The Hot Blog Archive for December, 2008
Another Slap In The Face To Film Critics
So… a few years back, when the LA Times lost Manohla Dargis and decided that instead of hiring an experienced film critic, they would used Manohla’s “slot” to hire a new editor from NY, they moved Carina Chocano from the recently hired role of television critic to be the new film critic, next to Ken Turan. Not a brilliant move. Carina never overcame her limited experience in film and as of a few weeks ago, both Carina and the editor hired in “the Manohla slot” are gone with the budget cuts.
Many of us have been discussing how sad it is that the LA Times, the theoretical paper of record in the city of movies, is down to one full-time critic.
So what does the LAT brain trust do this time? They move Betsy Sharkey and her
Give It To Bushie
You know… a guy has two shoes thrown at him… and comes up smirking… gotta kinda admire that kind of Maverickiness.
True, these are the only shoes that have come Bush’s way that didn’t end up in his mouth, but… seriously folks… tip your waitresses…
Blu-ray Discounting
An e-mail went out with some terrible Sony deals on Blu-ray that are too complicated and not nearly enough of a discount to attract anyone who isn’t buying already. But as I looked around Amazon, I came upon this, which made me gasp and then laugh…
Product Description
BluCube: the best Blu-ray value on the market! A $299.99 VALUE!!
Twenty films in high-def 1080p, widescreen format, including: The Big White starring Robin Williams; Supernova starring Luke Perry; Category 7: The End of the World starring Shannen Doherty; Mortuary, directed by Tobe Hooper; Cruel World starring Jaime Pressly; The Colt starring Ryan Merriman, The Last Sentinel starring Katee Sackhoff, Mysterious Island starring Patrick Stewart; Beer League starring Artie Lange; Blackbeard starring Angus Macfadyen; The Poseidon Adventure starring Adam Baldwin; Final Days of Planet Earth starring Daryl Hannah; The Woods Have Eyes starring Frank Adonis; 10.5 Apocalypse starring Kim Delaney; The Final Patient starring Bill Cobbs; The Ten Commandments starring Dougray Scott; Salem Witch Trials starring Kirstie Alley; Salvage starring Lauren Currie Lewis; Angel in the Family starring Meredith Baxter; and The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb starring Casper Van Dien.
Weekend Estimates by Klady – December 14
Not a lot new to say.
But I will remind again, the Che’ per screen is, in reality, more than double that of any of the other films, as it is a 4.5 hour event, meaning 2 shows a day. It is an interesting inequity that NY is in the massive Ziegfeld and in LA, the film is in a 200 seater at the shiny, new Landmark… which also offered yesterday, a double dip of appearances by Benicio (as well as Laura Bickford, the screenwriter and another actor).
Ironically, the excellent per-screen by Slumdog MIllionaire is closest overall to Rab Ne Bana de Jodi, the actual Indian film in the market.
Really, all the limiteds who are awards trawling can be pleased… some more than others… but basically fine.
I will be accused of writing this because I am not a fan of Gran Torino, but think on this before making it about me…. is there any reason to do a 6-screen release for what is being sold as a wide release movie other than to spin the media? Realistically, you are looking at a movie that would have been no worse than the #3 film in the market this weekend if they were on as many as 1800 screens. So what are they vamping for?
MCN Exclusive – Che' Video Clip
Full size in QT after the jump…
Weitz To Vamp for Summit, Now Official
Release after the jump…
7 Comments »Friday Estimates by Klady
Not too much of interest this week. The Day The Talent Stood Still was always going to open. We’ll see how long it lasts once people start talking to their friends about it. Nothing Like The Holidays is going to be dead in the midde of the six prior Overture openers, as it is on screen count.
In terms of the high profile exclsuive releases – 2 to 15 screens – Gran Torino was the strongest per-screen, but not by nearly as much as you might expect for a movie that is being sold 100% commercially. About 6500 people saw it yesterday. But almost 1400 folks went to do see Che’. And Doubt, 13,000. Even The Reader scored almost 4700 people per screen on Friday/Shabbat.
There is a real surprise in that Australia, which has been dragged through the mud before disappearing as a point of discussion, will actually be at almost the same exact gross as Moulin Rouge! after both were in 3 weekends fo wide release, with Australia perhaps going ahead.
ADD, 10:45a – I am told by someone with a vested interest that Che’ sold out its entire Los Angeles weekend yesterday afternoon and that the movie, on its second screen, at NY’s Ziegfeld Theater, was sold out an hour ahead of the start yesterday. The two theaters are doing two shows a day, the full movie, for $12.50/$12 NY/LA for the whole thing in this one-week qualifying run.
So doing the math, that works out to better than double the per-screen per-show that Gran Torino did. And keep in mind, this is after a number of promotional events on both coasts, including an AFI screening in a sold-out Chinese Theater a month or so ago, which is about the same size at the Ziegfeld.
