James Mangold was responsible for her Oscar. She could not have done it alone.

Ok, let's talk film. Well I am shocked and stunned. I am surprised. And I have to stand corrected on my prediction of the weekend box office. I predicted Wall E would shatter the competition. It did not. Wanted with Angelina Jolie raked in 51 million as compared to Wall E's 62 Million. Crazy. But this is really not about my embarrassment, this is about Hollywood being thrown into a sea storm. I will tell you what is really going on and I will tell you what Hollywood will see.

Here's the rub. Here is the X factor. Here is the crazy thing that is keeping Hollywood execs scratching their heads. Wanted is rated R. Yes R! So what business does it have pulling in 51 mil! The execs are torturing themselves trying to figure out what happened. Why you say? Well, let's go back to May 30th. And if you remember another R rated film made 51 million and that was considered to be record breaking. On the weekend of May 30th, it was so groundbreaking that this particular film made over 50 mil that Hollywood completely shifted its gears from completely focusing on the main demo of 15-35 to changing aim to the female demo of 18-65, or more. Sex and the City was the film that changed the greenlight schedule for some studios.

After Sex and the City made all that money last month, Hollywood thought that the audience out there was just too savvy for the normal big bang action flick. Well as it turns out this last weekend, the main demo showed back up for a run of the mill, stylized action flick. Now this got me confused all day. I too scratched my head as to why this film made so much money, that I and a lot of studio execs could not figure out. Well it comes to this.

I hate to admit it, but Angelina Jolie is a huge movie star. She was the draw for the weekend. I don't see it. I cannot see why she is popular. I don't think she is a good actress, I don't thing she is that pretty. I don't. Sorry. Some people who read this may stop reading forever by learning that I do not like Jolie. I think her face is expressionless and pouty and it does not do it for me. I don't think I have ever seen an honest expression has ever left her face. Sure, I know what you are gonna say. Girl, Interrupted was wonderful, she was wonderful. Let me remind you that James Mangold directed that film and he has a knack for working with actresses. He also directed Walk The Line and helped Reese get her Oscar. So it was not all Jolie's doing for that award.

So what makes her popular? Well, most people out there, the majority of people, think she is amazingly beautiful. I don't see it. I can't see it. Its not going to sink into me. Yet, she was the draw of the weekend. The film get good reviews also. It was hyped up and marketed to the nth degree. And that was it. The main demo showed up. Now I think Hollywood can look at this two ways. They can say "Hey, the main demo is still out there, they still want stylized, action." Even though this entire idea I thought was left in the late 90's.

Or they can say, we have both demos out there. I think Hollywood will ignore all the logic I provided and think that marketing and big name stars are the key to its success. Because that's what it really came down to. We as an audience gave Hollywood back its confidence in what it has been doing for decades, hiring big name stars in a big budget action flick.

You might even say that all that groundbreaking work that SATC did was thwarted by Wanted this weekend. And we as an audience gave it to them. We said to Hollywood this weekend, that it is ok to cheat us. You can just throw a big star out there in a big budget film and we will still come running. Well this is sad my film fans. We had Hollywood on its toes when we demanded better film. Today Hollywood sits back and relaxes again. And we gave it to them. Until Tomorrow, Let's talk film.

It's gonna be wonderful and it's gonna make a lot of money this weekend.

Ok, let's talk film. Let's begin this blog with a excerpt from Popular Mechanics. They have an article on what I have been wanting to talk about all week. The article is titled "Why Pixar is the Apple of Hollywood". In my translation, the article should read, why everyone hates Pixar. I think it is simply because they have found a way to manufacture Lightning in a bottle. Now maybe I am giving them too much credit, cause everyone knows you cannot manufacture LIB. But, you have to admit that Pixar comes close. If anyone could be accused of manufacturing LIB, it would be Pixar standing accused.

Well before I ramble on, here is the quote. Edwin Catmull, the co founder of Pixar talks to PM and says this "We have a style for the way the creative works which is unique within the industry. The Pixar films aren't like the films from the other studios, and it's a consequence of the way we approach it," Catmull says. "The underlying philosophy always was, you hire people who are smarter than you are, you do things that are challenging and risky, and you don't try to over-manage things."

Now let's dive into this before I ramble again. If you look at the true internal mission statement of any Hollywood exec, this is not their approach. Real execs at Warner and Paramount, etc. do not think like this. Why? Because Hollywood is a magical place. It is place of illusion and make believe. Let's look at the old westerns in Hollywood. I am talking about the old John Wayne westerns where the early settlers lived in those wooded houses. Those houses are facades. They only had one side to them. But the camera angles made you believe that they were three dimensional.

The Hollywood Execs...

You see Hollywood execs think they are three dimensional because they are in Hollywood. They are not. Execs are Marketing and Accounting majors who are one dimensional. Yet, because they are shrouded by lights and cameras around them, they think they too are creative. They are not, FilmFans. They are not talented and the good thing about one of them, Steve Jobs, the owner of Apple and Pixar knows he doesn't have any in depth talent when it comes to films. So he does what he does best, he hires the right people to do the job and takes a back seat. It's an amazing thing I know.

But you have these other execs like Gale Ann Hurd, who think they have talent like James Cameron or Andrew Stanton of Pixar. This is what is killing Hollywood. These executives who think they know it all. They think they know it all because they live in a fairy tale land. They see the scripts come in and they want to change stuff based on a whim. It's insane. If you took all the execs out of Hollywood and let Spielberg and Jobs run the whole town, you would see nothing but good film. But as long as we have millions of dollars up for grabs in Hollywood, you will always see facades in expensive suits trying to be Hollywood players. But that is not you, I know that. You are a smart Hollywood player who knows where the talent is. You know your own limitations and you listen carefully to people's ideas. You're the Hollywood player who put together great ideas whether they get green lit or not, because you won't sell out to have your name on the big screen, just to have no one really see it cause after the film is over, people are looking at their cell phones once again and not the screen.



So why is Pixar so successful and everyone else is not. They are the same breathing, feeling, loving, humans as we are? What makes them so special. Let's use another analogy, metaphor, what have you. Ok Let's pretend the 2008, Newly greenlighted schedule, is like the school science fair. The different students in this fair represent the major studios. They are all there. They are all making projects for the science fair. Ok well there is a formula for this. Most studios would look and see what projects have won in the past. They would make their decisions based on that. The Model of the nine planets won three years in a row, let's make that. The other studios will interview tens of kids and see what they would like them to make for the science project, (ie Focus Groups). Those are what the other studios would do. Pixar would read the science book and find out what inspires them.

Mind you they also don't have to pump out seven films a year, they only do one a year, but it's a working formula. I honestly with all my heart believe that only five films should come out every year and they all should be excellent. Ha Ha, sorry, perfect world syndrome here. But we don't have that. Pixar has that luxury. Pixar takes the time and fully develops the story with people who have talent. I am not saying that Mr. Jobs doesn't have any talent, he just know people who are better than he. They storyboard and computer animate. They watch it over and over again, until they get it right.

And guess what happens? They get it right. In other studios, they hire script writers who pump out a story in three months. a cheap, novice director fresh off some stylized action movie (ie Transporter, Underworld, though Die hard 4 was good)and hire young, big name actors. That's what they bring to the screen or the proverbial science fair. Pixar is the science student that takes its time and thinks of a a new idea for the fair and spins idea around till it is perfect.

Well this Weekend Pixar will demolish all competition. Wanted, Hancock, whatever it is. Any other film besides Wall E will suffer. Pixar dominates any opening weekend because its worth the money and we as an audience like to watch a Pixar film because it will be something we haven't seen before. In other words it will be the opposite of the last hour of Incredible Hulk, to where we have seen that all before. Even the climax of Iron Man wasn't that original.

