening, pleased with $15 million, and thrilled with anything approaching $20 million.
As for Warrior, I think in the end it was a movie that perhaps was never going to break out, a film that to the general audience member didn’t look all that different than Never Back Down. But we saw it and loved it prior to release, we saw how much work Lionsgate was putting into promoting the film and we perhaps wrongly assumed it was a more commercial project than it was. Same thing happened to me with That Thing You Do in 1996 and Whip It in 2009. Two mid-September releases that had national sneak previews, generally positive reviews, and seemingly solid buzz but still crashed on opening. Still, it allegedly only cost $25 million so it will eventually break even somewhere down the road.
Thanks for the info Scott. Please let us know what you think of SD 2011 after you see it tomorrow. I’m a huge fan of the original and am really curious about the remake.
And yeah with a low budget and R rating, anything in double-digits is probably a success for Drive.
I’m having trouble with the logic of releasing DRIVE and STRAW DOGS the same weekend. Two hard-R, violent, arty thrillers seems like one too many for a weekend. I think both will do fine, however. Also, I would argue STRAW DOGS and DRIVE, as odd as this sounds, between their male leads and their genre will be bigger date movies than the SJP flick, especialy the former.
I don’t know JKill. Yes, many women like James Marsden and/or Ryan Gosling. But I Don’t Know How She Does It has Sarah Jessica Parker, a PG-13 rating, is based on a popular book, and is receiving a wider release. And Straw Dogs subject matter doesn’t exactly scream date night. I can see Drive doing OK with couples, but I don’t think either one is going to be a bigger date flick than a Sarah Jessica Parker PG-13 rom com.
This is just my gut but the extreme thriller element of STRAW DOGS makes it a borderline horror movie, and the kind that usually have an even split between men and women. It’s also a Screen Gems movie, a company that does a great job usually of marketing towards that date night audience. In terms of recent releases, it looks the most like (and, if it retains the core story, has the same horrific content) as THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT remake, which I think by most accounts did well with that audience as well. As far as DRIVE goes, I think the coolness of Gosling and cars crosses the gender gap pretty easily.
The SJP movie looks less like a date movie, and more like something that moms and daughters or female friends would see together, but I might be quibbling needlessly there…I’ve also only seen the trailer once before another W.CO. release OUR IDIOT BROTHER, so I assumed it was getting dumped.
I’m seeing DRIVE tonight at a sneak preview, and I’m pumped.
The Last House on the Left Remake opened with $14 million. I think Straw Dogs will open with less than that. Is it being sold as a horror movie? I haven’t seen any TV spots. I haven’t seen much marketing of any kind really. And like you pointed out, it might not be wise to open Drive and SD against one another. The SJP movie doesn’t really have any competition.
STRAW DOGS is being sold as a thriller. I just think the content (if it’s like the original) is so dark that it borders on horror. The trailers and ads are pretty good and effective, I think.
spassky, that’s a weak generalization. Here, I can do it too:
Superheroes, action.
I just described Iron Man and Kick-Ass.
The identical box office performance of Kick-Ass and Iron Man only solidifies how completely similar they are.
Yep, just like Drive and Fast Five are going to be.
person of interest …tv show . this looks good …
3 minute preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK4YuIf2cIg
you’re giving me crap for a weak generalization after you just said, with no argument or specifics whatsoever, that Drive will bomb due to its marketing.
car culture has not been exploited the way superheroes have in recent years. Gearheads and “mouth-breathing teens” wait for things like this. In addition, cars and violence don’t necessarilly go together the way superheroes and action necessitate one another.
and in no way was i saying the quality of the two pictures was comparable. why don’t you say what specifically about the marketing of drive will make it a bomb, instead of [edit—use your imagination].
Taraji P. Henson, recent Oscar nominee, is a Person of Interest regular yet is nowhere to be found in the ads. Why isn’t she a movie star?
Oh, right. She’s a 40-year-old black woman. Same reason why Viola Davis is developing an HBO series as follow-up to starring in one of the year’s biggest sleeper hits.
spassky – don’t bother. Perm’s argument is always personal taste. He doesn’t care for Drive = bomb.
I would love to know the awareness level of Drive and Dogs. Drive seems to have gotten a heavier buy and the Dogs trailer I’ve seen really doesn’t focus on Marsden.
And what constitutes a bomb if all-in is around 30Mil?
DRIVE is aaaaaaaawwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeesssssssoooommmmmme!
