FilmCinemaMovie

Hollywood Needs Freshness

Here is the list of the big summer Blocbusters this year:

Batman Begings, Star Wars Episode III, Madagascar, Mr & Mrs Smith, War of the Worlds, Fantastic Four, The Longest Yard, Charlie Wonka, Cinderella Man.

According to Ronald Grover, who writes a weekly column on BusinessWeek Online Hollywood Needs to Yell Cut! He says that he is tired of lame sequels and remakes and Hollywoood needs to invigorate box-office receipts with originality and maturity.

Point in Fact:  Hollywood is facing a serious slump.   Week after week, new figures come out about how tickets sales have decreased, lowest level of tix sold since 2000, blah, blah, blah..

Even after all the summer blockbusters have been shown they probably wont be able to redeem the box office this year"  I wonder? how much of the total box office sales amount for summer ticket sales?  How about the fall? what if a movie comes out then that can make $300mill, I mean why do moviegoers like to attend movies during the summer?Because of free air conditioner? I dont think so,, because it's too bright out and they need to escape to somewhere dark? maybe not Because there is nothing else to do during the summer? probably not. People have more free time? maybe

Maybe Hollywood should stop obsessing on making all their money during the summer months and focus on the fall season instead. Let me look into what fall movies are in for store and I'll get back to you, on which have potential or not.

But Mr. Grover also has some suggestions to solve the slump:

1) Release DVDs much earlier

WHich brings to mind, is the slump caused by peoples refusal to get out of their homes and invest maybe 1hour 1/2 in driving, buying popcorn, finding parking, etc to get to a movie house.  Why should they when they have a big screen tv, with surround sound and the comfort of their own home?

There must be other reasons as well, how about sitting next to someone who talks during the movie, or a woman who for some reason takes her shirt off, or seating next to someone who left theyre baby there, and only comes back after the end of the movie? THose are some reasons that would drive anyone away.

How about the actual movie going experience itself, seats and a big screen...Boring!!it's been like that since The Lumier Brothers started showing movies in Paris,,,, I know, I know there have been experiments of trying different things and they have failed..but hey let's try something new for once....how about, revolving chairs? or having tomatoes under your chair if the movie is really bad so you can throw it at the screen?

2)Cut way back on the sequels, tv Remakes and copycats.

  Yes thats true, although people like to see what they know. I Think. THe possibilities on the screen are endless and they can't come up with original ideas????It baffles the mind....

3) Look at your audience

   Ticket buyers are aging, Duh!! Everyone is aging. It's true i'm aging too, everyday i'm a day    older.  But he gave some fancy numbers:  they make up 43% of the theater going populations according to some fancy study by the fancy MPAA

Well well, i'm going to start talking to people 55 and older and asking them on their movie watching habits and preferences...they must have seen thousandths of movies..all the classics, my favorites you know..and i'm just going to ask them what they want to see.

Wax Records

Hey Y'all now, Jolly Friday...About 4 weeks from now "House of Wax" Warner Bros, will  release a remake of the 1953 horror classic, starring, your favorite  naked heiress Paris Hilton.  What is interesting about it, is that if you visit their website you will have a chance to check out: "The Paris Hilton Podcast -- Countdown to House of Wax," beginning on April 29. Join Paris and friends as she shops, parties, poses and publicizes in the days leading up to the May 6 opening of House of Wax.

If you are still not sure what podcasting is, checkout the Wikipedia definition. That's cool right, no I mean that's HOT.

Wanted:Host

There it is, somebody In LA was seen drivin a Lamborghini with somethin in ther hood as an ornament, can you guess what? A shiny Oscar statuette. What a way to brag...wasnt it enough that 42 million viewers tuned in to watch you receive it, do you have to drive around for the whole world to see it?

In case you are wondering about next years ceremony, a search for next year's host is happening, from the Associated Press find out how and who will have their turn at turning in 18-34year olds, to watch..

Bill Clinton should turn Hollywood!

Looking Ahead

Hey its cool, you can plan your month accordingly here....you figure there are 720 hours in April...you work 160hours, sleep 240 hours and the rest of the time you can just watch movies...

5       Pulling Strings: Violinists on Film

6       10th Annual Gen Art Film Fest

7        New Faces of Sweedish Cinema

          April 1-7

8       B-Movie Film Festival

9        Home Insecurity

10       In Between: "Moving On"

          A film by Jonas Mekas

11       Kung Fu Hustle

12       The Upside of Anger

13       The Ballad of Jack and Rose

14       Look at Me

15        Head On

16      El Barrio Then and Now through 

         Literature: Every Child is Born a Poet

17      Rare Gems:  "The White Tiger" & "Dhulip Diamond"

18       Gala Tribute to Dustin Hoffman

19        The Kitchen Presents:  Alter Ego

20        Candid Cameras:  Real Life on Film

21        Tribeca Film Fetival Began two days ago...

22       Collective: Unconscious Lower West Side Film Festival

23       Tri

24       Tri

25       Tri

26       Tri

27       Tri

28       Tri

29        Tri

30         Tri

El Papa

In tribute to the Pope John Paul II, may he rest in peace, I have linked an article from the Christian Science Monitor about the current state of Cinema owners and how they do business.  Despite your religious beliefs, put it all aside for a second and think of the many great things this one person tried to do. I was talking to someone earlier who told me that if people listened to all the advice the pope has written over the years, the world would be a much better place.

I guess the article was inspired by a convention that took place the last week of March, National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) convened in Las Vegas.

We the public are mostly concerned about the type of movies theater plays, how expensive popcorn is and sometimes about the lenght of pre-show ads. This article touches on the balance between the bottom line against the moviegoers satisfaction..and ulitmately determine the quality of the movie going experience.