Future Warner Bros. Executive

Wanted, Hancock, all things we have seen before. You think Hollywood would take a hint or two from Pixar. Most of Hollywood is very happy with handing in C or D work to the Science Fair. Until Monday! Let's talk film!

Lenny and Squiggy say,"Yowser Wowser, hard fists for trilogies!"

Ok, let's talk film. Wow. That blog was en fuego yesterday. It was hot. It was soooo hot, it burned my eyes to read it. It was a wowser. Yes I say wowser. I was pleased with how well written, insightful, and brilliant it was. If you haven't read it please do, as Ferris Bueller says, "it was so choice." Anyway, this is my site and I love to toot my own horn in my site. In person, you know I am subtle. Ok, don't laugh, I am a LITTLE subtle.

So moving along, Slashfilm dot com reports that a Kung Fu Panda is going sequel. This comes with absolutely no shock to anyone. I will even do you one better. Dreamworks is not planning a sequel, they are without a shred of doubt planning a trilogy. It's all about the trilogy these days. Why have one, when you can get two. Peter Jackson started the Hollywood necessity of the trilogy. Lord of the Rings brought the trilogy to iconic status. Now there is no sequel, there is only a trilogy. Trilogies rule. I could care less, they just need to be good.

The third film has usually been subpar in film. Shrek 3 and Spider Man 3 were not as good. But, who cares! If the first two were great, then you can easily skimp on the third film. Why not! Why not save money on the third film and make it worse than the others?! It makes perfect sense! I am glad I just thought of this. Just bare with my sarcasm here for a second, because I am half serious here. If you have a great product like Shrek or Spider man and you get the audience excited about the third film, then serve it up being not as good.

If you as an exec do that. If you make the third film worse than the other two, then you have two things going for you. You have ONE, Instant success. Let's throw Pirates 3 into there too. It wasn't as good either. Yet, it doesn't matter if you have a great third film or not. It's the new Box Office Draw. The third film of the trilogy is the new first film of an all star cast OF a film in the 80's. In Hollywood, I am telling you right now, if you don't already know what color the sky is in Hollwood, the color is trilogy. All about getting to the third film. ALSO, you have something else going on here. Take a look at this amazing right on the money point. If the third film does suck, which they may do intentionally.

You know, I believe they may do this intentionally. WHY? Why would they make the third film subpar intentionally? I am glad you asked. You have to remember these execs are Marketing Majors. They are expert bean counters. They know how to stretch a dollar. So here goes, the Hollywood Trilogy theory. IF, listen now, IF you make the third film subpar, you can make a FOUTH one. Yes! You can tell the audience, well sorry about that crappy third. Sorry about the 350 million dollars it made, just to be not as good as the other two before it, but were are going to give you a forth one! And with this one, well...this film will be the one we intended. This FORTH one is the real third. So give us another 350 million. I mean we have the first two where great. Trust us with a FORTH. Don't believe me? Shrek Goes Forth and Spider Man 4 are in the works.

Hollywood Execs really do plot this. You better believe it. Remember they think we are stupid. Well, I am here to tell you the truth and confirm your feelings about how execs think you are stupid. I am here to tell you that you are not stupid. I am here for you to tell how how little they think of you. I am here to tell you how little they actually care about the film they make.
Anyway, Kung Fu Panda is headed to trilogyville. Don't settle for the sequel talk. It's all about the trilogy, I guarantee it!

And if the film your just had success with can't do a sequel, AKA everyone dies, you do a prequel! A ("let's cash in") Begins! I hope Christin Bale is available. What don't believe me? As I write this, I read that a 300 prequel is in the works and Hellboy 3 is getting ready to fit into Del Toro's hellish schedule. Yes filmFans I am right about this. But, it's really not that hard to think like them. Until Tomorrow, Let's talk film!

Rose from the hot flames of Spider Man

...And her too

Okay, let's talk film. LA times has an article by the compassionate, insightful Rachel Abramowitz today that tells us that we are into Superhero movies now because of the troubled times we live in. She informs us that we need a hero to watch on the screen in times of economic trouble and well in what she believes is bad leadership in the presidency. Now, this is a political issue. We don't do politics on this site. Plus I am not a politician, so I am not going to take on that role of a politician. But as a savvy Hollywood player, I can say that Ms. Abramowitz's well structured article is nothing more than a lousy anecdote. It is a water cooler diatribe the LA times loves to publish. Well I can't really talk about that article like I want to.

Like I said this is not a political site. This is a film education site. If you know a lot about film, this is your site. If you know all your actors and directors, this is your site. If you want an edge to cut through the BS of Hollywood articles on other sites or if you like to bag on overpaid Hollywood studio executives, this is your site. So, having written that, I can safely say as a Hollywood player, that the article which is linked here. is political but I am here to tear the politics away from it. Please read it if you will. I understand your opinion is not my opinion and vise versa. I will give you my opinions that are not politically charged. But I can easily separate the politics of this article from the truth, because when you strip down the reasons why we watch superhero films, it has nothing to do with politics. Ms. Abromowitz is fusing politics

Why do we go watch Superhero movies? Well lets take the main excerpt for analysis here. "WHILE I believe in hope and change, I know some cynics (mostly die-hard Hillary Clinton supporters) who think Barack Obama taps into the same collective yearning as superheroes. He might as well be called Obama-man, political wonder boy, able to leap giant deficits in a single bound, vanquish scores of angry Iraqis merely by batting his doe eyes.

Coming soon from Warner Bros.

Obama-man has no past. Like all caped crusaders, he is a mysterious cipher, and yet a reassuring figure, like Superman or Spider-Man. And you all know that beautiful, lanky Michelle Obama would look great in her own spandex. Personally, I have more confidence in Obama, and I'd just like to say, what's the alternative? John McCain as the Incredible Hulk?"

Unbelievable huh. I will debunk this article in less than three sentences. Here they are: Two reasons and they have nothing to do with Obama in spandex I assure you, Ms. Abromowitz is that Hollywood is still reeling in the fish from Spider Man 2002. (Well, the whole trilogy for that matter,) AND TWO, big explosive action movies appeal to the main demo That Hollywood has always been about pleasing since Star Wars in 1977. AND the THIRD AND FINAL SENTENCE, The film release schedule is made two to three years in advance, therefore we as a media induced society didn't even know about Obama then.

Okay now lets dissect this even more. I know, I hope you're as excited as I am. When Spider Man was released in 2002 and it did over 70 mil in it's opening weekend then, went on to gross 314 Mil overall in domestic sales, it lit the fire under everyone's butt to rush more superhero movies to the screen. That was the big to do at the time. Superheros got their high five and pat on the butt to return to the big screen. Yet, he schedule wasn't set yet, they need to plan, film (I know that annoying factor for execs, and release films in the near future. I will break this down even further.

Batman in 1990 was a huge hit for Warner and DC. However the sequels suffered. Batman Returns was very sub par and by the time Batman Forever hit the screens in 94, Hollywood lost it's superhero audience. They lost us so much in fact there was only a trickle of superhero films in the late 90's. You had Judge Dredd in 95, the whole Teenage Mutant Turtle thing and Mystery Men in 99. Keep in mind these for mentioned comic movies were all DC comics. SO Marvel saw the drought. They saw the failed attempts by DC to produce good comic movies. So in light of these failures, in around 1995, they green light Blade, Spider Man and X Men.

This is the time that Clinton was in office. According to those times, the economy went bad when Bush took office. So the new Superhero Genre was green lighted during the Clinton Administration when things were GOOD in the economy and in the presidency. So how could know the future? They can't that's the thing! How can Hollywood be on the cutting edge and release Superhero films to be something we can look up to and escape to when those times didn't exist yet? I am going to continue that soon.