I don’t think we’re looking at a massive box office hit here, but as I have been saying for a while, I do thnk there is $7 million or more in this film from people who really care about film. For Che’ to get to $10 million in America would be a triumph for all film. And more importantly, there is a movie here that should be celebrated, for all of its successes and, if you so see it, failures. It is the kind of film that we in the chattering class all talk about wanting to see from American filmmakers. And is so often the case, it looks like the people who buy tickets will lead the critics to the an appreciation of what has been seen through an all-too-narrow lens.
CORRECTION FOR DUMB MATH ERROR, 3:35p
Interesting…
Two different headlines particularly caught my eye today.
First, it was this Silicon Alley Insider story about PS3 sales plummetting.
So why is the PS3 flopping so badly?
1) It’s the most expensive console on the market, $150 – $200 more than its rivals. Even if you believe the video game industry is “recession-proof” (it isn’t), a tanking economy makes consumers more price-conscious.
2) The PS3’s big bonus is its ability to double as a Blu-Ray player. Too bad no one seems to care about hi-def DVDs. The differences between Blu-Ray and DVD are hard to see on a TV less than 50″.
Ahhhh… it all fits.
The second story was a Variety piece with Joe Morgenstern, Ken Turan, Stanley Kauffmann, Andrew Sarris, and Richard Schickel reflecting on the state of film criticsm. But, as is so often the case in gatherings of O.L.D.C.A., the conversation leans to discussion of the good ol’ days, but not so much about what happened to print film criticism or film criticism in general. (To be fair to the interviewees, they didn’t write the story, edit it, or chose the questions.)
The most significant thing to nudermine mainstream film criticism, in my view, is the editors of papers and their publisher bosses no longer valuing the work of a film critic the same way they used to. There doesn’t seem to be any sense of loss, aside from personal. at places like the LA Times when they narrow down to one full time film critic in the heartland of movie making. And with due respect to Ken Turan, for all of the harping about young-demographic chasing by the studios, can you tell us what your newspaper is doing by bending right over with a giant photo spread for the biggest film in the marketplace every single week?
That is the story at almost every paper, television station, and even on the bigger websites in the land. If it’s not a newspaper wanting someone to buy the paper to read Critic X, it’s webmasters wondering how to pump up the page views. As a result, the films that are written about are just as narrowed as the wide release movies. The films that challenge the audiences most are, generally, left to the internet to ponder in any depth at all and by critics who work that beat consistently.
Another part of this is the failure of the biggest paper to develop any real star critics. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t excellent critics out there. But you are in a small group indeed if you are slapping around the latest review from Desson Howe or Michael Sragow in conversation…. and those are two of the higher profile voices out there. Carina Chocano, however backwardly hired, was that kind of effort…. the wordsmith who isn’t really a movie person. But while The New Yorker can coast with an Anthony Lane poking at movies as an excuse for his prose, the L.A. Times has a much wider readership from day one and needed Carina to be accessible.
Manohla is a great writer… but she is also utterly unpredictable. And that is the excitement of finding out what she has to say about a movie. It’s not Manohla The Killer… it’s Manohla taking it strong to the hoop every time, even if she hits the rim and blows the dunk in spectacular fashion.
I am not advocating anyone else getting dumped… but when was the last time anyone under 60 was recognized as being a voice on the arts at Time? It’s not that they should dump the vets… but they all need a bullpen of younger folks pushing the new enevlope. Experience has great value. But so do new ideas.
BYOB – Weekender 1212
I forgot to mention…
The Day The Earth Stood Still is the worst movie I have seen from a studio all year… going away.
And that IS my complete review.
Gurus o' Gold – 12/12/08
The full charts… all Top 8 categories…
"Take Me Away From All This Death"
40 were taken out at Reelz Channel yesterday, as they cancelled the one heavily produced show they make, Dailies. Sigh.
As I write, more cuts at Paramount are being made. The NY office is taking the most significant hit versus department size. But jobs that were filled to fill the void left by earlier cuts are now being cut today. Paramount, of course, has a long history under current management of pre-Christmas firings.
You know, I am not terribly sympathetic to the bosses at Paramount these days. But on the other hand, when these firings are reflected in the glow of the Ben Button black-tie premiere the other night… not fair.
The public image and the private pain are always in direct conflict in this industry. People are being fired, in part, for fear of Ben Button losses
In Response To Gran Torino Raves
His sad true story wrings you out emotionally because it’s concerned with both the deaths of young men
11 Comments »Hugh Jackman
Nice.
Even in concept, the list was short. But Jackman was, once it went to The Academy for approval, the first choice. And everyone was good with it.
Clooney, Jackman, and… uh… who else?
There are many names that many people like or think would be fun. But who else can be trusted, be charming, be a good choice for men and for women, be attractive to a worldwide audience, etc? And he can sing, if there is a call for it.
The host of the Oscars is surely the most overdiscussed issue every single year. No one tunes in see the host. And for movie stars, it is problematic that the hosting job becomes one of the leading lights of a career, not unlike winning the Oscar… but unlike winning the Oscar.
The only downside here? Jackman is the front man for, perhaps, this year
