40’s Movie Stars: Better in Bed, Better on the Battlefield

I have been watching a lot of 40s movies lately. Being radically anti-celebrity, I was taken aback by how easily mesmerized I was by the movie stars of that period. 

After all, why wouldn’t any man (straight or gay) imitate Cary Grant’s walk up the stairs to save Ingrid Bergman at the end of Hitchcock’s “Notorious?”

– 

And why wouldn’t any honest woman try to talk and look like Barbara Stanwyck? 

I was at a pool party in the Hollywood Hills once where agressive supermodels were trying to seduce fake producers. That entire pack of semi-nude nymphs had less seductive power than the play of the anklet on Barbara Stanwyck left leg in Wilders’ “Double Indemnity.”  (more…)

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Tags: Barbara Stanwyck, brad pitt, Car Grant, Clark Gable, James Stewart
Posted Sep 17th 2009 at 8:26 am in Classic Hollywood, Politics | 22530268 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ykochar/2009/09/17/40s-movie-stars-better-in-bed-better-on-the-battlefield/40%27s+Movie+Stars%3A+Better+in+Bed%2C+Better+on+the+Battlefield2009-09-17+15%3A26%3A40Yervand+Kochar

What if Tarantino Had the ‘Basterds’ Take Taliban Scalps?

Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” has all the trappings of a Tarantino film – from the rich cinematography and soundtrack to the unpredictable action and character development. Tarantino has directed and written another effort that, as usual, is in a class of its own. 

“Basterds,” misspelled the way Brad Pitt’s moonshining Lt. Aldo Raine character carved it into his rifle, takes place in German-occupied France from 1941 to 1944.  Tarantino makes a point of specifying “Nazi-occupied France,” justifying to the film watcher the extreme measures needed to deal with this particular type of human evil.  That National Socialist German Workers’ Party membership never numbered more than about 20 percent of the adult German population is beside the point; the Nazi Party in the guise of Hitler (played by Martin Wuttke) controlled the Wehrmacht from the top.  

“Basterds” follows three characters.  ”Chapter 1″ introduces Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) a young Frenchwoman whose dairy farmer family is wiped out in 1941 by the Germans and Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), who directs the killing.  Landa is a member of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party, who considers himself a detective asked by his government to find every last Jewish person in France.  In “Chapter 2″ we meet U.S. Army Lt. Aldo Raine. Raine’s crossed arrows insignia on his collar identifies him as a member of the First Special Service Force, a U.S.-Canadian commando force called the Devil’s Brigade.  Lt. Raine leads a small band of soldiers, all of whom happen to be Jewish, on a mission of retribution, mayhem and terror behind enemy lines, the goal: take 100 “Nazi scalps” each.  (more…)

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Tags: "Bodyguard of Lies", Anthony Cave Brown., brad pitt, Bush administration, Christoph Waltz
Posted Sep 1st 2009 at 1:22 pm in Featured Story, Film, Military, Politics | 21248677 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cdevore/2009/09/01/basterds/What+if+Tarantino+Had+the+%27Basterds%27+Take+Taliban+Scalps%3F2009-09-01+20%3A22%3A20Chuck+DeVore

Nothing Inglorious About Pro-American ‘Basterds’

Remember the children’s magazine, Highlights? Its motto is “fun with a purpose.” The motto for Quentin Tarantino’s latest flick, “Inglourious Basterds,” should be “violent with a purpose.”

It’s 1944 in Nazi-occupied France. Joseph Goebbels’ (Sylvester Groth) latest film triumph starring Germany’s latest hero, Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), is set to premiere for the top brass of the Third Reich – including the big cheese himself, Adolf Hitler – and their guests. Funnily enough, the premiere is to be held in a cinema owned by Shoshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), a Jewish refugee with her own obvious reasons for hating the Nazis. Naturally, she plans her revenge for the fateful night.

Meanwhile the Basterds, a crack group of Jewish-American soldiers under the leadership of Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), is undercover in France and “in the business of killing Nazis, and business is booming.” Those Nazis who manage to escape death are given meaningful souvenirs of their time with the Basterds. The paths of these two groups cross in a way that only Tarantino, master of gory coincidence, could imagine.