Now we all know Hollywood is an animal that "Has whatever she's having". They don't order anything original or make anything new on their own. There has to be someone who make it big with a genre first, then everyone can jump into it. In the 90's there were only a small handful of superhero movies because Batman was winding down. So, Hollywood said, forget this. They wanted to forget the whole genre. If you remember the 90's focused on realistic action films like Die Hard, Fugitive, Lethal Weapon, Pulp Fiction. Titanic and Goodfellas were 90's. During that decade film focused on realism. Hollywood resurrected the teen film beginning with Clueless. Not Another Teen Movie! HELLLLOOOO!

Hollywood was still rehashing Pulp Fiction and teen prom comedies. So By the time Not Another Teen Movie was released they were backing away from realism and needed something else. Well in 2002 they got their something else, Spider Man, which was green lighted in 2000, made huge money. The other two comics, Blade and X-Men were in demand for a sequel. Then, Hollywood went superhero crazy. Here is the list of superhero films that were green lighted in 2002 and 2003.

Catwoman released in 2004
Constantine 2005
Daredevil 2003
Electra 2005
Fantastic Four 2004
Hellboy 2004
Hulk 2003
Punisher 2004
Sin City 2005
X Men 2 2003
Spider Man 2 2004

Yes after Spider Man's release and only after its release, did the world explode in superhero frenzy. Sure the frenzy did happen after 9/11, YET, Hollywood follows what does well. So you can't really factor in 9/11 when Spider Man was green lighted before 9/11.

So now with IN-President incumbent hard times, according to majority thinking and Ms. Abramowitz, we apparently want to view superheroes in film to escape. Well we as an audience watch what's out there. We, the common people don't have a say as to what gets green lighted. So it is Hollywood's sole doing that these films are released when they are, by Hollywood execs who are upper class people who don't go through the hard financial times that we do. AND once again, Ms. Abramowitz, this trend started in 2000, when Spiderman was green lighted during the Clinton Era and released in 2002 when Bush just got into office. Therefore, since Hollywood ONE, copies everything that does well and TWO, appeals to the main DEMO of 18-35, how is it an era of escapism of the economic crisis when these films were green lighted way back before this crisis happened.

Well this LA times Author, journalist is out of touch, Film Fans. Even looking back to WWII when audiences did go to the movies to escape, it was musicals that were in theaters, not superhero films. Laughing and smiling are the ways to get over a crisis. I think Ms. Abramowitz needs to LOL a little more.

DC has something up its sleeve. I guarantee you. (Fan image, but very accurate)

Ok, let's talk film. Happy Tuesday to you. Little less hot this week. Last week was a scorcher. Flames on the asphalt. Made me miserable that's for sure. So I was reading this blog on MTV news by Jennifer Vineyard. She says that DC comics is suffering in the moviesphere when it comic book movies. DC is the comic book universe that brought us Superman and Batman. Marvel is the genius who inundates our culture with Iron Man, Spider Man and X Men. According to Ms. Vineyard, DC is in big trouble because they are not Cross Pollinating in DC films and Marvel is. Marvel seems to hold the corner stone in Cross pollination. Right now Marvel is Pollinating Iron Man with The Hulk and vice versa, (with Tony Stark only, no real cliffhanger, See last weeks blogs for more brilliant misspelled analysis by me). So she pleads to DC to take up the challenge of cross pollination and cash up. Here is my humble opinion on this. DC has been making comic movies when Marvel was still in film diapers. DC broke 300 mil at the box office in 1978 with the first Superman. That's about 800 mil in todays box office numbers. ALSO, They made a little above the combined total of 300 mil with all the Batmans. Which is also about the same with todays ticket prices. DC doesn't need to get on track. Marvel has been trying to catch up all this time.



Marvel BTW has Howard the Duck, The Punisher, and Fanstasic Four (miscast disaster, better cast-no disaster.) No wonder they are bringing everything to the screen that they can. They are trying to yell from the rooftops that they don't suck! So why the misplaced article, Jennifer? If I have just proven that DC is more successful long term than Marvel, why the pleading article asking for what DC has already given us all these years? All I can surmise from this misinformed Jennifer jargon points to me she is too young to remember Spider Man and Burton's Batman. For her I guess Cinema started recently. I am not going to bag on her, she appears to be very smart, BUT, yes BUT, she needs to look at the big picture and realize DC has been pimping Superhero movies consistently for more years than Marvel.

Sure DC has not cross pollinated, but here is another theory for you to dismiss immediately. I think DC has something up its sleeve. I think there will be a Clark Kent reference in The Dark Knight. I think DC execs would be stupid not to. And mind you I don't think execs are stupid when it comes to finding the gold goose hidden in the corner. They are not behind Marvel, they are going to take the candy right out of their hands. Look at this gem. Marvel is buying the candy for DC. They have set the stage. All DC needs to do is reach down and take away the candy from Marvel. Get this! You have cross pollination in two Marvel movies this year. Comic Book fans are pleased. Tony Stark and David Banner are going to be comrades. Yay. I couldn't be happier. One director (Jon Favreau) will get fired from this. Tough break. One big Marvel sequel. In the new big sequel, Peter Parker will stick his head in at the end and say hello in Lieu of a real cliffhanger. See the trend here?

Yet look at the ground work Marvel has given DC the opportunity to swoop down here and steal the thunder here. All they need to do is have Clark Kent make a cameo in Dark Knight and have caught up. They have stolen the candy. Ok here's a better idea and one Nolan (The Dark Knight Director) would do. He would do something the Marvel execs could not see over their Sushi power lunches, they would have Batman be in trouble a non inescapable situation and at the end of the film have Superman on the way to the rescue. GASP! They could have done that with the Hulk. David Banner could have been in grave danger ("grave danger? Is there any other kind". Sorry Few good Men reference)and have Iron Man on the way to rescue. GASP again! A real cliffhanger. "No, No we can't do that" Say the grumbling execs at Marvel. "Why they would be too creative, we can't do that!"

But FilmFans! That's a real cliffhanger. That is true cross pollination. Having Tony Stark cameos is not true cross pollinating! Come on Gale Ann Hurd. I am sure James Cameron has this told you this idea of having another super hero come to the rescue as a real cliffhanger! Why didn't you listen?

And as for Jennifer Vineyard, you plea for something that is going to pull the rug underneath you. And if Clark Kent doesn't do a Tony Stark cameo or if Nolan has better plans for The Dark Knight ending, which I am sure he does, You still have Marvel putting a David and Goliath move on DC. Thought the outcome may not be as good as it was in the Bible. Well there it is all laid out. The correct formula for success for Marvel and maybe DC, though they have a far better thing with Batman Begins and Dark Knight AND the whole Superman thing they have been doing for years.

ANYWAY, I really want to talk about the Pixar hating in Hollywood. Every year Pixar comes out with a film that shows just how non talented everyone who is not Pixar really is. No I am not talking about individuals. There is plenty of singular talent in Hollywood. I am talking about the execs at Pixar. How SMART they are. How they work together and share ideas and help each other. They tell each other when an idea is bad. They work in a total creative environment. If you tell a Warner's exec, they suck, they would fire you. If you Tell John Lassiter he sucks, he would laugh and wonder what exactly make you say that.

The very definition of talent in Hollywood, Andrew Stanton (Oscars for Finding Nemo and Ratatouille) and John Lassiter (Multiple Oscar Nominee and thankfully fired by Disney for being a forward thinker) YES! Its totally true!

AND I will do you one better, the Pixar execs are the Directors themselves. The execs are not accounting and marketing majors. They are Lassiter and Andrew Stanton. They totally cut out the upper man who runs the focus groups like they are the book of Revelation. Well I will write more about this later. I think you get the idea though. Until Tomorrow! Let's talk film!

Ok, let's talk film Let's wrap this up quickly regarding the comic showdown this weekend. I predicted Get Smart would shatter Love Guru and it did. I was gonna talk about Kung Fu Panda and how much Hollywood hates the fact that it is still doing well. Well that can be read on Saturday's blog.