For a certain type of filmgoer (namely myself), it’s pretty much cinema nirvana. It’s one of the flat-out coolest, most stylish movies we’ve had in a long time but, more importantly, it has a beating heart and a soul. Gosling gets to do an awesome Eastwood-esq, existensial stoic hero, and he does it spectacularly. He and Mulligan have wonderful, tangible chemistry, and Brooks is shockingly imposing. I don’t want to go too into what’s so neat about this movie (I’m really glad I didn’t read any reviews…) but this thing is perfectly made, from the beautiful photography to the crackerjack film and sound editing to the brilliant music choices. Its blend of art and genre makes it one of those special and rare movies that reminds me why I love movies so much in the first place.
Martin— I know, I always bite. It’s just frustrating to see those denigrations of a film because of personal taste when you know the person is at least moderately intelligent. I think that is why people are so taken aback by Armond White. as for ‘Dogs,’ I too have felt the advertisements have been marsden-lite and pumping up skarsgard. the movie is also being promoted like a marcus nispel horror remake. being a big fan of the original, I hope it is of at least some moderate quality.
Honestly, I hope for Refn’s sake ‘Drive’ is profitable, but on the bright side— it has been made, so in some ways it doesn’t really matter if people see it in theaters.
JKill: this seems to be the exact reaction of everyone to the film. I can’t imagine word of mouth not being excellent.
does anyone know how wide ‘Drive’ is going?
Some tippy top secret behind the scenes shots from TDKR:
http://gofigureactionfigures.com/product10314.html
Martin S, where the do you get that? No, what makes me different than most net folk is I don’t let my personal taste get in the way of my views on this shit. Like how everyone figured Watchmen would be some huge hit, which was clearly not going to be the case…even though I was planning to be there opening weekend. Most movies I like/want to see I figured will not be lighting the box office on fire. Shaun of the Dead, Grindhouse, Kick-Ass, any hardcore martial arts movie, etc etc.
Maybe Drive won’t be a straight up BOMB, but it’s an arty looking violent R-rated action movie. And I don’t think the marketing has made it look particuarily great. Looks like a standard b-movie. If you’re going to complain that Warrior didn’t sell what made is special, I say the same about Drive. And let’s not forget it’s opening against another thriller!
And spassky…where did I say anything about the movie itself? I just don’t see it doing super well. You never know, maybe I’m wrong…and if you guys want to call 30 million a big hit, then maybe it will be. That seems to be around the top level for a lot of these b action movies. Jet Li seemed to always make around 20-30 mil, why not Drive. I think Drive will make Transporter (which is what it looks like, but serious) money, which I call a solid picture…I guess you could call it a hit. I just think comparing Drive in any way to Fast and the Furious which are obviously pitched at vastly different audiences, is clearly silly.
I think Drive looks awesome.
I also think it opens to under 10 million dollars.
I think the Straw Dogs commercial looks good (never saw the original)
I also think it opens to under 10 million.
So AMC had a free membership program, Moviewatcher for years. Every 100 points you got a free popcorn, 200 pts, a soda and 300: a movie. A few times I earned a “night at the movies” and got all three. Last year they went to the Stubs progrma which is #12 a year but I am getitng the first year for free. I have earned $10 so far. I’m guessing that at best I’ll break even. HOWEVER if Pacific/Arclight start selling discount tickets a la AMC and Regal, adios AMC.
The Century 15 here in LA does not impress next to Arclight, The Grove or LA Live.
“Straw Dogs”
I remember the Peckinpah version playing in theatres. I never got to see it, not because it was rated R, but because it never made it our local 4th run house (for 50 cents you got a DOUBLE FEATURE!). What’s more, either because of the nature of the film or it was released by a smaller studio, I don’t recall it ever being shown on TV.
What’s more, I only got to see it in the 80’s on VHS. i don’t even recall the long lost Channel Z showing it here in L.A.
So long story short: Clint Culpepper was dead on in Sunday’s Calendar section when he nixed those who clucked about the remake. Besides, I too have faith in Rod Lurie. The man has taste, after all he’s the one who first exposed me to DP on his wonderful Sat morning movie review show.
i saw Contagion 2011 .. i was suprisded at how quiet the audience was …like 98% of the time it was super quiet .
i had high expections and it was basically a tv movie with big name actors .
i want DP to give Steven Soderbergh a copy of dvd of 28 days later 2002 and see how a real virus works…and that
was made like 10 years ago.
Can’t wait to see Drive. I love from mid-September on, there’s usually a movie every week I want to see.