A good ol’ boy and Jews brutally mowing down Nazis. What’s not to like? It’s probably one of the few times you’ll see a redneck positively portrayed in Hollywood. (more…)

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Tags: Adolph Hitler, brad pitt, Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds, Melanie Laurent
Posted Aug 25th 2009 at 3:40 pm in Reviews | 20981865 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pmeister/2009/08/25/nothing-inglorious-about-inglourious-basterds/Nothing+Inglorious+About+Pro-American+%27Basterds%272009-08-25+22%3A40%3A52Pam+Meister

Lonewolf Diaries: Brad Pitt Leading the Anti-Christian Charge

I should say right off the bat that I can’t just blame Brad Pitt. The plague of closed-mindedness permeates every corner of Hollywood… Brad Pitt just happens to be the one who’s most recently crystallized it so perfectly. Much like the time Megan Fox tipped Tinseltown’s hand when she said that if given the chance, she’d urge Megatron to only murder the “white trash, hillbilly, anti-gay, super bible-beating people in Middle America,” Brad Pitt had a tongue-slip with his anti-Christian comment this weekend. However, I must give credit where credit’s due folks: he made the comment on the Bill Maher show. It takes guts to take such a stance on that program. Doesn’t at least a part of you admire his moral fortitude?

To start with, Brad Pitt said that he was thinking of running for mayor of New Orleans, on an “Anti-religion, pro-legalization of marijuana and pro-gay marriage” platform. I know, I know… What a risky position to take in Tinseltown, right?

After Brads continued “anti-religion” commentary, Bill Maher decided to step up the game with his uniquely hateful brand of bigotry that’s made him oh so popular with 13-year-old atheists everywhere. In a display of “compassion,” Pitt went on to say, “Well I don’t think any Christians watch this show anyway.” (more…)

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Tags: Atheists, Bill Maher, brad pitt, Christianity, Christians
Posted Aug 18th 2009 at 5:40 pm in Celebrity News, Featured Story, Lone Wolf Diaries, Religion | 207654241 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/scrowder/2009/08/18/lonewolf-diaries-brad-pitt-leading-the-anti-christian-charge/Lonewolf+Diaries%3A+Brad+Pitt+Leading+the+Anti-Christian+Charge2009-08-19+00%3A40%3A46Steven+Crowder

‘Inglourious Basterds’ Review

Take a ruthless Nazi leader who can order the deaths of a Jewish family with the same dispassion with which he requests a glass of milk. Mix his story with that of a Jewish woman who flees the slaughter of her family only to grow up and discover an opportunity to kill Hitler himself. Add in a cocky American Lieutenant named Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who leads a secret mission in which each of his men are ordered to scalp 100 Nazi, and you’ve got the combustible mix of lead characters who cross paths with explosive results in Oscar-winning writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, “Inglourious Basterds.” 

Bringing together his usual strengths as a director of intense performances from sterling casts, an amazing score pasted together from classic scores of past films, incredibly sharp and catchy dialogue and a warped time frame that that will throw viewers through a satisfying series of loops, Tarantino has easily made his best film since “Pulp Fiction.” Coming off a humiliating misfire with 2007’s “Death Proof,” which was half of the box-office disaster known as “Grindhouse,” Tarantino has admitted that he felt the need to double down on his strengths and prove that he was just as relevant and inventive as ever.  (more…)

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Tags: brad pitt, Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds, Nazi, nazis
Posted Aug 18th 2009 at 8:55 am in Reviews | 207186111 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ckozlowski/2009/08/18/inglourious-basterds-review/%27Inglourious+Basterds%27+Review2009-08-18+15%3A55%3A03Carl+Kozlowski

Brad Pitt and Atheist Evangelism

So for the second time in about as many weeks, I’m hearing from Brad Pitt on religion. First, there was the absurd, “Eighty percent agnostic, twenty percent atheist” comment, and now he jokes that he’s running on the “no religion” platform in the New Orleans mayoral race. The leap from being atheist to being against religion fascinates me.

Why can’t you simply not believe in God? Surely atheism can exist without a hatred of religion. It’s particularly disturbing that the disdain atheistic non-religionistas have for religion is pretty much limited to Christianity – from my experience. I knew an atheist who was offended when someone at work played a CD by Christian rock band “Third Day.”

But I can sympathize to a degree, after all my son believes in this nut that dresses in a red outfit, is friendly with reindeer, and gives kids presents. Crazy, I know, but my kid runs around singing about this obese clown coming to town, or some nonsense — and IT JUST OFFENDS THE CRAP OUT OF ME!!! (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Atheism, Atheist Evangelism, brad pitt, Christopher Hitchens
Posted Aug 14th 2009 at 4:03 pm in Culture, Religion | 205210439 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ccannon/2009/08/14/atheist-evangelism/Brad+Pitt+and+Atheist+Evangelism2009-08-14+23%3A03%3A51Cam+Cannon

Brad Pitt: Mayor of New Orleans?