I watching a Knight's tale this weekend with my mother and nephew as usual. No I am not a mamma's boy. All points to the contrary. But as I was watching I remembered how much the loss of Heath Ledger affected me. It really affected me more that I can say. Yes, a loss of a close family member would be more awful, but I believe that every life is sacred in this world and can be mourned akin to a personal tragedy if attachment is there. Heath was one of my totally favorite actors and his loss in film cut me deep. I could easily not bring this up and write a memo to someone about this, but I am choosing to talk about it because on of the roles I was excited about seeing him in is going to be one of the biggest releases this summer.

I don't think anyone will be as passionate and even darkly intrigued to see this film and Heath's last performance. (Other than Gilliam's Dr. Parnassus, I know. But, I am talking about total Blockbuster here.) I just bring it up for that reason. The reason that posthumous art makes it worth more. Ledger's death will make the film make more money at the Box office. How can I say something so insensitive? Well one, because it's me. If you know me, I can be very insensitive. And two because its true. Any artist's post death's work is worth more. As for me, I will have trouble watching it.

I really loved him as an actor and it will hard for me to see a groundbreaking performance from a super talented actor and never being able to see that duplicated. And the thought I know you all want me to say...Yes if execs could kill off certain stars to improve box office, they would. Well maybe that is too ridiculous to say. But I am sure they think it. Say you're an exec, if you make three hits in a row, you can never worry about money for the rest of your life and be invited to every party ever, forever. Of course they think it. What did Gordon Gekko say in Wall Street, you know it! "Greed is good."

What execs really think. Just substitude the word MOVIE for COMPANY.

Then today I did a search of movie blogs because I wanted to see my competition out there. And I actually didn't find any real competition. I mean I only have one person who reads this, but I think mine is superior. And since only one person reads this, I feel comfortable saying that. So, I found more patient blogs out there than mine. Most blogs in the blogosphere. are far more patiently written than mine. I do get points faster than I should, but I take for granted that YOU, the one person who reads this, is super smart. I honestly take for granted everyone is smart , because I think most people are. I am not Hollywood who thinks everyone is stupid.



Seems like every week, we lose someone. Its not even April. Another Horrible loss in Hollywood yesterday, George Carlin has passed at 71. If you don't recognize him, his picture is below as well as he was in every Kevin Smith film because Kevin Smith liked him a lot. He was crude, rude, a curmudgeon and always funny. I personally didn't hear all his stuff, but what I heard made me laugh. God bless him and his family.



Moving forward to interesting news before we get to the focus of the week. The focus of the week is how much Hollywood hates Pixar. Well get to that all week no worries. But News is that Ridley Scott is doing a Robin Hood film. Well maybe you knew that for a while, it has been news for a while. The thing that is interesting is that that ARE doing a Robin Hood. There have been too many Robin Hoods. That idea has been done over and over again. Well you may say that Hollywood is typical for this. And as you guessed, I totally agree. But Ridley Scott doing a worn idea two greenlights away from Vampire overdone status? And casting Russell Crowe?



Well I have two theories on this. They actually may be the same theory. Let's talk this out and find out. So maybe Scott and Crowe and found a great script and its the most wonderful Robin Hood script ever. Its Robin Hood begins and Christian Bale was interested. I write that sentence with my instinct and I remember that Bale was actually attached at one point. Hollywood literally wants to reboot everything with Christian Bale. They think he is reason for Batman's new found success.

Let me say this to you people (execs) so you can hear me. Cause it's just not sinking in. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN IS THE TALENT IN THE BATMAN FILMS!!!!!!!!!!. I am getting tired of saying this. NOLAN is the visionary. He is the director. Bale is wonderful as Batman, but he not no where near the reason for its success. One more time execs...Hire NOLAN not BALE if you want to duplicate a Batman Begins success for a possible "(enter dead cow idea) Begins" possible success.

I doubt they heard me anyway. hehe. Moving on with a better disposition, a second theory is that...well these are two big and talented stars. Why are they doing a Robin Hood film after both actors have broken tremendous ground doing Original film? Sounds very strange huh? Well I have an answer for you. Scott and Crowe are original on their own, but they still have to go through execs to have their ideas greenlighted. They need the studios to fund their ideas. And since anyone who has talent in Hollywood, goes to Pixar or Dreamworks, the remaining hacks out there will only greenlight ideas that have built in audiences. As if an original film by Scott and Crowe wasn't enough to lure audiences. But you have to think like an exec. Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe doing a time tested Robin Hood idea is built in 20 Mil opening weekend Handicap.

Meaning if the film somehow sucks a blow storm, they can still swallow 20 mil because of the recognizability of the idea and the talent. Its safe. Its execs covering their butts. I think a combo of my theories is true, Scott has found a great script, that is a time tested idea AND the studios will greenlight such and idea without too much thought. So we will have to settle with this dead cow idea, that I am sure Scott will make into a cool film No doubts about that. The POINT! Give us something original. We beg for it!

So this week. Hollywood hates Pixar again. This is one of my favorite subjects to write about. I will write about it tonight and post tomorrow. I have to go live my boring life now.

Look for my joke on Letterman tonight!

Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

Special Saturday Edition!!!

If possible, Hollywood would sell these for 30 Mil a pop.

Ok, let's talk film. Franchise fever in Hollywood. This weekend everyone has franchise fever. Why? Well one number stick out this weekend. That's King Fu Panda. This film will not go away. Seems word of mouth is keeping this film alive. Can I tell you how bad Hollywood hates word of mouth? They hate it. They despise it. Why? Because Hollywood would rather fool you into liking a film. The fact that a film is better than another is called Lightning in a Bottle. LIB as we will now call it forever and ever. LIB is something that cannot be duplicated or reproduced.

Let's say that you went off with your friends with a 32mm of 16mm camera to do a cheap student film or something for fun. And you took footage of your friends acting. Lets say it revolves around a party. Then you got home and edited the material. All you planned was a small film for fun or for class credit. Nothing huge, and then suddenly BAM!...something incredible happened! It made a really entertaining and funny film! It just came together in a crazy way where all the bells whistled and all the jets roared loudly. And your little party film became a independent film smash. Before you realize you were in your PJ's reading PEOPLE one Saturday and the very next week, you're on the VIEW. Barbara is asking you what your genius intentions were and you of course have no answer. This totally happens BTW. That's LIB cause you didn't plan it. There is no way to plan it.

Hollywood HATES this X Factor because it RARELY happens. When it does happen, it cannot be duplicated. Maybe it can be repeated, but it doesn't happen that often. Sometimes movies just come together. For example. Forrest Gump was that kind of film that wasn't supposed to be as good as it turned out. Bob Zemetckis, the director, nor the studio expected such a mega hit. They were fresh off Roger Rabbit and experimenting with special effects in a good, compelling story. They expected laughs and sad moments for the audience. In the end they wanted people to walk away from Forrest Gump and say, Wow that was funny and good.



Yet LIB happened when they made it. It just came together. When the execs watched the film with test audiences, they were amazed about how people reacted. They didn't just laugh and choke up, they roared in the aisles and cried buckets of tears. They left the theater totally changed from that experience. That is lightning in a bottle.
The opposite effect is my little example here.

Back to your PARTY FILM. Now Warner BROS. approaches you and says wow! "That was amazing" and they want you to do a sequel. You tell them you have other ideas that are better, but they want a sequel to the party movie. So they give you a large check and you say YES! I will do it! One problem. It wasn't planned to be that good in the first place. But, now you have to do the almost impossible, you have to duplicate, what cannot be reproduced. Hollywood doesn't care about you. They could care less that you may not be able to do it. Not that you're not talented, you just were not into that idea in the first place. The execs names are cleared if you fail. Even though we all secretly know EVERYTHING is their fault. Why shouldn't EVERYTHING be thier fault? When things go right, they fight for credit, when they are bad, they pass that potato. For sure, filmfans!

