BOX OFFICE ANALYSIS

IMDB:

Blame the unseasonably snowy weather in the East. Blame the World Series. Blame Halloween parties. Blame the economy. Box office analysts were doing a little of each to explain the lousy weekend that saw blah openings for three new movies and mostly insipid performances from everything else. The No. 1 film, as expected, turned out to be Paramount/DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots, but its $34-million take fell below most pundits’ predictions of $35-40 million. Twentieth Century Fox’s In Time, starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Siegfried, debuted with $12 million — at the low end of predictions. But FilmDistrict’s The Rum Diary, starring Johnny Depp, tanked with just $5 million — about half what it was expected to earn.

It’s striking that Johnny Depp couldn’t open “Rum Diary” to anything above $5 million.

FOR HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES, A RARE BRIGHT SPOT

LAT:

“Hollywood’s troubled home entertainment business is moving in an unaccustomed direction: Up.

[…]

“In part, the increase reflects a surge in Blu-ray sales, which are expected to reach $1.23 billion for the first three quarters, up from about $1 billion for the same period a year earlier. That puts them on a par with video store rentals, which have been falling, and on-demand revenue, which has grown more slowly.”

CW LEADS WAY INTO AGE OF STREAMING

DHD:

“Within the last couple of weeks, the network was part of two major online distribution deals that take major steps towards resolving both issues. First came the 4-year pact CW’s co-parent companies CBS and Warner Bros. signed with Netflix for streaming previous seasons of the network’s current series. The deal, which analysts estimate could bring CBS and Warner Bros. as much as $1 billion, would help make up for lost syndication revenue because of the serialized nature of the shows. Additionally, the pact doesn’t prevent the studios from pursuing cable syndication deals in the future (not that such deals appear likely.) Then came the Friday’s deal with Hulu, this time made by the CW itself. It will have the episodes of network’s current seasons stream on the Fox-NBC-ABC-owned online hub — right away for subscribers with limited commercials and free for everyone 8 days after the episode’s original airing on the CW with full commercial load.”

Right now, at least with Netflix, it’s extremely difficult to fast-forward through anything, so this would be true if they were to add commercials. If you watch Crackle Streaming, you cannot zip through the commercials. Moreover, if you look at online videos, you are FORCED to suffer through a commercial if it loads prior to the video you want to view.

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Lots of good movies were released in 1997, and hardly any great ones. On the other hand, Will Shortz celebrates 1997 for “Ulee’s Gold.”

The Nominees:

“Titanic” – This may mark the only time that I’ve ever completely agreed with that hopeless douche Peter Travers. If memory serves, he called it the best and worst movie of the year. I thought I would hate it and was only half right. Despite the cringe inducing dialogue and laughable, supposedly subtle social commentary, the movie mostly works.

“The Full Monty” – Cute movie, total fluff. Of course, if it hadn’t been nominated, I would probably think more of it. That’s what the Oscars do, they change our perceptions in often crazy ways. On a side note, the phrase “This year’s ‘Pulp Fiction’” was last-used in 1997, only to be replaced in 1998 with “This year’s ‘The Full Monty.’”

“Good Will Hunting” – Man, did this movie experience a backlash! But then its initial groundswell of support was partially generated by the Weinstein hype machine, which put forth the Horatio Alger-esqe lie that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had come out of nowhere to write and star in this little movie — Weinstein practically begged people to go see it — if you don’t see it, Damon and Affleck will starve! Okay, Harvey never said that. And on the eve of the Oscars, another swirling lie: pssst! Did you hear? William Goldman really wrote it. I still like the movie, if for no other reason than it ushered in a new genre of Boston-set movies with white trash characters. It’s still refreshing to this very day to see white trash characters that aren’t from the South. (more…)

Not from the Onion:

“Top kill” didn’t stop the Gulf oil spill. How about something “titanic”?

Federal officials are hoping film director James Cameron can help them come up with ideas on how to stop the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The “Avatar” and “Titanic” director was among a group of scientists and other experts who met Tuesday with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies for a brainstorming session on stopping the massive oil leak.

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Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me three times, and I’m probably in on the scam with you – or I am a fool.

James Cameron’s next project may well be a film about Hiroshima.  Sure, after the powerful show of solidarity he gave to our troops in the largely Oscar-free Avatar, you are probably thinking, “Hey, this will be a fair-minded project that shows that dropping the A-Bomb on Japan was a tough but necessary decision which ended up saving hundreds of thousands of American lives – and probably millions of Japanese.”

Pellegrino and Cameron

Surprise!  Instead, it promises to not only be another round of America-bashing but, moreover, one based on the work of a gentleman with a demonstrated track record of fraud and distortion.  Cameron’s long-time pal, Dr. Charles Pellegrino, wrote The Last Train from Hiroshima, the book that Cameron wants to turn into a movie.  It’s a shattering tale of horror told in part from the point of view of an American flyer who deeply regrets his participation.  There’s just one little problem with this important new addition to the historical canon – it seems to have been largely made up by the good doctor.  But, of course, Cameron would not be the King of the World if he let a little thing like rampant fraud get in the way of some gratuitous America-bashing.