Brad Pitt gained much notoriety for his environmentally friendly housing project in New Orlean’s Katrina-ravaged Lower 9th Ward.  Recently, a budding grassroots movement has gained momentum to elect Pitt Mayor of the city.  Earlier today, Mr. Pitt sat down with TODAY’s Ann Curry and talked about the prospect of a mayoral run and what type of mayor he would be.  From an an article on the TODAY website:

“If chosen, would you run?” Curry asked in the prerecorded interview that ran Thursday.“Yeah,” Pitt said.

“Would you serve?”

“Yeah. I’m running on the gay marriage, no religion, legalization and taxation of marijuana platform,” he joked.

That comment drew a measured “OK” from Curry.

(more…)

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Tags: 9th Ward, Ann Curry, brad pitt, environmentalism, gay marriage
Posted Aug 13th 2009 at 2:44 pm in Celebrity News, Media Criticism, News, Politics | 20471458 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/08/13/brad-pitt-mayor-of-new-orleans/Brad+Pitt%3A+Mayor+of+New+Orleans%3F+2009-08-13+21%3A44%3A04Big+Hollywood

Lee Marvin: That Glorious Bastard

Only a tiresome poseur like Quentin Tarantino could think that the Hollywood pretty boys he cast in his soon-to-be released opus The Inglorious Basterds are convincing movie tough guys. Where is Lee Marvin when we need him?

You’ve probably experienced the Basterds publicity blitz.  Brad Pitt looks like he stepped out of a Calvin Klein underwear ad. Folks I know who have been around him say he really is a pleasant and laid-back guy, and these are hardly the characteristics of a beady-eyed killer.  Creepy Eli Roth, taking some time off from directing his degenerate torture movies, is just a leering clown – he looks like he should be squatting in the back of his Ford panel van offering Tootsie Rolls to passing tweens.  And B.J. Novak?  The guy is a hilarious writer and is really funny in The Office , but I’m not buying this cat as the scourge of the Third Reich.

In contrast, Lee Marvin’s tough guy legacy lives on despite the fact that his body rests with thousands of other heroes in Arlington National Cemetery. He earned that right when he was wounded fighting the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific as a Marine private. His Purple Heart is 100% USDA certified proof positive of his prime badassary. Who is the Hollywood tough guy of today who can dare step up to the Lee Marvin plate and take a swing?

Nobody. (more…)

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Tags: academy award, Arlington National Cemetery, B.J. Novak, brad pitt, Cat Ballou
Posted Aug 4th 2009 at 6:55 am in Classic Hollywood, Culture, Film | 197178154 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/kschlichter/2009/08/04/lee-marvin-that-glorious-bastard/Lee+Marvin%3A+That+Glorious+Bastard2009-08-04+13%3A55%3A35Kurt+Schlichter

The Curious Case of Brad’s Vacant Pit

Brad Pitt was recently asked by German magazine Bild if he believed in God. Pitt smiled and answered: “No, no, no!”  Then, asked if his soul was spiritual, he once again said: “No, no, no!” Adding: “I’m probably “20 percent atheist and 80 percent agnostic.” With that, the shrieks of millions of women who dreamed of a storybook church wedding with Mr. Pitt could be heard crying out across the planet.

The comment is sure to cause a few ripples from the man who once played the son of a preacher man in the spiritual A River Runs Through It.  What’s more, Pitt advises there is no use thinking about God or a higher power — we’ll find out when we get there, he says.  Umm, get where Brad?  The Beverly Hills Hotel in the sky?  It never ceases to amaze to hear celebrities speak out about religion – or a lack thereof.  In a business where vainglory is king, perhaps it is not surprising many in Hollywood are said to lack religion.  Que Sera Sera — free country, right?   (more…)

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Tags: angelina jolie, brad pitt, charity, faith, Katrina
Posted Jul 29th 2009 at 7:17 am in Celebrity News, Featured Story, Religion | 191298161 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jmeath/2009/07/29/the-curious-case-of-a-godless-man/The+Curious+Case+of+Brad%27s+Vacant+Pit2009-07-29+14%3A17%3A46Jason+Killian+Meath

The Stoning Of Team Hollywood

The crime is complete. Judgment has been passed. The killing stones are in hand. As per the harsh stoning penal code of Iran’s Islamist thugocracy (for however long that lasts) where the crime took place, my stones are not so big as to kill right away, not so small you can’t call them stones. And I’m winding up like Nolan Ryan. Feel free to pick up a stone of your own. But wait for it!

And let me make this perfectly clear, even if they do say Jehovah!