I get what you mean Sanj about Contagion being somewhat similar to a TV movie. Many people likened Contagion to Outbreak, but the movie that it most brought to mind for me was an HBO Original movie called And the Band Played On, that chronicled the onset of the Aids virus.
krillian, im with you. I refer to September and October as “The dumpster”. You get all these movies Hollywood can’t quite wrap their marketing minds around. You end up with a lot of entertaining films and a lot of weird misfires.
I love the dumpster months. I like seeing films like Straw Dogs, Killer Elite, Drive, Contagion, The Debt, Warrior, and 50/50. Im always excited by the films that come out this time of year.
edit – i forgot Moneyball
at least outbreak and more action than contagion …
contagion didn’t feel global … cause there weren’t
world leaders talking .
plus Marion Cotillard was totally wasted …
she could have wasted her hotness in another movie
dumpster month hmmm…
the way i see it – at least 3 movies a week with good reviews .. stuff that doesn’t suck = 12 good moviea a month.. every month.
some are worth watching on dvd / netflix = 4 good moviea a month ..
plus it depends on how badly you need too see a movie ..a good one or bad one
plus there’s gotta be some people who are too lazy to look at movie posters at the theatre cause they are too busy on their cell phones ..
Ryan Gosling gets no dp/30 … last 5 films nothing .
since George Clooney is too famous for a dp/30 maybe
Ryan will get his chance at one for ides of march but not drive .
drive will probably be a small movie people have to discover by themselves but it be cool if Ryan got to beat somebody up in the next fast furious movie ..
@samguy – Pacific does sell discount tix, only they have a 2 week blockout and Archlight at the Grove will tack on an extra $2. I’ve never thought the arch was ever worth the extra money.
I’ve got the stubs card for AMC. I would always forget the old program would have free popcorn wednesdays. Still, I’d go some random wed night, get the free small corn and it totally made my trip. the new stubs is supposed to be good for free upgrades or something like that. I can’t remember. I don’t know if I’ve gotten anything from them yet. Some of those buy-in membership plans are the first indication that a company is in dire times and looking to raise cash on hand for whatever reason.
For me, price and convenience are key. There are some smaller screens out in the Marina but every once in a while I’ll see a movie there and then get miffed when I walk in and see the tiny screen but really once I’m in and watching, I kinda forget the size. I may notice the sound isn’t so great but even in some craphole theaters in LA they aren’t going to be that aweful I’ve found. Some old theaters don’t have the most comfortable seats but if the film is halfway decent I can forget about such things.
I have to say, I was annoyed by Stubs being a pay program at first, even though I also got the first year free for using Moviewatcher so much. But on the balance, I must grudgingly admit it’s probably worth the $12/year, if you go to the movies a lot. It’s been on since March or April, and I’ve earned $60 in “rewards.” Of course a $10 rewards bonus isn’t really the same value as a free ticket, but on the other hand, because the rewards are basically like gift-card points, there aren’t any restrictions (most AMCs were extremely picky about what you could actually use a “free ticket” coupon on — had to be something ten days old. They attributed this to deals with studios, but I always found that kind of BS; as a theater, you can comp a ticket to just about anything if you really need to), and it’s much easier to use them before they expire (I had a few free-ticket coupons expire before I could use them, since I try to stay caught up with new movies). And frankly, it’s probably healthier for me to get rewards that I’ll spend on tickets, rather than getting lots of free soda and popcorn (a nice perk, but doesn’t really save me money as I’m not inclined to spend much money on soda and popcorn in general). Also, if you buy tickets for your friends ahead of time, there isn’t any restriction on how many points it can give you, so that’s probably helped me out. But I know a lot of my friends won’t pay the $12/year fee because they don’t go as often, so I can get them tickets and reap some benefits. Most likely I’ll have received $70-80 in free tickets by the end of the year.
It also waives all online ticketing fees; MovieWatcher only did that for movietickets.com (which only covered one AMC in Manhattan).
That said, the (free) Clearview reward program is extremely generous; I feel like just from buying tickets for me and my wife, I get something free about every other time I go to a Clearview. But there are only three of those theaters in Manhattan, so I don’t use it as much — although one is the Ziegfeld, so that alone makes it worthwhile.
