Sunday Estimates by Klady

There’s not a lot more to say about the wide release movies.
What catches my eye this weekend is a phenomenon that I expect to continue through the fall/holiday/award season

Friday Estimates by Klady – Oct 5

There’s something about Ben Stiller openings… he is big box office in concept comedies or teamed up with someone. But he is also completely capable of having an Envy or a Duplex. The Heartbreak Kid is neither of those. It’s a lot more like the opening of Zoolander. Thing is, $45 million total domestic for a Ben Stiller movie is no longer considered a success. He is paid with the expectation of doing double that.
I would also say that on this one, the studio never found a hook, has terrible outdoor, and scared away both kids and adults, leaving only teens and college kids as an audience… which can be okay… but Stiller’s success has been in finding a wider audience. Night At The Museum was Stiller’s Flubber, which is to say a machine that was aimed at kids who wanted to see the gimmick more than the perfectly likable star.
It’s not real clear who “they” thought was waiting to see The Seeker… or even who knew it was coming. But it isn’t working out.
Sadly, Peter Berg’s The Kingdom took almost exactly the same Friday-to-Friday hit as Peter Berg’s The Rundown… maybe people stayed home to watch Friday Night Lights. I find the whole thing very frustrating. Berg has become a significant filmmaker. He is getting beat on this time around for his style, which has been stolen so often since Friday Night Lights that he is now accused of imitating the style. But at some point, the story he chooses and the style he shoots in and the audience interest will merge for a massive hit (see: Judd Apatow/Larry David)… and until then, the box office results, while not bad, will not feel quite good.
Nice number for Michael Clayton. I kinda love this movie… but still, a $45,000 – $50,000 per screen at the end of the weekend is great, but assures little as the film rolls out.

Shorter Tony Gilroy

Here is our first cut-to-YouTube promo piece for a Lunch With David… 6 edited minutes of Tony Gilroy talking about the foundations of Michael Clayton… here.
We work to all attention spans…

Box Office Hell

Another Moment Of Hysteria

Crazy Nikki Finke has come back from her illness with a vengeance

Last Last Comment On The Friedman/TMZ Mess

Just a quickie…
I have been in touch with the correspondent who co-authored the Roger Friedman rumor e-mails that were posted on TMZ until Roger lied and told them that the e-mails were fake. Roger’s correspondent, who says he is no longer friendly with Roger for many of the reasons that I have serious issues about Roger having a public platform paid for by News Corp, has confirmed that the e-mails were real. He has also apologized for assuming that I had some sick issue with Roger to be so vociferous about condemning some of his work. (I have never written or spoken a word about his personal life

Listen

What’s the best score I’ve heard this year? Alexandre Desplat’s work for Lust, Caution is, for me, the best I’ve heard so far.
The best soundtrack album? The good folks at CBS were kind enough to send a link to a new downloading system for critics and the like… quite clever. They send an e-mail, put you on their list, and when you go onto this site, you have access to whatever has been authorized. You can downloiad to your computer, even in iPod format if you like.
34 songs… only 1 performed by Bob Dylan. 28 other artists covering Dylan, from the Once duo of Hansard & Iglova to Willie Nelson to Richie Havens (who appears in the film) to John Doe to Sonic Youth to Los Lobos to Roger McGuinn to Yo La Tengo to Eddie Vedder to Cat Power and more… amazing.
If you haven’t made the guess yet, it’s I’m Not There… and I expect to spend many hours with this soundtrack in the next weeks. The first purchase I’ll be making because of the album is to buy a few Antony and the Johnsons albums after listening to their amazing version of Knocking On Heaven’s Door.
(Update: Complete Track Listing After The Jump…)

Read the full article »

Darjeelingus

I don

Sneak Peek!!!

Japanese company Ochotora has put together this early look at Paramount’s Transformers 2: MechaDisturbia, as inconsequentially changed by the lack of producing help from DreamWorks… take a look!

Jumper Starts Marketing

A msyteriously unmakred postcard arrives in the mail today, saying “9:30 AM – cover Presiendital address in D.C., 10:50 AM – reporting on Fall fasions from Milan.”, “1:00 PM lunch with director in Sydney.” etc.
Then it offers a website – “find out how 10/10/07 – anywhereispossible.com” This leads to a countdown screen…

But it was one of the rotating comments that signaled the release of a Jumper trailer… LA to London in 3 Seconds
Either is was an elaborate ad for fax machine or and ad for this film, which is Doug Liman’s latest slow-roasting opus, all about jumping through time from place to place.
And then, I looked at the upper left corner of my screen… the page label… Jumper. Duh. So much for my career as Sherlock Holmes 2k.

BYOB – October 4

If you don’t know… it’s Bring Your Own Blog… space for commenters to discuss whatever is on their mind and is not otherwise covered in here.

Lunch With… Tony Gilroy

My apologies for the production values and my appearance as Jabba The Hut… but it is an interesting conversation with the writer/director of Michael Clayton.

Sweeney Lives

But you really wouldn’t know it’s an opera from this trailer… or from it being placed on The Heartbreak Kid tomorrow… but it does look like it has all the potential that theater lovers hope will be fulfilled.

Depp’s one hint at singing…

By the sea…
The Trailer…
(Update, friday morning – The ST trailer landed on my doordtep this morning on DVD and I have to say, it is more impactful on the big TV than it was on the Hi-Def computer monitor. It has room to breathe. And that makes sense. It’s still odd that it is a non-musical trailer for a musical… whether they will deliver a singing trailer in the next month with be interesting…)

Why Won

Another day, another half-ass version of the Indiana Jones IV sting in

Old Enough To Know

On the occasion of Michael Lynton’s re-signing at Sony through 2012, at which time he will reach the ancient age of 51, there are some deluded enough to convince themselves that nothing ever changes and that Hollywood is aging out.
Odd… it seems to me that like being President of the United States, you might want some highly experienced people handling your billion-plus annual budgets, even if the products are for kids. But then again, maybe we need a toddler in charge of Mattel… I’m sure the stockholders would love that.
There is no question that the powerful barracade themselves into their positions of power as best they can. Still, the notion of nothing changing is what really captured my attention. Do we remember…
Disney – Michael Eisner/Nina Jacobson
Miramax – The Weinsteins
Fox – Bill Mechanic
Fox Searchlight – Lindsay Law
MGM – Various
UA – Bingham Ray
Paramount – Sherry Lansing
Par Classics – Vitale/Dinerstein
Sony – John Calley
Universal – Tom Pollock
Warner Bros – Daly & Semel & Lorenzo di Bonaventura
WIP – Mark Gill
Funny… they’re all still working. The last one to leave their perch was Tom Pollock, 11 years ago now.
Yes, Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne are celebrating 40 years… most of them as true independents. And of course, Sumner is oooooold… Murdoch is not a kid…
But what about the ancient crowd running the major studios right now