Sentence must be read before being carried out. And unlike Soraya M., the board members of the Asylum of Motion Picture Airheads and Stooges will deserve every rock that’s thrown their way. I also believe that, in light of events in Iran today, the following commentary will stand out in much starker prominence than it did when I first started reporting on them in early March, when Team Oscar first set off for the Unfriendly Skies of Islamist Iran. (more…)

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Tags: Academy of Motion Picture arts and Sciences, Ahmadinejad, Al Franken, Alireza Davudnejad, Ambush Bay
Posted Jun 19th 2009 at 5:45 pm in Entertainment, News, Politics | 1641062 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/06/19/the-stoning-of-team-hollywood/The+Stoning+Of+Team+Hollywood2009-06-20+00%3A45%3A26John+T.+Simpson

Patriot Sweepstakes: Stallone or Tarantino?

Who will wreak greater havok on the enemies of America, Sylvester Stallone or Quentin Tarantino?

Each has written and is directing an action-laden ensemble piece about a group of misfits battling a foreign dictator.

Stallone flexes, fires and wreaks havok on a South American despot

In Stallone’s case, he has an all-star lineup of B-movie badasses – including Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lungren, Steve Austin and Eric Roberts – playing mercenaries on a mission to overthrow a South American dictator. 

The born-again Stallone has certainly earned his patriot’s stripes with the Rambo and Rocky films.

In a leaked character still from the film, he’s also looking more badass at 62 than most of us look at 22. (On set pics have also been released, one of which is above and the rest of which can be found at Empire.com.) (more…)

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Tags: brad pitt, Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino, Sylvester stallone, The Expendables
Posted Apr 16th 2009 at 1:47 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Military, Video | 1079062 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ttapp/2009/04/16/patriot-sweepstakes-stallone-or-tarantino/Patriot+Sweepstakes%3A+Stallone+or+Tarantino%3F2009-04-16+20%3A47%3A46Tom+Tapp

Adventures in the Scream Trade, Take One

If you’re wondering if I was about to opine on the craft of gut-twisting horror stories, you’d only be half right. I’m actually talking about real life here. As many of you may know from my earlier posts, I first flame-throwered onto the scene here at Big Hollywood about a month ago, on the occasion of Team Oscar’s could-not-be-more-ill-advised taking off for the unfriendly skies of Islamist Iran.

I knew they were going to get punked! They were going to Punkedville! In fact, I was so sure of it, I was the one who broke the story in the US off the French wires to Drudge and Nikki Finke.  One Hollywood Jihadi PR roadside bomb detonated. War Is Hell.

Look at their trip from my POV. I remember the whole balls-to-the-wall anti-Apartheid campaign from the mid-eighties. ‘I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City,’ remember? By the way, wasn’t Little Stevie great in that video? Love him! Point being, if the racist South African apartheid regime was unworthy of cultural exchange, why was the gay-hanging, women-stoning, child-executing, blogger-killing, hostage-taking fascist regime in Iran worthy of a gold-plated Academy PR kiss? (more…)

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Tags: AMPAS, Andrew Breitbart, angelina jolie, Annette Bening, ben stiller
Posted Apr 6th 2009 at 5:58 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment, News, Politics | 9749410 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/04/06/adventures-in-the-scream-trade-take-one/Adventures+in+the+Scream+Trade%2C+Take+One2009-04-06+12%3A58%3A54John+T.+Simpson

China, Sacramento And Hollywood

With 1.3 billion people and the world’s second-largest economy, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) stands an insecure colossus: hyper-sensitive, moody, and quick to deploy diplomatic, economic or military muscle to silence critics of all stripes.  

Of all the forms of influence, the one the Chinese Communist Party wields most effectively is, ironically, money.  Money’s impact can be most clearly seen from Hong Kong to Hollywood and, surprisingly of late, Sacramento. 

The transfer of Hong Kong to mainland Chinese control in 1997 offers a clear case study.  Prior to 1997 and a few years afterward, reporters in Hong Kong would often break stories about official corruption in China, poor living conditions for average Chinese, riots and workers’ protests.  In 2002, Reporters Without Borders started ranking press freedoms worldwide.  Hong Kong rated 18th – the highest level of press freedom in Asia.  Then Chinese conglomerates closely connected with the Chinese Communist Party began buying media outlets in Hong Kong.  Reporters knew that, if they wanted to remain employed, they had to behave themselves by not writing stories critical of the Chinese government.  Press freedoms quickly plunged in Hong Kong, with its free press ranking slipping to 39th in 2005, then 58th in 2006.   (more…)

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Tags: "China", "Kundun", "Red Corner", brad pitt, Chinese Government
Posted Mar 13th 2009 at 11:43 am in Entertainment, Politics | 7903819 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cdevore/2009/03/13/china-sacramento-and-hollywood/China%2C+Sacramento+And+Hollywood2009-03-13+18%3A43%3A23Chuck+DeVore

RAINING CASH IN HOLLYWOOD!: The stock market is down, but the movie business is up 14% over ‘08 and 23% over ‘07!