Well I think you get the idea. Take the Blair Witch Project for instance, it was totally LIB. And the sequel was awful. One example Speed 2, the Sting 2, Scary Movie 2, American Pie 2 Ghostbusters 2, others I am sure. That is why some LIB movies do not have sequels. They know they can't duplicate the first one.

So Hollywood does know this so they don't Greenlight original ideas anymore for that reason and others. They are now looking for Franchises that have many story options and not just one plot. I know sad huh! That's why there is Franchise Fever in Hollywood. And that's why they are hating Kung Fu Panda. It has a beginning middle and an end. It doesn't have a built in sequel. It doesn't have Tony Stark at the end of it. Or multiple villains time tested in Comics, Or TV episodes to refer to. Hollywood is pissed off at that. They wonder why this film is still afloat.

So Get Smart is perfect for a franchise, it may happen depending on the numbers. It is Saturday and Box Office Mojo has reported that Get Smart has made 13 Mil on Friday and Love Guru is 6 Mil. Like I predicted. Until Monday! Let's talk film!

Comedy

Drama...Any Questions?

Ok, let's talk film. I want to talk about comedies today. Good comedies. Good comedies are hard to find. What makes a good comedy? I dunno. Don't ask me that question. You know I have limited brain cells! I know what it takes to be funny. I can be funny. I am funny in my own life. I have learned to be funny, you have to keep it simple. You have to tell simple jokes, simple one liners. I know if you try to hard to be funny, you're hoing to fail.

You see Will Ferrell comedy and he tries really hard to be funny. Mike Meyers goes above and beyond extravagant to be funny. The whole Austin Powers thing is riotous, yet very over produced. However like I think I am saying, I think the funniest films are the ones that kept it simple. National Lampoon's Vacation is a simple film I mean just saying the title, makes you giggle. The king of all film comedy, Airplane? Very funny. Although I don't know if that film still stands the test of time. Yet, straight up. That film was simple.

This whole blog may be full of BS today, not that that's unusual for me, but I am just going to explore what may be funny in film, in my humble opinion. I could argue all day what makes a good drama, drama is personal. But what is comedy? Funny is different for everyone. Comedy is Pizza and Drama is steak. Everyone knows that Filet Milnon is the best cut of steak. That is universal. That is indisputable. You may not agree that Filet is the best, but it is. The best drama is personal. I think I have wrote a lot about that last week.

So what is comedy? Well let's dive into the world of messy metaphors. Comedy is pizza. What you think is funny, I guarantee you the guy sitting next to you will disagree. I personally like my comedy with sarcasm, a little brutal humor, sexual innuendos and a "little person" or two thrown in. Well as you may guess my next sentence, not everyone likes it like that. I don't think Joe Dirt is funny. I think Spinal Tap is hilarious. Some people I know don't think Something About Mary is funny.

When I think of comedy I like to use Shakespeare's old formula, Tragedy + Time = Comedy. I think that is one true theory. Some people think people falling is funny. Depends on the person there. Seeing Donald Trump falling in front of a cab would be hilarious. Well then that dips into cruel humor. Hollywood still thinks hitting guys in the balls is funny. I think if you ask Hollywood execs, they would say that would be the safe comedy. Neil Simon, one of the great comic writers ever and one of my inspirations, says TUNA FISH. TUNA FISH is always funny.

So what is mass produced funny? Well I could babble for a while on this, but instead I will tell you a little about a Cambridge University Professor named Christopher Beach. He says that Class distinction and speech is the main focus of American Film Comedy. That is apparently what sells. Class distinction in all areas of life is funny. John Hughes made his living exploring class distinction in the 80's. Even in the battle of the funniest impersonation of a Mid Eastern Foreigner, between Sacha Baron Cohen, Mike Meyers and Adam Sandler, it is an exploration of speech and culture. Fish out of water stories are also fully. So we can safely say that mainstream funny film is based on social class and speech.

Class distinction is targeted mainly in Animal House, Caddyshack, Trading Places, The Big Lebowski, and There's Something about Mary. Usually the fun comes in when one class is mistaken for another. This concept can be taken back to Eliza Doolitle in Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, which is the play My Fair Lady is based on. Adjacent to class distiction, social handicaps or real handicaps can be moved to the spotlight of farce.

Fish Called Wanda and again There is Something About Mary, made fun of handicaps in a cruel and (if you choose to laugh) in a funny way. Though repeating again as I like to do, what is funny for one person may not be funnier for another. Pepperoni and Anchovies.

The battle of comedies this weekend at the B.O. is based on ethnic class comedy like Austin Powers and Borat. The middle eastern invasion is continuing with Mike Meyers trying a spiritual verion of Borat. I wonder what will be next? Will Ferrell as Osama? Living here as a school teacher the whole time when we were looking in Afgan? That actually could be funny. I actually wrote a script like "Chuck and Larry" four years ago. It was called "Couple of Friends" better title I think. Well I guess that's just a failsafe testament of mine. Those who can't write scripts that sell, write blogs that no one reads. As for me I just like being original.

My future, we'll have to wait and see.

Fish Called Wanda doesn't only remind me on Anchovies, it reminds me of a fun fact. Well maybe a disputed fact, but I think it's fact. Hollywood does not recongnize comedies when comes time for Oscars. Specifically the performance Oscars, like the Actor awards. No one has won best actor for an all out comedy. Yet, Best Supporting Actor or Supporting Actress have, for instance. There have only been TWO winners in flat out comedies for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Yes I know, Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl, Lange in Toosie, Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphordite have won, but I think those were a mixture of Drama in them also, so they don't count as all out comedies.

Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda and Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny are the only ones who won in flat out laugh every second comedies with no drama at all in them. Just a fun, crazy fact for you to dismiss. yet they are very well deserved Oscars. Kline and Tomei are historic in their comic performances. And strange enough, nither of them are comedians.

Which brings me to another point. I think the best actors out there have comic talent. Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell. Yet the best dramatic actors are not the best comedians. I think comedians can do more than dramatic actors. I know kill me now for saying that. But I stand by it.
Two performances that I think that I think should have been nominated were Eddie Murphy in the Nutty Professor and Jim Carrey in Liar, Lair. Both perfect performances in comedy. Makes me remember that performances CAN up stage the entire film add to the enjoyment or save the entire film entirely





So this weekend, the most mainstream one is Get Smart. It will dominate Love Guru. I will probably see both this week. I like Steve Carrell and Mike Meyers a lot. I like a lot of toppings on my pizza. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

Ok, let's talk film. I want to know what the Coen Brothers are thinking when they think of making a film. Because I don't think they use traditional Hollywood lingo. They have a new film, its called Burn After Reading. The title reminds me of an old play called Burn This. It was written with that title because the author of the play (Burn This), he hated it passionately after he wrote it. So he wrote BURN THIS on the top of each page and then set it aside to burn it. Well apparently someone else read it before the kiss of flame, loved it and made it into a play.



I don't know if this follows the same story. I don't know yet. But it very well may be the same concept. Which brings me to my first point, if you are a screenwriter, or any kind of writer, you always hate what you write. I know I do. I look back at these blogs and I say, "That is crappy". I do everyday. But honestly, I have been writing for so long, that I have more crafty writing sessions than bad ones. The bad writing I do is there, but I just write honest and open. I don't think you can go wrong from there.

So back to the Coen brothers. What do they think when they decide to make a movie? I will tell you what they think of. Here goes? Are you ready? They think of emotional impact. Yes, they think of the response the audience will have when they make the film. Did you see No Country For Old Men? Do you know how great that film is? My God was I blown away about how insanely good it is. LOVED that film. Fargo? How amazing of a film is that? Frances McDormand, one of Coen's wife, is incredible as the pregnant Sheriff. Would a pregnant Sheriff NOT played by Angelina Jolie be marketable? No.


