What I Was Talking About…
I wrote a Hot Button today called The Summer Of Rage and nothing that’s happened in the last dozen hours since I wrote it has done anything to quell my aggravation.
I hate to even bring this bitch up, but Roger Friedman so embodies the lowest form of the media trends that it is hard to avoid him (especially since The Drudge Report has become a haven for him, Nikki Finke, and Box Office Mojo) and today, he pulled one of his extreme burns.
Why does this schmuck, surrounded as he is by Cannes activities, feel the need to chase down and kick Superman Returns yet again? Cannes has whored out, but not nearly enough for our Roger, who is crushed that, just days after everyone on the Criosette was kneeing Da Vinci in the balls,.Superman hasn’t flown in to put itself in front of the firing squad?
Forget the fact that he is just plain stupid and that as far as my recollection goes, none of the July 4 weekend movies have ever played in Cannes… since it is six weeks out. There is this eye-rolling it’s-so-obvious attitude about studios throwing their movies into the critical rink whenever that movie journos have adopted lately that is about as stupid as stupid can be. It assumes two things. 1) We are right. 2) The studios know what they have.
There is plenty of Kool-Aid quaffing in the world, but there are also a lot of movies that linger on the quality edge and studios get surprised by critical reaction a shocking percentage of the time.
And why does WB need Cannes if they are going to spend more than $100 million in worldwide advertising? So they can compete with Da Vinci for attention while Da Vinci opens and get shit on by critics who prefer smarter film? What’s the upside?
Moreover, the freakin’ movie isn’t locked yet! Every year we in the press bitch about how so many movies needed more work. Well, Superman Returns has gone from 2hours 50 minutes to 2:40 to 2:30 and change in the last few weeks. And it might get tighter. Why does this guy want it NOW?
The nice thing about Roger is that we all shoudl know by now that whatever he writes is payback or payoff for something or someone. What is sick making is that Drudge supports it and as a result, others will follow him off the cliff.
Stop the madness.
The column is basically him whining that he can’t attend parties with stars. Whoop de shit, Rog.
Actually, i think a rough version of Armageddon played at Cannes in 1998, and got well and truly kicked around, but at $600 million worldwide later (which, astonishingly, would amount to over $800 million today), no-one remembered Willis getting cranky with every critic on the Croisette. Honestly, i think 2006 may well go down as the worst summer ever, narrowly beating the hapless 2001 (Pearl, Apes, Mummy 2, Tomb Raider, JP3 etc etc.) Enough has been said about MI3, DVC, Poseidon already, but i can’t see X3 being anything other than vanilla ice cream, Cars will almost certainly be Pixar’s weakest yet, the jury on Superman for me is still very much out, Pirates 2 doesn’t appear to have any story to speak of (the first film had what passed for a script in a dim light) and so on. I shouldn’t complain, there were a dozen or so movies released over the last year or so (Munich, King Kong, Constant Gardener, Batman Begins, The 40YOV, SW Episode 3, Good Night and Good Luck, Walk The Line, Kingdom of Heaven Director’s Cut, War of the Worlds, The Family Stone) that i totally loved – but the price for an amazing party is an amazing hangover…..
Probably because Willis knew it was a horrible movie.
What’s so sick about Drudge supporting it? Birds of a feather, and all that.
The showed a half-hour preview of ARMAGEDDON at Cannes in 1998, and, shockingly, it didn’t whip up much critical support. As for showing finished versions of summer blockbusters more than a month out, it’s just stupid. Even if the movie’s a home run, the studio’s going to have to increase their marketing budget sustaining that critical buzz. A cover story in TIME or NEWSWEEK two weeks away from release would accomplish the desired effect.
That should read “They showed…”
Maybe that’s why they added on the scene of the destruction of Paris at the last minute in post-production.
Which Summer Movie Season was worse: 2000 or 2001?
Who wants to starting the debate?
It’s not even close. Gladiator, X-Men, What Lies Beneath, Chicken Run, the very underrated Me, Myself & Irene, Bring It On… a relatively decent summer.
2001 is the summer of AI, Planet of the Apes, Pearl Harbor, Atlantis, and A Knight’s Tale. CRAP!
It took X-Men 2 to come out for people to realize how bad the first one was. I cant rememeber one single image from that movie.
A.I. is a vast underrated–and misunderstood–movie. It’s not perfect, but it is smart.
Who ever came up with the headline for the link on MCN to EW’s Owen Gleiberman’s very thoughtful editorial obviously didn’t read what he wrote. Look closer, and you’ll see that Gleiberman is stating some of the same views as Poland did in his Hot Button column today.