Hollywood is off to a staggering, record-breaking start in 2009 led by Clint Eastwood’s most successful wide opening ever, a French action import and a chubby guy on a Segway. Hot on the heels of the biggest January in history with over $1 billion in domestic sales, February has exceeded $750M in the US. The industry’s all-time best January followed by the all-time biggest February on the books puts total domestic box office for the year at almost $1.8 billion.

“Everything is working.” That’s what one studio exec told me today. “With the exception of the Jonas Brothers, it seems like almost every release is out-performing expectations.” January 2009 has gone down as the all-time 8th-best month in modern box office history. It started with excellent holiday holdovers. Six movies, technically released in 2008, did major chunks of their business after New Year’s.

(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, adam sandler, alexandre desplat, anthony dod mantle
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 at 12:54 am in Entertainment, News, Steve Mason's Box Office | 7129826 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/03/2009-records/RAINING+CASH+IN+HOLLYWOOD%21%3A+The+stock+market+is+down%2C+but+the+movie+business+is+up+14%25+over+%2708+and+23%25+over+%2707%212009-03-03+08%3A54%3A15Steve+Mason

Final Oscar Predix: SLUMDOG, Rourke, Streep, Ledger, Cruz; BEN BUTTON could win just 2 of 13!

I am forecasting a coronation for Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) at Sunday’s Academy Awards. My final predictions call for Slumdog wins in 8 of the 9 categories it is competing in including Best Picture and Best Director: Danny Boyle. The only place I think it will fail is in the Sound Mixing category where The Dark Knight (Warner Bros) may trump it.

Slumdog Millionaire is about to win the Hollywood's Grand Prize

The “Battle Royale” of the night is Mickey Rouke from The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight) vs. Sean Penn in Milk (Focus) in the Best Actor category. There have been two ties in major categories in Academy Award history. The first was in 1932 when Frederic March in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde shared Best Actor with Wallace Beery for The Champ. (March had one more vote, but in that era, any finish within 3 votes was rules a tie.) Then in 1968, Katherine Hepburn for The Lion In Winter and Barbara Streisand for Funny Girl tied for Best Actress. If there was any justice, Rourke and Penn would share the award. In any other year, either of them would be a lock. Forced to make a pick, I’m going with Rourke.

(more…)

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Tags: a.r. rahman, academy awards, Amy Adams, andrew stanton, anne hathaway
Posted Feb 22nd 2009 at 1:01 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 5711436 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/02/22/final-oscar-pix/Final+Oscar+Predix%3A+SLUMDOG%2C+Rourke%2C+Streep%2C+Ledger%2C+Cruz%3B+BEN+BUTTON+could+win+just+2+of+13%212009-02-22+09%3A01%3A24Steve+Mason

Even if you wanted to see the Best Picture nominees this weekend, you might have trouble finding a theatre!

Tyler Perry’s decidedly un-Oscar Madea Goes to Jail (Lionsgate) is the box office story of Oscar weekend selling a massive $14.65M in opening day tickets with a possible $38M in sales expected for the weekend. But what about the Best Picture nominees, the supposed cool kids on the box office block?

Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) is the odds-on Best Picture winner, and it expanded to about 600 additional playdates this weekend for a total screen count of 2,224. The other four contenders for Hollywood’s biggest prize, however, are on a combined 2,508 screens. That means that they are essentially done with their theatrical engagements in the US (barring a truly shocking upset). Even if you wanted to see the other four nominees, you might have trouble finding them at your local multiplex – especially if you live outside a major city.
(more…)

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Tags: a.r. rahman, academy awards, alexandre desplat, as good as it gets, Bernard Schlink
Posted Feb 21st 2009 at 3:55 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Steve Mason's Box Office | 5696612 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/02/21/oscar-weekend/Even+if+you+wanted+to+see+the+Best+Picture+nominees+this+weekend%2C+you+might+have+trouble+finding+a+theatre%212009-02-21+23%3A55%3A11Steve+Mason

Oscar odds: SLUMDOG, Rourke, Winslet, Cruz are favorites, but Penn, Streep and Tomei are live underdogs!