But still, as a writer, you always hate what you write. And the stuff you think you write the best is the stuff that is not the best. That happens to me the most, the stuff I covet in my work is the stuff that is actually mediocre and the stuff that I gloss over is the best. I ALWAYS run into that.



So, the Coen Brothers are so twisted, they want to entertain you with something you have never seen before. Like Anton in No Country or the DUDE in Big Lebowski. Yes twisted I say! Why? Because they don't want to bring you an old TV show or Old Novel. I know crazy! There are people out there who want to make ORIGINAL film!
Total insanity.

Ok enough with that. Coen Brothers rule. They new film which I just saw a preview of on ET looks really good.

This weekend its the showdown of two major comedies with two major stars. We have Mike Meyers and Steve Carrell at the Box Office. I see a lot of journalists and bloggers making a big deal about this. I think this is a no brainer. Get Smart will make way more money that The Love Guru. Why? Because Steve Carrell is more family friendly than Mike Meyers. Simple as that. PLUS! Strange as it may sound, we know that Get Smart seems more novel than The Love Guru. As strange as it sounds its true. And this is just because of its starts. Steve is never than Meyers. We kinda know what to expect from Meyers now, Raw, crazy, hit or miss humor. With Carrell, he doesn't have s Schick. He just kinda stands there and he is hilarious.

If the Box Office is legendary this weekend. If Get Smart makes 60 mil this weekend. If Steve Carrell gets knighted, AND if Get Smart is a good movie. (sniff, sniff) Then I smell sequel. But, do you know what kind of pressure that would put on the Studio. They would have to make a good sequel. They would have to duplicate this success. And now this idea is twitching with me. They may have to duplicate this success. Get Smart just may be really good and profitable. Seriously that would be a nightmare for the studio. Until Tomorrow, let's talk film

Ok, let's talk film. Absentee note- It's 101 in Orange County I was too hot to write. My AC sucks today! Sorry filmfans. Until Tomorrow, Let's talk film!

As a SAVVY Hollywood player, when I see this, I see Iron Man

...And it's sequel

Well my filmfans, tentpoles are really THIS...

Ok, let's talk film. Tent Poles and Actor's strikes today. Here is a phrase that is out of control. Tentpole. If you are a Hollywood player, you probably have a whole SLEW of lingo under yourbelt. Let's talk about that. Movie lingo is held to sacrament level in Hollywood. You use savvy talk to remain in the twisted vocation of being a Hollywood player. Who the hell would want to be a Hollywood player anyway? Screw that. Be a talented filmmaker. There are only a handful of those people there.

Well you savvy and talented film maker you. YOU need to know a bit of lingo, but I beg of you not to rely on all this empty, mouth dribble to run your profeesional life. The execs use it to hide their The most important part of you is what money and lingo can't buy, you're talent. Now here is the thing, here is my point, here is the ENTIRE reason for this humble blog that you, the one person who reads this, reads. -to rise above the talentless. Here is the main punch. Hollywood is over flooded with talentless people. Always have and always will.

Well if you are an exec, it's tentpole this, tentpole that. Looking for the next tentpole. Gotta find that tentpole. This and that is a tentpole. Well the tentpole is probably up your ass. Let's babble for a while. It's babble day!

The execs that run Hollywood run it with degrees in Accounting and Marketing. No real talent. The real talent in Hollywood are the ones in film schools that approach film with pure talent, you. I know you have talent because you're reading this. If you didn't have talent, you would be reading something else. This is what thei whole blog thing I write is all about. I expose the talentless in Hollywood. I talk about what really sells and what what really smells. I am wrong a lot, but when it comes to film talk I usually am right. That's why I started writing this blog. For years I have been on the mark everytime I talk about this subject, some close friends say, "Do you're right about this"

Ok enough rubbing my own ego. Actually in real life I am really quiet until you get to know me. SOOOOO let'e move on to the daily articles. Here's how my blog works, I look up and read current articles on Rotten tomatoes.com and other sites and I comment on them. There is a lot of movie news out there, but I don't want to be one of those movie sites that reports the news. I am a site that sniffs out the BS in the sites. I don't get star struck. I have met many celebrities and I don't think they are larger than life. My Grandfather who worked all his life and loved me with all his heart strikes me as a "superstar". More than Lucas or Spielberg, who I have met for a second.

So having said all that, let's look at Tomatoes and see what there is to talk about. Sienna Miller is guoted saying that next years GI Joe, written and directed by The Mummy's Steven Sommers is a huge TENTPOLE for Paramount. Well here's the thing about the lingo of tentpole. It's lame. Tentpole means a HUGE action film that is gonna make a lot of money and hold up the studio for that year. Well the major studios use tentpoles to save their year. Well its a silly phrase because every movie in Hollywood is a tent pole. Hollywood does not make ANYTHING unless the box office numbers have been tallied a year before and every focus group in the world has taken a look at the story boards. So what does tentpole really mean? Its not the BEST film that is made all year.

A tentpole film is the film that has the most Explosions and usually involves a old idea. An original idea is not a tentpole. Original ideas will never be tentpoles. The new generation of film began with a tentpole. 1976-Steven Spielberg's Jaws. That was the very first film that had a slam band opening weekend due to marketing. It had no focus groups it has a super talented director and the most horrifying idea for a film EVER. The very next was Star Wars in 1977.

Hollywood has been trying to duplicate those two opening weekends ever since and have failed for 31 years. Failed. Why you ask? Why have they failed for 31 years? Because those two films Especially Star Wars are in high demand by audiences. The Toys and memorabilia are in demand. The Memories of watching that film are in high demand. AND no other film like Jaws has scared audiences since Jaws. That idea of being eaten alive in the ocean sticks with you like bone marrow. The directors of the 70's who gave us that wonderful classic film were the Tentpole pioneers. AND in my humble opinion, the only ones who deserve such a title as tentpole film. The tenpoles of Star Wars, The Godfather, Raiders, held up an entire generation. NOW that's what the phrase tentpole should really mean. It holds up a generation, not just an over glamorized studio.

Let's all it what it is... A CASH COW. What is this summer's cash cow? GI JOE is a cash cow. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were CASH COWS. Just tell us what it is.
Another strike is on the horizon
To be Continued...Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

"54 Million opening weekend! We passed!!!"

Ok, let's talk film. Let's go back to Tommy Boy. Remember the great and funny and super talented comedian of late, Chris Farley. If you remember the beginning scene where is in school, getting ready to graduate and he is awaiting his grades to be posted on the wall. When he walks up to the wall as the grades are posted he looks at his grade, gets a happy face on, and yells "A D-plus. I passed!" Or something to that effect. Today I think of that very funny scene from that very funny actor because Marvel Execs are having the exact same reaction to their mediocre numbers over the weekend for The Incredible Hulk. Hulk's ending numbers were 54 mil. 54 million is compared to a D -Plus! So that compared with the other numbers other films did, this summer and last summer, its about a D Plus. So Marvel execs looked at the numbers this morning and said, "54 Mil, We passed!!!" There is a chance for a sequel. Haha. Yes a D plus will get you a sequel these days.

AND I predicted higher. Just goes to show you how much I know about numbers. Nothing. Haha. Well I was off by twelve mil. That's not much. I don't think. Well the Marvel execs...Well before we get into this. Let me say that I did see the Incredible Hulk with my friend Carlos over the weekend who incidentally had to pay for my ass because I thought my Costco movie pass worked for AMC. I swore it did. Anyway a written thank you to Carlos here for everyone to see.