But yeah, I can see that if you’re buying a couple of movie tickets per month, Stubs might not be worth the $12/year compared to a free rewards program. If you go most weeks, in an area where AMC dominates (like NYC), and sometimes pick them up for others, you can make out pretty well.
spassky right now BOM has both Drive and Straw Dogs opening in 2400 theaters. Also, Boxoffice.com is projecting a $7 million opening and $19 million total for Straw Dogs; $16 million opening and $53 million total for Drive. Not sure if that’s based on tracking or just a shot in the dark.
there is a theatre in Sudbury Ontario that charges 3 bucks
for a regular movie every day …2 bucks on tuesdays .
these are the big hollywood movies …
the bigger the city ..the bigger hollywood can charge you… so move there is you want cheap movies .
http://www.rainbowcentresudbury.com/entertainment.php
also new tv shows are starting …. 3 hours of brand new
tv every day.
I’m with a lot of you guys, the fall months and the spring months are the best. Weird comedies like Your Highness, crime pictures, horror movies, there seems to be a zombie movie every spring. I could take or leave that Thor shit.
I’ve been on the fence on whether or not to pay the 12 dollars for the Stubs membership for a while now. I go to the movies fairly often but usually at the bargain times when it’s quite cheap, I never get concessions, and I’m usually rolling solo. I couldn’t tell if I would really benefit or not.
” I think Drive will make Transporter (which is what it looks like, but serious) money, which I call a solid picture…I guess you could call it a hit. I just think comparing Drive in any way to Fast and the Furious which are obviously pitched at vastly different audiences, is clearly silly.”
Agreed. I was just trying to make a quick point about what marketing points the drive trailers have been hitting and I reached for F & F first. Transporter would have been a much more apt comparison.
we’s all good, homie.
“drive will probably be a small movie people have to discover by themselves but it be cool if Ryan got to beat somebody up in the next fast furious movie ..”
YESYESYES
2400 seems high for both Drive and Straw Dogs…
“Dumpster” season is looking especially tantalizing after the Meh summer season we just had. I really liked ROTPOTA, but I can’t tell whether that was because I enjoyed the movie or was just dying for something decent in the action/adventure vein from this summer (captain america was fun, but I don’t think anyone can disagree that it was lacking in several ways).
While it won’t do Help or Blind Side business Moneyball looks like it will be a decent sized earner. Looking at Columbia’s recent mid-level but profitable success with 21, Julia and Julie, Eat Pray Love, Social Network and the beach reading blockbuster Da Vinci films, Sony seems to have a better track record than anyone in the “Based on the Best Selling Book” field (discounting the young adult section).
contagain should have been directed by the 2012 guy
Roland Emmerich — a global movie needs a guy know
knows how to blow up the globe …
watched ringer …tv show with Sarah Michelle Gellar ..
wow . did that suck . like all of it . she plays twin sisters and stuff happens . bad editing …bad writing.
after buffy … she should have upgraded herself to hbo and not the cw network . put her on hbo and suddenly DP
finally gets a dp/30 with her .. no name network = no dp/30 for you . your usleess actors and DP won’t even
watch your little tv show. check back 3 years and
i haven’t seen any cw actors show up for a dp/30 about their tv shows… most teen actors don’t get dp/30’s on any major tv shows . i dunno why …
but if a teen does something really good like Hailee Steinfeld … somehow you get a dp/30 .
here’s a review from time magazine of all places …
http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2011/09/13/tv-tonight-ringer/
Ringer Series Premiere Review: ‘Pilot’ – Beyond Bad Even for Buffy Fans
http://www.buzzfocus.com/2011/09/14/ringer-series-premiere-review-pilot/
Moneyball looks GREAT.
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES was the great, big summer movie as far as I’m concerned. However, I do find that starting with Labor Day I’m way more excited for most of the upcoming releases that I was for the summer slate. I mean, so far, THE DEBT was good, WARRIOR was great, and DRIVE rocked my world, and there’s a bunch of promising stuff to come.
I feel like every fall has some weird scheduling in September/October/November, where there’s rarely enough really promising-looking stuff to sustain that entire period, so you get weird dry weeks. The next month or so looks really good: Drive, Moneyball, Restless (even if it sucks, new Van Sant), What’s Your Number (even if it sucks, new Anna Faris), 50/50 (have seen this and it’s good), Take Shelter, The Ides of March, Dirty Girl… and then for me, it kinda screeches to a halt on 10/14 and stays in low gear for the next month, even though we’re supposed to getting awards contenders all fall.