On Sunday, the Academy Awards will be handed out at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, and there are some clear favorites. Slumdog Millionaire, the feel-good Danny Boyle Mumbai opus made for just $14M, is a heavy favorite to win Best Picture. It’s hard to imagine Slumdog missing out on Hollywood’s biggest prize, having won the Golden Globe, the BAFTA Award and just about everything in between.

But, in the world of gambling, you always want to look for value. What are the films and performances with longer odds that would be worth a wager on Sunday? My purpose here is to establish a betting line for each of the six major categories, and then find the value bet in each category.

(more…)

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Tags: academy awards, alexandre desplat, Amy Adams, amy ryan, angelina jolie
Posted Feb 15th 2009 at 6:29 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 5191848 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/02/15/oscar-odds/Oscar+odds%3A+SLUMDOG%2C+Rourke%2C+Winslet%2C+Cruz+are+favorites%2C+but+Penn%2C+Streep+and+Tomei+are+live+underdogs%212009-02-16+02%3A29%3A27Steve+Mason

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is the toast of the UK, winning 7 BAFTA Awards including Best Picture!

There was not a great deal of drama surrounding this year’s British Academy of Film & Television Arts Awards, commonly known as the BAFTA Awards. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) is a movie with deep roots in the UK. Director Danny Boyle was born in Manchester, England, lead actor Dev Patel is the star of the popular British television series Skins, and the movie is a gigantic hit in the British Isles with an impressive $20.6M (US dollars) in box office for Pathe, since its release there on January 6.

BAFTA Winner Mickey Rourke

The two major uncertainties entering Sunday’s ceremony were whether Kate Winslet, twice-nominated for Best Actress, would split her own vote and miss out on her second BAFTA Award and who would prevail in the Sean Penn-Mickey Rourke battle for Best Actor. Aside from that, it seemed like a Slumdog sweep, and that’s exactly how it played out.

(more…)

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Tags: a.r. rahman, academy awards, alexandre desplat, andrew stanton, anthony dod mantle
Posted Feb 8th 2009 at 2:04 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, News, Steve Mason's Box Office | 4539010 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/02/08/baftas/SLUMDOG+MILLIONAIRE+is+the+toast+of+the+UK%2C+winning+7+BAFTA+Awards+including+Best+Picture%212009-02-08+22%3A04%3A55Steve+Mason

2009 Oscars doomed? – FROST/NIXON, THE READER and MILK are among the 6 weakest grossing Best Picture nominees of the last decade!

There is a phenomenon known as “the Oscar bounce.” When a movie receives Academy Award nominations, especially one of the five coveted Best Picture slots, ticket-buyers generally follow. The Oscar seal of approval used to mean something to the rank-and-file moviegoer, but that seems to have changed.

Only one of this year’s Best Picture nominees has inspired any real passion from the broad public. The almost-certain Best Picture winner is Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), and its devotees, including critics and members of the Academy (not to mention yours truly), have made it a word-of-mouth smash hit. The Danny Boyle-directed feel-good Bollywood fusion movie made for a meager $14M added another $2.05M or so on Friday and is charting a 3-day course for about $7.4M. That will give the Slumdog a $77.4M take, and it could reach $90M-$95M before it’s through in American theatres.

(more…)

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Tags: a.r. rahman, academy awards, alexandre desplat, babel, ben button
Posted Feb 7th 2009 at 10:47 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Reviews, Steve Mason's Box Office, Video | 4505871 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/02/07/oscarboxoffice/2009+Oscars+doomed%3F+-+FROST%2FNIXON%2C+THE+READER+and+MILK+are+among+the+6+weakest+grossing+Best+Picture+nominees+of+the+last+decade%212009-02-08+06%3A47%3A17Steve+Mason

Does Jen sell more tickets than Brad? – HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU easily wins the weekend with $27.4M 3-day!

The Drew Barrymore-produced romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You has made the jump from catch-phrase to self-help book to movie hit. With an all-star cast this classic ‘chick flick” appears to be winning the weekend after posting a spectacular $10.5M in opening day ticket sales. That should mean a 3-day start of $27.4M or so, easily out-pacing holdover Taken (Fox) and three other new wide releases. With this kind of opening, Not That Into You could reach almost $60M by the end of next weekend (a 4-day Presidents/Valentine’s combo), which would forecast a potential $90M in US ticket sales.

The new movie developed by New Line and now released by Warner Bros is based on the book of the same name co-written by former Sex & the City scribes Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo. The line itself has come to be a reassuring fallback for women in the dating scene (and I’m guessing single guys have adopted the mentality as well in the rough-and-tumble world of dating).