Gleiberman acknowledges that $30 million is a very good take for United 93. What bothers him is that the movie should’ve entered the American conscience for more than a week. The movie is a remarkable achievment that has almost been forgotten by moviegoers–and more destressingly–by the critics who were high on the movie just a month ago. Films like The Conversation (1970s), The Right Stuff (1980s), and JFK (1990s) became part of our conversations. We talked about these movies and how they affected us. Conversations about these movies made us talk about more serious issues like corruption, history, and cover-ups.
If anything times are more frught with fear, confusion, anger, and a demand for answers. Our movies should be more politically aware than they’ve ever been. But the media, old and new, seem all too eager to compartmentalize every facet of pre-release hype into automatic history. Entertainment journalists hae written the story before there is one.
The sad thing about United 93 is that the critics didn’t help by writing cautionary reviews that said I saw the movie so you don’t have to. And these sentiments came from positive reviews. The moviegoing public doesn’t seem to be interested in experiencing anything that isn’t positive and safe. What do you think the public reaction would be if The Godfather was released today? Would they complain about the length? Would they want Sonny not to get killed? Would they want more action? Would they say the section in Italy needs to be shortened to keep the momentum going? And you thought the Italians protested back then. Try imagining their reaction to The Godfather. The sequel wouldn’t even be allowec to exist in this day and age. It’s a downer, man.
I hop Poland responds. I think the best essay written about audiences’ fear of being made uncomfortable is Kael great “Fear of Movies.” She could’ve written it today and it still be relavent.
Part of what you speak of, Jimmy, is the shortened theatrical window. United 93 has been out for three weeks now, and it’s already yesterday’s news. This is the kind of ridiculousness our culture is increasingly tolerating, in the quest for the next big thing.
BTW, I agree with DP on Me Myself & Irene, and on Jimmy with A.I.
You missed one of the biggest dogs of 2001, DP, Mummy Returns! How disappointing that was compared to the first movie.
Gent – One has to buy the premise of the piece… that the movie deserved to be a part of our conciousness.
For me, it was utterly forgettable and is failed drama. So I don’t bemoan the failure of the film to be more than it was.
Audiences decide. Somestimes they are right. Sometimes they are wrong.
What I don’t buy into is the idea that because Owen or I or you are frustrated on a particular film that there is a systemic failure. I would argue, in this case, that the positive reviews by critics were a bit myopic and that the movie faded quickly, because however well made, the drama was limited by the restraints of honoring the dead. The film was not about anything. It was a representation of what seems to have happened. And the added meaning comes from us, not the film.
The idea that the public is shy is an arrogant critic’s notion. People were adventurous about Brokeback Mountain, less so with Munich… more with Fahrenheit 9/11 – which I would say has been forgotten except for the three trailer images – less with Gunner Palace… etc, etc, etc.
It’s only they and we and we just disagree.
Same as it ever was. Except, in reality, these movies have longer lives than ever with Home Entertainment and if U93 is meant for history, it will have its place.
Roger Friedman is employed by a right-wing news channel. Matt Drudge picks up on Friedman because Drudge is a right-wing snitch. It’s that simple.
Owen uses the phrase “dramatized journalism” to describe U93. I think there’s your reason it doesn’t appeal to people. Movies, especially in times of war, are seen as an escape.
It’s kind of like describing Requiem for a Dream. Watch people’s lives fall apart as they fall victim to heroin and speed, etc. In a way, it’s like calling someone chicken for not wanting to go into the haunted house.
In 1982 I had a wonderful summer:
BLADE RUNNER, STAR TREK II: WRATH OF KHAN, POLTERGEIST, E.T. CONAN THE BARBARIAN, TRON and ROCKY III.
It still hasn’t been beaten in my book.
Let’s not forget that 2001 had Moulin Rouge! so that sorta makes the 2001 Summer the best ever by default 🙂
(i still like the original X-Men)
also:
“unless Da Vinci somehow has a magic $90 million plus domestic opening … But it would almost be a surprise if a $60 million opening weren’t reported as a disappointment. ”
So is $80 good? Cause that’s what it’s gonna get.
Nacho Libre should top out at $50m.
“Roger Friedman is employed by a right-wing news channel. Matt Drudge picks up on Friedman because Drudge is a right-wing snitch. It’s that simple.”
Actually, Friedman has proclaimed multiple times to be the most liberal employee of Fox News.
Which is like Moe proclaiming to be the most intelligent Stooge.