10/14 has The Big Year, which I will definitely see but looks a little wan from the trailer (still, nice to see Steve Martin in a movie at least ostensibly for grown-ups again). But also The Thing and Footloose? And the new Almodovar, OK, but he’s never been my favorite. And then 10/21 is more junky stuff like Paranormal Activity 3 and Three Musketeers, which don’t get me wrong, I’ll see, but in a sort of second-half-of-August-grade way. It also has Martha Marcy May Marlene, which looks actually good. Then the big movies for the first few November weekends are Puss in Boots, Tower Heist, Harold & Kumar, Immortals, Jack & Jill… OK, will probably see most of those, but nothing I’m crazy excited for. 11/11 brings it back a little with J. Edgar and Melancholia, and then there’s The Descendants the next weekend… but I feel like basically from mid-October until Thanksgiving, there’s a big break in the holy shit I want to see so many of these movies so much!! deluge. Then it goes pretty hard for the rest of the year: Muppets, Hugo, Dangerous Method, The Sitter, Young Adult, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Carnage, Sherlock 2, MI4, Tintin, War Horse, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, We Bought a Zoo, and then bam, movie year over. I mean, Christmas week is particularly insane. New movies — mostly wide releases, too! — by Fincher, Brad Bird, Cameron Crowe, and TWO by Spielberg? That’s pretty nuts, both commercially and awards-wise. Also, wasn’t the moving up of the Oscars supposed to result in studios NOT doing the last-week-of-the-year wait? Because this year it seems like most of the studios really aren’t bothering until mid-November, and largely not until December.
I want to see The Thing prequel, and the second half of October doesn’t look that bad. In Time and The Rum Diary on the 28th seem very promising. I’d also like to see Margin Call, which has a great cast. Like Crazy is also being released on the 28th. None of those are really awards contenders, but they can’t all be.
And man I really hate the We Bought A Zoo trailer. Overly used movie trailer songs, lines like “Am I doing anything right,” cute movie kids, a Jerry Maguire job-quitting speech, forced emotional uplift. I would watch Damon in just about anything, but this looks real bad.
SMG did go to HBO , Sanj.
She even shot a pilot and it had Adam Scott , Nathan Corddry and Molly Parker involved .For reasons known only to themselves HBO turned it down .
Ah, I forgot about that last weekend of October with In Time and Like Crazy, both of which I want to see. I mean, I probably have something to see every weekend from now until the end of the year, and I’m definitely not only looking for awards bait. But most of my heavily anticipated movies (Spielbergs, Muppets, Fincher, Young Adult, Hugo for the Scorsese factor, Payne, Bird’s take on Mission Impossible, maybe Crowe) are clustered in late November and December.
I haven’t see the Zoo trailer. I did kind of wonder about it — Crowe adapting someone else’s book, and going so family-friendly, doesn’t sound like it plays to his strengths. Even after Elizabethtown, I’d rather see a Crowe original (Say Anything + Almost Famous = lifetime pass. And Vanilla Sky is a lot better than its rep, too).
But, you know, the trailer is selling a big Christmas release, so maybe it’s not showcasing the best stuff about it.
And not to get ahead of myself, but if even most of the mvoies that seem likely to hit in 2012 actually come out, it’s going to be nonstop awesomeness. I already want to see Rian Johnson’s LOOPER, Nolan’s third Batman, and Wes Anderson’s next movie more than anything coming out for the rest of 2011.
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/09/we_bought_a_zoo_trailer.html
… I mean, for serious, let’s look at 2012. Will likely boast:
-At least one new Soderbergh (Haywire, which looks fucking awesome), and who knows how fast he’ll get Magic Mike done.
-Another new Spielberg with the Lincoln movie.
-A new Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie (I know it’s hip to hate on them now but I’ll always be interested in what they’re up to). And then another Tim Burton stop-motion movie in the fall.
-Avengers + Dark Knight Rises for the comics geeks, which means new w/d credits from Whedon and Nolan, too. (And if Whedon’s your cup of tea, the long-delayed Cabin in the Woods movie that he co-wrote is supposedly coming out.) (And also, I’m sorry, I am super excited for Ghost Rider 2.)
-Tarantino’s Django Unchained.
-First Whit Stillman movie in years and years, assuming that’s when Damsels in Distress comes out.
-First non-sequel Pixar since the wonderful UP.
-Rian Johnsn doing sci-fi with LOOPER.
-Potentially excellent comedies from Apatow (This is Forty) and Ferrell (Rivals) and even something a little less crummy-sounding from Stiller and Vaughn (Neighborhood Watch). Plus SBCohen’s newest, The Dictator, which may finally give Anna Faris the great comedy she deserves.