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Tags: 3-d, a tale of two sisters, a.r. rahman, aaron eckhart, academy award
Posted Feb 6th 2009 at 11:20 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 4449432 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/02/06/estimates-4/Does+Jen+sell+more+tickets+than+Brad%3F+-+HE%27S+JUST+NOT+THAT+INTO+YOU+easily+wins+the+weekend+with+%2427.4M+3-day%212009-02-07+07%3A20%3A14Steve+Mason

Biggest US opening ever for Luc Besson – TAKEN grabs up 24% Saturday and finishes with $24.6M for Super Bowl weekend; PAUL BLART: MALL COP strong at #2 while THE UNINVITED appears headed for 3rd with a possible $10.5M; Zellweger’s NEW IN TOWN may reach $6.75M opening; Not much of an “Oscar bounce” for THE READER and MILK!

Liam Neeson is officially a full-fledged action star. The Irish-born actor has often played heroes, whether it was Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Schindler’s List, the wise Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace or determined sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in 2005’s biopic Kinsey, Neeson has always had a knack for playing the earnest-but-flawed good guy. In his new movie Taken (Fox), writer/producer Luc Besson and director Pierre Morel have turned him into a Dad with the “mad skills” of a super-spy – think Mike Brady crossed with Jason Bourne.

The result is a well-reviewed (56% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) action film that will help to satisfy blockbuster-hungry audiences waiting for Warner Bros’ Watchmen (due March 6). Taken has scored big on its opening weekend. After grabbing an estimated $9.4M, the movie surged on Saturday to $11.62M (up almost 24% from opening day) and, despite today’s Super Bowl, the film could reach $24.62M according to studio estimates. That will be more than enough to win the Super Bowl 3-day, and positive word-of-mouth could get this one into the $70M-$75M range domestic.

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Tags: a tale of two sisters, a.r. rahman, adam sandler, alexandre desplat, alfred kinsey
Posted Jan 31st 2009 at 2:15 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 3726234 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/01/31/early-estimates/Biggest+US+opening+ever+for+Luc+Besson+-+TAKEN+grabs+up+24%25+Saturday+and+finishes+with+%2424.6M+for+Super+Bowl+weekend%3B+PAUL+BLART%3A+MALL+COP+strong+at+%232+while+THE+UNINVITED+appears+headed+for+3rd+with+a+possible+%2410.5M%3B+Zellweger%27s+NEW+IN+TOWN+may+reach+%246.75M+opening%3B+Not+much+of+an+%22Oscar+bounce%22+for+THE+READER+and+MILK%21++2009-01-31+22%3A15%3A07Steve+Mason

PAUL BLART: MALL COP comes-from-behind for a weekend win with $21.5M; Sony finishes 1-2 with UNDERWORLD at $20.7M; GRAN TORINO adds $16M and will become Eastwood’s #1 grossing movie on Wednesday; No love for INKHEART!

The chubby guy on the Segway rallied for a come-from-behind win over the Beckinsale-less Underworld sequel, but regardless, it was a 1-2 finish for Sony. When I originally predicted that Paul Blart: Mall Cop as the likely weekend winner over the MLK 4-day, some online sites questioned my pick. Even I didn’t expect an opening close to $40M, and now the Kevin James vehicle has surprised again.

The Adam Sandler-produced comedy has broadened its audience, showing real family appeal. That led to stronger Saturday and Sunday matinees for a stellar $21.5M by Monday morning. That gives the movie a 10-day cume of just shy of $65M, which is impressive considering that it was budgeted at just $26M. After success as a supporting star in movies like Hitch ($179.5M cume) and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry ($120M cume), it appears that James can open a movie without the help of Will Smith and Adam Sandler. Mall Cop dipped only 32% from last Friday-thru-Sunday (and that was part of a 4-day weekend, which can often lead to a sharper drop). (more…)

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Tags: a special relationship, a.r. rahman, academy award nominations, adam sandler, albert wolsky
Posted Jan 25th 2009 at 5:55 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 2962930 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/01/25/estimates-3/PAUL+BLART%3A+MALL+COP+comes-from-behind+for+a+weekend+win+with+%2421.5M%3B+Sony+finishes+1-2+with+UNDERWORLD+at+%2420.7M%3B+GRAN+TORINO+adds+%2416M+and+will+become+Eastwood%E2%80%99s+%231+grossing+movie+on+Wednesday%3B+No+love+for+INKHEART%212009-01-26+01%3A55%3A17Steve+Mason

Oscar the Ouch

There are few things more unappealing than the orgy of self-adulation one witnesses during a celebrity awards show.