Check out the new developments:

To fight the high prices of concession stand food theater owners have put into place self service concession stands. "It lets people get their own popcorn and soda, it saves them money and we can still make a profit"

Check out the Charts:

WHO GETS A CUT:   

Studios get 90% on Opening Week

Owners get 10% on Opening Week

Second Week:     

Theater owners percentage increases by

about 10% each week the movie plays

COST OF RUNNING A MOVIE THEATER

TOTAL NUMBER UF U.S. MOVIE SCREENS:

                                 36,652

THEATER POPCOR PROFIT MARGINS

CONCESSION SALES

Other topics:

Theater owners complain they dont make much at the box office because of the pressure to put in new movie almost each week, it makes it impossible to reap more than 10% of the ticket profits.

Conservative family oriented audiences....theater owners have a problem turning down a hit film with offensive language and violence.

A Producer

Once every so often...maybe in Spring... you will find on this weblog an article profiling someone who you might like to know about..Today's featured player is Christine Vachon, who is head of the production company Killer Films and has produced some of the most thought astonishing, revelatory and scandalous(depending on who's watching) independent films of the last decade.  Here is an article published on The Austin Chronicle.  She was in Austin supervising production of Every Word Is True, a movie about Truman Capote and the period during which he wrote In Cold Blood. She was also there to accept South by SouthWest Film's invitation to be the subject of its retrospective this year.  Here is an interesting quote from that article for all you interested parties/filmmakers:

"That's what it comes down to. If a first-timer has a vision, I happily work with them. If they don't ... that's a problem whether they're a first-timer or a 10th-timer. It's all about really being able to construct a movie around a very strong vision."

In case you aer around exactly 30 days form now one day ahead:

Christine  Vachon will be part of a panel discussion about the role filmmakers have in sending responsible messages  to an unknowing public

Be There to look at all the pretty pictures at Tribeca

Poetry oetry etry try ry y

Cool Event Alert, Cool Event Alert!

Poetry and the Creative Mind

Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 6:30 p.m

Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City

Even though it is a literary event, you should go there to find out how you can incorporate poetry into your films, scripts, ideas, etc.

Medium Cool

As part of the Adult School of Montclair I got a chance to see a sneak preview of "Tell Them Who You Are" Mark Wexler. It is the story of  legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler as told through the eyes of his son. He is the director of the film although if you watch the flm you will  realize very quickly Mr. Wexler is someone who doesn't like to be directed, much more to be directed by his son.( I mean can you really tell your father, dad, pops, pa, what to do? I dont think you should)

IMHO this documentary should be required viewing for any up and coming documentary filmmakers, I wanted to make so many notes, but I know that if I did I would have missed parts, and this is the type of film that you dont want to miss at all.

It should really be required viewing for every single American as well. One of the main themes of the movie is freedom of speech, which filmmakers have a free pass to express.(Although I read somewhere that the Pentagon has set up shop in Hollywood...) One of the recurring themes is freedom of expression, that is what it is about, to document what happens, what really happens. Haskell Wexler tried to do that in every single film that he was involved with working alongside Elia Kasan, Milos Forman, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Mike Nichols.

It also brought something to light..I'm not someone who is an expert on film, I try to but i'm not. One thing I never knew was how much of the cinematographers vision goes into the film. It really takes a true artist to capture a moving image that will be remembered for generations to come.

Watch this movie as soon as it comes out. It will open on May 7 in Chicago(Fly to Chicago if you have the means to, it's a beautiful city this time of the year) Other wise it will be at a theater near you on May 15

Get Excited for this Films, Ok?

It's that time of the year again...you hear the beeps go off?

The Directors are up to some good...here are some news(ok if you already knew this it might not be news to you but it's news to me, know it all) from some Directors who make great films:

Michel Gondry is teaming up with Dave Chappelle for an awesome project based on an original idea by Chappelle inspired by Wattstax, a seven hour, non-stop musical event that took place at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1972, hosted by Richard Pryor.

Gus Van Sant Has Time for New Line

Gus Van Sant is in negotiations to direct "The Time Traveler's Wife" for New Line Cinema. Written by Audrey Niffeneger,the book is a loose retelling of "The Odyssy" The story centers on a man with a time-traveling gene that allows him to appear and reappear to his true love at different points in her life.

Martin Scorsese's "The Departed"

The story, set in Boston centers on a gangster, who infiltrates the police department, and a cop, who infiltrates the gangs.  The two find out that a mole is in each organization and race to find out each other's identity.

Mike Judge futuristice tale "3001"

500 years into the future a man discovers that society has gone completely downhill to where everybody eats the same junk food and speaks a mix of slang and hillbilly

(FUlL Disclosure:Most Articles where copied exactly word for word)

Loosey Goosey Nature

No one really thinks about trailers, they are just there as part of the moviegoing experience.  Some are good and some are bad.  Odds are that most you can't remember.

A new trailer available on the "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" site(Trailer 3) offers  an ironic take on the business of trailers. It's funny, you might like it; Someone with the typical trailer voice says

" Movie trailers are designed to give you an idea of the movie in question in a very short span of time" he goes on to sarcastically mention fantastic explosions, women in bikinis, villains, physical violence, promise of true love, dolphins?"

That's a funny and entertaining take at trailers, check out an article from  The Seattle Times where the writer goes on to explain the politics and dealmaking between studio exec's and exhibitors: the article is about who decides which trailer will be placed before a movie? Where is the only proven place where ads are guaranteed to reach moviegoers? Where is the most coveted spot for a trailer?What are some backdoor ways in which studios reward theater chains for playing their trailers?

Finally check out the following trailer...it's fantastic