-Not on any schedules yet, but it seems extremely likely that we’re also getting new movies from Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom), P.T. Anderson (The Master), the Coens (their folk scene movie), Woody Allen as usual with an awesome cast, and maybe Cuaron, we can hope? (Gravity)
Spike Lee ought to jump in with his usual every-other-movie-that-turns-out-to-be-awesome (25th Hour bouncing back from Bamboozled; Inside Man bouncing from She Hate Me; Miracle at St. Anna has gotta cause a hell of a bump back!). Maybe get Gondry or Jonze in there too (wait, weren’t they actually doing a new movie together?).
Damn jesse…yeah, that’s an awesome list of movies.
It is a very good list, though those pictures of Depp on the set of Dark Shadows are horrifying for all the wrong reasons.
That We Bought a Zoo trailer does look awfully treacly, looks like they are trying to rekindle that Marly and Me equation of cute animals + family= cash.
As for 2012…PROMETHEUS
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK
AT
HERRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!
No, HER.
Maybe it’s just because I’m such a Crowe partisan (I actually love ELIZABETHTOWN) but the first part of that trailer with Petty in the background totally had me sold. The latter part, which looks pretty schmaltzy and kind of like a live action Disney movie, not so much. I’m hoping that this is just the trailer trying to go broad for a general audience. I’m very happy that there’s a new Crowe on the horizon. I love his voice as a writer/director.
Holy S***, 2012 is going to be insane. New Tarantino and PTA movies in one year kind of makes me swoon with anticipation, to be honest.
To add to that list, there’s also the possiblity of a new Malick, along with THE SAVAGES, ARGO (I think), THE HOBBIT PT. 1, LIFE OF PI, and THE GREAT GATSBY (maybe…)
I kind of feel about Cameron Crowe how I feel about M. Night. His movies lately have been getting consistently worse (no, Vanilla Sky is rated just where it should be – bad). And this looks awful for all the Crowe reasons -too shmaltz, too softball, too cutesy.
Even without my growing dislike of Crowe, who makes a movie nowadays where a single father quits his job? And who okays putting it in the trailer? How out of touch is Hollywood from what America is actually like out there? That just seemed so offensive.
“You don’t even need any special knowledge to run a zoo. What you need is a lotta heart.”
Not even, like, a veterinary degree?
Also, I’m not psyched about the Damon/ScarJo pairing. To paraphrase Chris Rock: “If you can’t get Amy Adams, wait.”
@Mike
Lots of financial pain in the world right now, and Hollywood seemingly oblivious to it. Was Larry Crowne the only movie to address it this year? And yet that movie completely died at the box office despite having two of the biggest stars ever. OTOH, the comedies did surprisingly well this summer. Maybe audiences feel the need to laugh during times of great pain?
Madam, that’d be a good theory, except I can point to Bridesmaids, where the main character loses her business, loses her job, is in deep debt and has to move in with her mom. That one was the defining hit of the summer. And that one did it with no major stars and was not a sequel.
I’m not saying that the public necessarily needs to see themselves in a movie, and it’s nice to escape your troubles. But when a Hollywood movie shows a single dad, throwing away a white-collar job, it just seems like more than a desire to entertain. It seems an awful lot like a spit in the face.
WE BOUGHT A ZOO is based on a true story.
WARRIOR is very much a movie for these times.
JKill, WBAZ may have been based on a true story, but I doubt it’s 100% accurate. Having Damon lose his job instead of quitting wouldn’t have even made the top 100 list of fictions in movies based on a true story.
And again, as much as I have a problem with Crowe keeping it in the film, I have a bigger problem with the trailer editor who made it part of the advertising strategy.
what makes me different than most net folk is I don’t let my personal taste get in the way of my views on this shit. Like how everyone figured Watchmen would be some huge hit, which was clearly not going to be the case…even though I was planning to be there opening weekend. Most movies I like/want to see I figured will not be lighting the box office on fire. Shaun of the Dead, Grindhouse, Kick-Ass, any hardcore martial arts movie, etc etc.
You can search me name on HB and see the countless debates I’ve had with IO/JS about the destined failures of Watchmen and Kick-Ass. What I was getting at, is you dropped the bomb tag glibly. If the cost is 15mil, WOM guarantees it won’t bomb. If you meant it won’t win the weekend because online fanboyism is overrated in its dollar value, I’d agree. But Drive can play beyond the Shaun/Kick-Ass base because it’s a crime/action film with mystery elements. That’s a wide net that could reach 20Mil.
Maybe Drive won’t be a straight up BOMB, but it’s an arty looking violent R-rated action movie. And I don’t think the marketing has made it look particuarily great. Looks like a standard b-movie. If you’re going to complain that Warrior didn’t sell what made is special, I say the same about Drive. And let’s not forget it’s opening against another thriller!