So!! I like the Hulk. My predictions for how it would turn out were accurate. Read what I said on Friday and I think the same EXCEPT! I forgot the ominous trance Edward Norton puts on me when I see him on screen. He is and has always been an amazing actor. The first hour of the Hulk is a great piece of work. I really really was blown away by its honesty and empathy it builds for David Banner, obviously played to the hilt by Norton. So many great actors skimp when they play in big Hollywood Blockbusters.

John Malkovich in Con Air for example. An amazing actor who played it down to have fun in a blockbuster. No love lost there though. Still a cool performance. So, I half expected Ed Norton to pay it down also to have a good time acting in a Blockbuster. I look at it as a vacation for them in a sense. He's not doing A Fincher's fight club or Primal Fear. He's doing a fun action film. But, Norton still brings it to the screen. Liv Tyler is not bad either. Watching their connection and the sadness of Banner's self imposed, very understandable exile is just that..It's sad. I felt bad for him. It was honest and very compelling. His love for Tyler's character was heartbreaking.

What happened the second hour? Well my Filmfans. Marvel happened the second hour. The whole second hour you have Tim Roth, another great actor though he mumbles every line he has ever spoken on film, even opposite Gary Oldman in Rosencranz and Guilderstern are Dead. Roth is written in as the Antagonist who seems very forced to make the last half of the plot here. The film could have easily stayed dramatic and compelling, yet does not, It goes into action overload. The action is not bad by any means, but after the "Fugitive" style of the first act, you feel cheated by the slam bang ending.

So point here...The first hour surprised me, It was very good. The second hour was exactly how I predicted, a trailer for a maga cross pollination Super Hero film, complete with Robert Downey, Tony Stark at the end. NOW. I don't want to be taken wrong here. I am also excited for a cross pollinating film. BUT my ARGUMENT is simple. Why does SOME of these films, namely The Hulk, have to sacrifice a really good cliffhanger. I said this last week. Why is the only cliffhanger a Tony Stark cameo? Why can't we have a real character driven cliffhanger. How cool would that be? We want something to talk about around the water cooler thing. Like "How I want to see if she lied or died?" Something like that!

I don't think its too much to ask for that. That is the bare bones of what I was writing last week. I know I said Emotional pull, honesty, personal story, yada...We all know that, Hollywood is hit or miss on that. But, at least try. Give us a reason
to get excited besides having Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey, Ed Norton and Christian Bale on screen together. That's all I plead for.

Moving on. Enough Super Hero talk till Dark Knight. Done with Super Heroes for now. Lets put that behind us. Horrible loss in Hollywood. As I am typing this I see that Stan Winston has passed today. He died of skin cancer. Ah, he did so much FX work for Film. Good God. He designed the ALIEN of ALIEN and ALIENS. That was his design. He designed the Terminator. Look at his IMDB and be amazed at his work. Hollywood has lost a mega star today. Its is a great loss. Luckily his work has inspired many to follow in his footsteps, like any great auteur, many will try to duplicate his work in a very good way. God Keep him. Bless his family.

Great Mind, Great Loss





SO Larry Kasdan is back writing screenplays again. If you don't recognize his name he has a great resume. He wrote, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Big Chill. Sure his Blockbusters were stories by George Lucas, but still a great writer. He has been asked to pen Robotech, an 80's cartoon series that I thought was very good. Even at my young age at the time. So we look forward to that.

Well that's all to comment on today. There is a lot of movie news out there today. Read it Rotten tomatoes.com. I only like to write about stuff I can really talk about. If you haven't guessed already.

Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

The Hulk is one big trailer for it's self-hopeful sequel (the green is purely coincidental)


Ok, let's talk film. These other bloggers and journalists out there never cease to amaze me. Everyone has Superhero fever today. Everywhere I look or read someone is excited about an upcoming adaption or sequel. Which brings me to my first point. The anticipation here for sequels and movies themselves are just that, empty anticipation. I don't think anyone is concerned about quality out there. They say they do. I am sure you who are reading this is saying, "Oh YES we in Hollywood are totally concerned with quality, we aim for superior quality". And I say, no you don't.

If you, Hollywood people, were concerned with quality, you would not be so eager to make the first film a giant trailer for the sequel or for other films. That's what this HULK is. It is a giant trailer for the future sequels. Its not a dramatic story with uncertain conclusions that are going to set us up for true anticipation. NO! Look at the Empire Strikes Back. Remember how intriguing that was to watch so many secrets spill out, whip our heads around and say WOW! "Can't wait to see how it all turns out" There are no more great cliffhangers like that in film. All we see now is Tony Stark poking his head in for a few and basically saying, "I will see you in the sequel". That is all the cliffhanger-ness we get these days. HUGE note to screenwriters, make it dramatic and interesting, so we say, "Wow, I didn't see that coming, I can't wait to see the resolution.

I'd pay to see this Superhero film

Well it is painfully obvious with the release of the Incredible Hulk that we do not get true cliffhangers, we get written invitations that say, "We (the execs) really need big numbers for this and the sequel so that we can stay working in Hollywood" That's all we get.

Well, its gonna be a short blog today, I am feeling tired today, I may add more later.
Ok it's later. It's Saturday morning to be exact. I am feeling a lot better. I was working out all week. Yes I know, it's hard to believe. But I have thinking all morning about Box Office numbers of the past. Box Office numbers of yore...Long ago. Yes I do think of box office numbers on my spare time. Well actually, I was thinking about how the box office is shaping up to be. Well I went to Box Office Mojo and discovered that The Hulk did 21 Mil yesterday, Friday. Well it may sound like a lot, but it isn't. Looking at the past numbers, I found out that Iron Man did 35 million in its opening weekend. Indiana Jones did 30 in its opening weekend. I even went back all the way to last years numbers.

I went back to 2007. Yeah way back then. Crazy I know. And there is a very good point. Last year Spider Man 3 did 60 million on its first day, Pirates 3 did 35 on its first day. What does the first day matter Jeff? Well let me tell you. The first Friday a film opens pretty much sets the standard for the rest of the weekend. Lets me explain this shortly, cause I don't feel like getting myself confused. So lets just take one example, the others pretty much follow this history. You can check Box Office Mojo yourself if you doubt me, but here goes...Iron Man does 35 Friday, 37 Sat. 26 Sun.

Ok, so here's the way it works. A film's opening day is big. The day after it only spikes 10% on average. On Sunday it usually drops 34% on average. It always does, it always will usually be that way. Need more proof? Ok. Spider Man 3 last year - 53, 59, 31. Pirates 3 - 42, 37, 34 for the three day weekend. So there it is. Hard numbers for you non believers. hehe. Anyway, you look at the Hulk and it does only 21 on Friday. So you hae to figure it will only raise to 26 then about 19 on Sunday. So that's a total of 66 million for the three day week. The Happening did 12 mil on Friday, it will spike to 15 if its lucky then 9 on Sunday. That brings us to a total of 36 Million. So that's a 30 million difference between the two.

Mind you this is all grand speculation but I think its accurate. With these Numbers its hard to warrant a sequel to the Hulk. Cause The Hulk will not have another 66 million dollar opening. So the people have spoken. The Hulk did not enchant us as the producers have hoped. I am sure they will find a reason to do a sequel. Don't they always have dead cow syndrome in Hollywood.

I think the good think about this particular weekend is that Shamyalan is still a player. I do like his integrity. He doesn't steal idea in Hollywood, he tries really hard to remain fresh. That says a lot more than the abundance of hacks out there.
Go watch the Hulk or the Happening and until Monday! Let's talk film!

Even when out of this world, it still MUST be personal and honest...