So who is Charles Pellegrino - and I use the title “Doctor” here loosely, since this clown’s academic credentials are on par with Dr. Dre’s?   Well, for one thing he does not appear to be a PhD holder from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, as he has claimed.  At least, that was the finding of a reporter from The Telegraph.  Those wacky Brit newspapers and their reporters – going out and actually investigating and reporting instead of acting as unofficial stenographers for their favorite leftist subjects can turn up the darndest things!   (more…)

When the Academy Award nominations were announced, there were ten nominees for best picture (above the usual five) and the category included both small movies and large commercial successes. The biggest movie nominated in that enlarged category was “Avatar,” the highest grossing movie of all time. Even though the James Cameron movie is not the best movie nominated (it’s actually not a good movie, either), its box-office gross and several other factors give it a real chance of winning the best picture Oscar. 

In that race, many people see the competition coming down to “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker,” the two movies with nine nominations each. According to the LA Times, “Over the last 20 years, the movie with the most Academy Award nominations has won best picture 15 times.” Now that “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” have received the same number of nominations, the award could go to either without much surprise. Although “The Hurt Locker” seems to be the front-runner for critics based off high-profile previous award shows, ”Avatar” still has a lot going for it.

Firstly, the special effects in the movie are fantastic. Few can deny that the visual aspects of the film are great and stand out as one, if not the, best thing about the movie. Secondly, many film critics have enjoyed the film and many in the industry have noted their support of this film giving this movie critical backing, both inside and outside of Hollywood. The film also has a liberal message about preserving the environment at all costs that some voting members could show appreciation for by voting for it.  (more…)

That genius from Milwaukee with the creepy basement who put the final stake in the heart of “The Phantom Menace” now turns to “Avatar.”

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It’s hard to know what to make of a rich Hollywood mogul who announces that he “believe[s] in eco-terrorism” yet has a carbon footprint of his own that does to the environment what Godzilla did to Bambi.  As Pam Meister has pointed out here at Big Hollywood, it looks as though Cameron lives like a modern day rajah at his multi-mansion compound in Malibu and presides over an array of sprawling production facilities.  The greenest thing about this guy is the cash in his vault.

Now, it’s possible that his comment to Entertainment Weekly was just some off-the-cuff nonsense that just sort of slipped out.  That’s understandable.  Everyone says something mind-numbingly stupid once in a while.  Just ask Senator Coakley (D-MA).

You want to give the benefit of the doubt to the guy who, despite the freakin’ stupid  Avatar, made great movies like The Terminator, Aliens, True Lies, Titanic and, of course, the moving Piranha 2: The Spawning.  The guy has what the hep kids today call “mad skillz.”  We really want his unbelievably dumb statement to be just an unbelievably dumb statement. (more…)

It’s been a year since George W. Bush left office.  Do you miss him yet?  

I do.  

For all his foibles – utter inability to explain his policies to the American public, bending over backwards for bipartisanship with Democrats, foolish bailouts – Bush was a president who understood the battle between good and evil in our current war on Islamofascism, even if he wouldn’t call the war by its proper name. 

And Bush’s clarity had a measurable impact on our film culture.  Leaving aside the obvious mirror images (the success of 24 or Taken, e.g.), the Bush Administration saw a rash of huge blockbusters dealing with the dichotomy between good and evil, and the necessity of fighting evil with every resource at our disposal.  

The single top earner of the Bush Administration was The Dark Knight, a very thinly veiled defense of Bush tactics in the war on terror.  No better speech on the motivation for terror can be found in movies than Michael Caine’s assertion as Alfred that “some people just want to watch the world burn.”   (more…)

Just when you think certain celebrities couldn’t get any more obnoxious, we are treated to an interview with last night’s Golden Globe winner, James “I’m the King of the World” Cameron in Entertainment Weekly. On page 35 of the latest edition of the print version, Cameron responds to the following criticism of his latest film “Avatar”:

EW: “Avatar” is the perfect eco-terrorism recruiting tool.”

JC: Good, good. I like that one. I consider that a positive review. I believe in ecoterrorism.”

Apparently, he said this in all seriousness.

For those of you who do not know what eco terrorism is, meet the people of ELF. No, not the blue creatures in “Avatar,” but the people of the Earth Liberation Front.  According to Wikipedia, ELF is the collective name for anonymous, autonomous individuals who use “economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment.” In other words, they burn down buildings and engage in other destructive activities under the cover of darkness because they believe we should all still be living in caves and subsisting on roots and berries. (more…)

Not to go an analogy too far, but Sarah Palin seems to be taking a page from the Hollywood playbook of George Lucas.  She has just completed her own introductory trilogy, and it was an astonishing success.  

First, she was a fantastically successful conservative governor lurking beneath the mainstream media’s radar.  Next, she was a vice-presidential candidate who, even though she lost, still did more to electrify the base than the headliner.  Third, she has now drawn the curtain on her post-election career as a sitting governor, a period that saw her deftly turn the tables on mainstream haters like David Letterman.   Like “Star Wars,” she’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but her fans are rabid and chomping at the bit for the next installments.  And as to these future installments, the question is whether the next step is going to be “The Phantom Menace” or something that doesn’t suck. (more…)

James Cameron, Oscar-winning director of “Titanic” and self-proclaimed “King of the World” has found a new planet to conquer.

His next picture is “Avatar,” due in December. It’s the story of an ex-marine who is sent to settle and exploit an incredibly bio-diverse planet and ends up leading its indigenous inhabitants in a fight for survival.

(Leaked supposed early concept drawings may hint at why the marine feels attracted to the cause – or may just represent a fanboy’s fantasy.) (more…)

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.
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