Drive will beat Dogs. Like Paul said, awareness seems low for SD. No anticipation = no turnout. As someone mentioned, the trailer play like a Platinum Dunes remake, as if it missed the 70’s horror remake train by five years. I don’t feel any confidence from it, like the marketing team gave up.
The thing is, if you want to count 20 million as a hit, then that’s the difference in what we’re looking at. I think it sort of is a modest sucess, but I don’t really count that as a HIT per se. What if Warrior makes 15, why isn’t that a hit? Drive has several bigger names.
you said ‘bomb.’ but whatever
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/09/drives-colorful-ads-suggest-an-unusual-movie.html
that’s really funny.
“We’ve tried to show that it’s an elevated genre film–that it’s not ‘Fast and the Furious’ but has a real look and a real style”
WHY??? (ha)
I’m just going to assume that Drive is starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.
It better AT LEAST drop a line HALF AS GOOD as the “Fat Burger” line
I don’t know anything about Drive but the trailer makes it look very very slick. I’m not really learning anything at all from the trailer except that it looks extremely well made and involves cars and guns.
HitFix has apparently bought InContention. Once again I am baffled. How does HitFix make any money? It apparently supports a sizable staff, but I frequently forget they exist, because the site is never quoted or referenced by anybody. Not even average Joe commentors at other sites reference them, with a casual “Oh I was reading about that at HitFix.” I have the same questions about The Wrap. Unless they are in some slap fight with Nikki Finke, no one ever mentions them, and I forget the Wrap exists. How does a site with seemingly no readers make any money? Perusing other movie sites and their many comment threads, I never come across any evidence that anyone reads HitFix or the Wrap. Maybe I’m reading the wrong movie sites? I don’t get it. I don’t mean to offend anyone here who loves (or works for) those sites, but I honestly don’t get it. How do they make any money? They are sizable operations with sizable staffs, seemingly without the readership needed to support that. It’s a mystery.
I read Drew’s stuff on HitFix all the time.
Drive will be lucky to open fourth. It would be cool if it opened higher but outside of us, the movie nerds, that film has about as much going for it in terms of an ad campaign as Straw Dogs.
ETA: Hit Fix has Sepinwall and if you want to follow a good TV critic, then you visit that site.
lots of movie trailer ads on daily show / colbert – its the only place on tv where people might pay attention to tv ads .. saw ads for moneyball – straw dogs and drive .
went to hitfix for the first time in months – yeah they got more than movies – nice mix of tv – music – movies –
so many people are making tons of movie content – mostly reviews and interviews that never gets on tv …
thats the problem – tv networks need to get new stuff –
right now all we got is that Ebert guy and his movies who has a total monopoly on pbs .
back to movie ticket pricing – how many people on here pay full price for movie tickets ? why ?
also get a dp/30 – movie blogs – show me the money ..
exclusive interviews with people behind the movie blogs and the money behind it all .
There you go, Krillian entirely funds HitFlix’s operations.
here’s an article about HitFix’s financing:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=131102
From the article dated June 2010:
“HitFix received another round of financing — some $1.6 million — from Tech Coast Angels, which calls itself the nation’s largest angel investment network.
HitFix, which claims 1 million monthly unique visitors, started a year and a half ago. Unlike other entertainment publishers, the company says there is almost no celebrity news and gossip. It offers an inside look at movies, television and music.
The company’s prime target is 18- to-34-year-old users. Although most entertainment sites attract primarily women, HitFix says it pulls in an equal amount of males and females.
The ad-supported site also gets revenue through syndicating its content. The site includes consumer entertainment writers, such as Alan Sepinwall, Drew McWeeny, Daniel Fienberg (“The Fien Print) and Melinda Newman, former West Coast bureau chief for Billboard covering all aspects of show business.
Lead Tech Coast Angels investor, Yuri Pikover, stated: “HitFix has such a compelling mix of authoritative and original journalistic content, audience reach and technology, it perfectly matched our TCA investment sweet spot.”
I felt a little regret predicting that Drive wouldn’t top 10 million after seeing some new ads that are pushing the good reviews. Lots of 4 Stars and Pull Quotes being inserted behind the footage of Ryan Gosling walking down a hallway. It feels like it might do more, but i’ll stick by my original prediction.
Speaking of “inserting critic quotes behind scenes from the movie.” When did that happen. What was the first movie ad that features quotes being integrated into movie scenes en masse?
they should be pushing the fast and the furious angle.