Yes, the Oscar nominations are here, and America simply can’t afford to stand idly by anymore. Not after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had the audacity to misleadingly claim that Brad Pitt had not only engaged in acting this past year, but that he was among the finest to practice the craft.

Absurdity of such scope is one of the reasons the Oscars continue to lose viewers and hemorrhage influence. Sometimes it seems the academy has a desire to disconnect from the average moviegoer. Last year’s Oscar telecast, accordingly, logged the show’s tiniest audience on record. (more…)

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Tags: brad pitt, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Wahlberg, oscars
Posted Jan 23rd 2009 at 7:18 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment | 2846516 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dharsanyi/2009/01/23/oscar-the-ouch/Oscar+the+Ouch2009-01-23+15%3A18%3A22David+Harsanyi

LOWEST RATED OSCAR TELECAST IN HISTORY?: Snubs of THE DARK KNIGHT, Clint Eastwood and Bruce Springsteen point toward a new ratings nadir for the Oscar show; The five Best Picture nominees have combined to gross only $186M, about what TDK delivered in first 4 days!

Nobody is ever completely satisfied with the Academy Award nominations, but with several key snubs, Oscar voters may have ensured that the 2009 telecast hits an all-time ratings low.

Investor Warren Buffet coined the phrase “skin in the game” to describe a situation where executives use their own money to buy shares in their company. The so-called Oracle of Omaha likes companies where insiders have their own money invested because they work harder, care more and generally are more emotionally invested.

The problem with the Oscars is that voters are nominating films that relatively few people have seen. The five movies nominated for Best Picture this week – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, The Reader and Frost/Nixon – have combined to gross just $186.7M. The Dark Knight passed that box office total early in its fifth day of release. (more…)

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Tags: a.r. rahman, academy awards, Alicia Keyes, Bernard Schlink, Best Picture
Posted Jan 22nd 2009 at 11:09 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 2839775 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/01/22/oscarsnub/LOWEST+RATED+OSCAR+TELECAST+IN+HISTORY%3F%3A+Snubs+of+THE+DARK+KNIGHT%2C+Clint+Eastwood+and+Bruce+Springsteen+point+toward+a+new+ratings+nadir+for+the+Oscar+show%3B+The+five+Best+Picture+nominees+have+combined+to+gross+only+%24186M%2C+about+what+TDK+delivered+in+first+4+days%212009-01-23+07%3A09%3A27Steve+Mason

Warner Bros reaches $1.74 billion domestic surpassing Sony’s record set in 2006!; MARLEY & ME headed for $51.8M 4-Day with BEN BUTTON at $39.1M & BEDTIME STORIES at $38.6M!; REV ROAD with Best PTA of 2008!

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SUNDAY MORNING: Dog lovers everywhere united to make Fox’s Marley & Me the #1 Christmas weekend movie with an expected $51.18M in the Thursday-thru-Sunday period for a Per Theatre Average of $14,888. Pre-opening industry tracking pointed to a clear win for Bedtime Stories (Disney), but it was the lovable lab who finished on top.

As an aside, all of us who read John Grogan’s extraordinarily well-written novel should have seen this coming. The book is a joy, and anyone who has a dog, or has ever had a dog, could easily identify with the struggles and pleasures of having a 4-legged member of the family.

The success of Marley slightly mitigates a disastrous year for Fox. Its year started out well enough riding the huge success of 2007 release Alvin & the Chipmunks into January ($70M of Alvin’s gross landed in this calendar year). The January 18 release of chick-flick 27 Dresses scored for Katherine Heigl ($76.8M in the US), then Jumper was a good solid February hit, topping $80M, followed by the wildly successful Horton Hears a Who ($154.5M domestic). Little did Fox know that when the Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz comedy What Happens in Vegas played solidly to the tune of $80.2M domestic starting in May, it would be its last legit hit until Christmas’ Marley & Me. This is a huge, redemptive win for Fox, and its sentimental tear-jerker of a dog movie could near $100M domestic by Sunday.

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Tags: academy award, adam sandler, adam shankman, Amy Adams, bedtime stories
Posted Dec 25th 2008 at 10:27 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 64412 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2008/12/25/exclusive-christmas/Warner+Bros+reaches+%241.74+billion+domestic+surpassing+Sony%27s+record+set+in+2006%21%3B+MARLEY+%26amp%3B+ME+headed+for+%2451.8M+4-Day+with+BEN+BUTTON+at+%2439.1M+%26amp%3B+BEDTIME+STORIES+at+%2438.6M%21%3B+REV+ROAD+with+Best+PTA+of+2008%212008-12-26+05%3A27%3A38Steve+Mason