Trespass press conference – Nic Cage talks…
http://www.domeproductions.com/trespass.html
my head exploded there is going to be at least 25 new dp/30’s coming out.
yay.
I’ve officially decided to be a cheerleader for DRIVE after seeing it the other day. I’m probably going to go try to catch it a second time theatrically, which I NEVER do. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s rare I see two movies I flip for as much as DRIVE and WARRIOR within the same week. Awesome but rare.
Speaking of DP/30s, what ever happened to the one with Joe Swanberg for UNCLE KENT that had a Sneak Peak posted months and months ago?? I watched it a couple weeks back and liked it. Not up to the standards of his best film ALEXANDER THE LAST but, in my opinion, much more unified and better composed than his earlier stuff which I was mixed on.
“you said ‘bomb.’ but whatever”
Because Warrior was called a bomb due to faulty marketing, when I expect Drive will not be a much bigger hit…therefore also a “bomb.”
Doesn’t “a bomb” imply a great loss of money? I don’t see how a relatively cheap movie not making very much money could be classified as “a bomb”. A financial let-down; a money loser; an underperformer, sure. Even if not a single person paid to see them in theatrical and later markets, the amount of money on the line is pretty small compared to the losses of what I would classify as an actual bomb, like MARS NEEDS MOMS or PLUTO NASH. I also think you have to take into account when a movie isn’t a cynical cash grab but a genuine work, something that really can’t be easily sold and packaged, especially in the times we live in.
I’m just glad we’re getting quality movies that have actual ambitions and aesthetic concerns.
I agree, and that’s why I didn’t call Warrior a bomb. And it was a little annoying to see it being said. Warrior’s a small drama with no stars, how much money is it supposed to make?
I don’t want to pile on Warrior, but even though it is a small budgeted film by a less than major distributor, it opened to the same per screen average as Apollo and Shark Night and I don’t remember anyone argueing on their behalf last week. Now based upon reviews and everyones enthusiastic reaction Warrior is a far superior film, but if we are looking at the numbers dispassionatly quality should not matter. Is there not a low bar for inexpensive films?
watched Stiletto – cops – bad guys – a killer .. bad acting. bad directing . just confusing . worse than a Steven Segal movie. so bad.
check the Stiletto Trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1847722777/
Yeah a per theater average of $2,800 for a wide release is pretty bad, even for a movie without stars.
No matter how much you liked Warrior, no matter how small the budget, no matter how you work the numbers, it was a tank.
It’s sad when good movies fail, but at that wide an opening, it was a big ol’ THUD at the box office.
If you don’t even cover a third of your marketing budget on opening weekend…..
fail.
Warrior is kind of an anomaly. I don’t know what they could have done to sell it better. I know the poster was terrible. It looked like a UFC Pay Per View promo. That was probably the goal, but putting two guys on the poster who no one knows looking like every fight poster ever created is probably a little uninspired.
(armchair marketing)
They sold the brother angle. I think they should have spent more time on the teacher angle. A normal, everyday guy who has a shot at being a champion fighter. Sell it like they sold The Rookie. A good guy, down on his luck, has one shot at redemption.
Does the brother angle do anything to bring people in? It makes it sound a lot like The Fighter, and people don’t usually go see the copy of the thing that was successful.
Sell the movie on the older guy who has one last shot at glory. Take out all the stuff with the military and Tom Hardy, lose the connection about them being brothers. Then you have a movie you can market and an interesting twist you didn’t reveal to the audience in the ads that gets people talking.
how much of the warrior plot do you want to give in the trailer ? its a fight movie so i’m guessing the good guy wins. the end.
i know this sounds crazy but LexG needs a dp/30 . maybe
people might undertand LexG .. maybe they won’t…but DP can have a world exclusive .. or LexG will just do interviews with other movie blogs.
also when a major celebrity scandel breaks and it involves actors / directors – do other actors make public comments ? this is more than stupid stuff they usually do … mostly involves the law …
if actor makes fun of another actor how quickly does the actor know about it ..in the age of twitter ..
just rewatched the pilot of ‘american horror story’… makes no difference if the series succeeds or fails, jessica lange wins the emmy…jus’ sayin’…
anybody care for paranormal activity 3 ? what can they possibly do any different ..
get some ghosts in the background of the dp/30’s … then millions will watch .. learn from the movies .
i didnt care about Paranormal Activity 2. I thought the first one was just like Blair Witch. 5 minutes of a movie stretched out to 90 minutes with a brilliant marketing campaign.
Sorry sanj, but Stiletto stars Stana Katic, so it can’t be completely bad.