Ok, let's talk film. Well, Spider Man 2 has it. Iron Man has it. Sex and the City totally has it. What is it? Honest, personal film. Here goes, I was watching Spider Man 2 with my Mother and Nephew today and I remembered that Spider Man 2 is a great superhero film. What happened to all the others. Well Batman Begins is amazing also, there is no getting around that. But I was thinking of a superhero film that has it all. Batman Begins is a superior film, yet it is very dark. Spider Man 2 is a film that is not dark like Batman Begins. Spidey 2 is infused with good drama, comedy, and an opportunity to really root for the hero. So what happened to number three? I actually think the execs were not to blame for the failure of the third one. I know shocking that I would give the overpaid execs sympathy, but here on the third Spider Man film, I blame Sam Raimi himself. He hired a relative to pen the script with him. I know? What the hell? Well here the execs did give Raimi too much power and he choked, which I cannot balme execs for.

Well Iron Man is a great film. I have a point here, just hang on. Marvel will want to remain in control of their films to prevent another Spidey 3 from happening. I agree with that. But I don't agree with them replacing Jon Favreau. So there are tremendous factors weighing on the execs. So, these execs have a lot to think about between sushi lunches. Well here is the thing. In watching Spider Man 2 and Iron Man when I saw it...I thought wow these are great character driven pieces. Jon Favreau is the direct opposite of Michael Bay. I was reminded about how Marvel execs want Iron Man 2 to be "A Michael Bay Film". They do. They want to rip the heart out the franchise. How do I know this? Because they have not renewed Favreau's contract. Simple.

So, to wrap up this thought, I think of all the great films ever made and I am reminded of the only thing that really sells in Hollywood. There is and will always be one thing that sells in Hollywood. What is that? No, not sex. The thing that will ALWAYS be Hollywood's main product is Honesty. Always. Even if they are unaware of what they sell the most of. You know the best films out there, superhero or Academy Award contender is drenched in HONESTY. Personal, honest stories sell the most. It's all we want to see. It is the only thing we can connect with. There is no better way to silence a audience than with earned silence. Explosions and Michael Bay's infantile directing does not connect with us, an honest, scene does.

The part that gets me the most in the above mentioned Superhero Movies are the parts when Peter Parker is Honestly struggling with who he is. The Subway scene when everyone carries him. In Iron Man the scene where Pepper is changing Tony's "Heartlight" as I call it. It is honest and funny and VULNERABLE. If the execs replace Favreau, I guarantee you that honesty in the franchise will be gone forever. Also on the same note, if a Director like Raimi one Spider Man 3 or Bay on every film he does, get bloated egos and lose the sensitive touch, it will fail. It take an honest director telling a personal story and the overpaid, talentless execs to leave him alone. Sometimes that does happen. Sometimes they realize that honestly is the only thing that Hollywood will ever sell the most of. LEARN IT HOLLYWOOD. LEARN IT.

Super producer GALE ANN HURD, whom is an exec who I respect a lot, heck, she was married to James Cameron and she gave us Point Break! How awesome is that? She talks about The HULK and exudes her over confidence for something that might fall flat. You can read that here. the only point I wanted to make of that is she speaks of "cross pollination" of the super hero characters that I talked about yesterday. I laugh at cross pollination. She must be referring to also he ex husband, Cameron's infidelities. Ouch! I know. :)

I need 100 Million opening weekend!!!!

But here is a woman who know where this is all going. It's all moving to one large superhero film. Let's hope someone can pull it off! Well the thing here is that HURD along with the other execs believe that we are GOING to plop down our money to see it or any Superhero film they release. They still think that Honestly is second and explosions are first. I predict they are in for a very rude awakening this weekend. As I have said before in previous blogs, we as an audience demand total honesty. It's the only thing we will buy. I believe the HULK will do not do as well as they think.

I think Shamyalan will have a good weekend despite his crappy reviews. I think the Happening will come in a good second, taking money away from the HULK. Its gonna make all execs drop their IPHONES. It's gonna be funny. It will remind them that WE control the box office. We always will. Sorry guys. You're gonna have to give is total honesty and personal stories. There is NO getting around it.
Until Tomorrow! Let's talk film!

Daddy? When I grow up can I be like you?

Ok, let's talk film. If you were M. Night Shyamalan today, you would not have fingernails. You would have chewed off all of your fingernails by now. So, I doubt Mr. Shyamalan has any fingernails left, they are all completely gone. Why? Well the reviews are coming in regarding his new film called The Happening. The first reviews are mixed at best regarding his film. He needs good reviews. He actually needs superior reviews. That's the only way he's going to save his reputation.

Yet I don't believe that the Media wants to save his reputation. I think the reviewers out there are very happy hating Shamyalan. One reviewer states, "Shhht. Don't say it out loud, but we actually kinda liked M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie . . ." That's from James O' Ehley from the Sci Fi movie page. But this kind of review makes me thing that a lot of reviewers are thinking this. They want M. Night to fail. They want to hate his films cause it gives them so much to pun about.

I mean what do movie writers do anyway? They pun. Look at all the Sex and the City articles. Lots of "Sex" in theaters. Secrets of "Sex". Any film that is released, is written in articles with pun attached. I hate it. If you read this, well the one person that reads this, you will notice I don't pun at all. Unless I think it really clever. But the reviewers out there are dying to write, "Signs say Happening in not Happening" They are dying to write this about him. It's sick I know, but these are the mentality of the reviewers. I can't even think of half the puns they will do. They are probably too many to name. And I am not dumb enough to think of half of them.

Yesterday, I wrote how Marvel was looking to replace Jon Favreau on Iron Man 2. And just today, a day after I said it, IESB has an article on Marvel not wanting to renew Jon's contract. How do I know this ahead of time? These people as so predictable. I know that they don't want to continue with Favreau. They think the new Iron Man franchise will be as profitable with a better director. This particular article doesn't say that. It says that they don't even want to pay Jon the standard director's fee.

That I understand. Why should Marvel in their minds, pay a standard fee for someone they bought dirt cheap into a franchise they didn't even expect to do as well as it did. I guarantee you that the Execs at Marvel did not expect Iron Man to do that well. If they expected it to do well, they would have given it a better release date. They would have given it the Hulk's release date if they expected to do the numbers it did. But the tables have turned here and they don't know how to act. Iron Man is doing the Hulk's business and Marel has no idea how to act. They are running around the office in hysterics because their entire franchise agenda has shifted.

Soon it will be two for the price of one...

So what are they gonna do now? Well I will tell you. The main reason they have not rehired Jon is because the sequel film to both franchises will be inclusive. They will make one big sequel instead of two separate sequels for Iron Man and the Hulk. If you stayed past the closing credits to Iron Man, you would have seen Samuel Jackson, telling Downey Jr's Tony Stark about the Avenger Initiative. Which apparently includes multiple superheroes. So Marvel is simply waiting for the Numbers to roll in before they make their next move. They are waiting for Huge numbers for the Hulk so that they can justify and sequel. Right now, they are hoping for Huge numbers. Notice I didn't say Hulk size numbers, I don't pun.

They are waiting for these numbers before they greenlight any sequel. What will most likely happen is that the Hulk will under perform at the box office and Marvel execs will have to do two separate sequels. They will involve each other in the sequels, but not be inclusive. They will hire a true action director who does not care about actors like Favreau does and you will have a heavy action Iron Man 2 missing the heart of the first one. This is true my Filmfans. Sad.

Louie Letterier, the director of the Incredible Hulk says that the initial cut of the film is 70 minutes longer than what is going to be on screen. Well I say, IS THAT ALL? 70 minutes seems nothing. I have heard of the initial cuts of some films to be in excess of 5 hours in length. The reason why it is down is mainly for pacing. Pacing is very important to a film. The pacing of a film keeps us interested. Some of the best paced films can be in excess of two hours, yet can seem like it flys by in a hour. Examples are, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, Saving Private Ryan. These films speed by because they are paced very well.

Well Louie says here that the scenes that were cut were no good. I say, well why do you want to include them in the Blu Ray? I think because they don't suck. They must be pretty good. Here is where Marvel could have saved themselves. They could have made an epic film out of it. We would have sat through it. We sat through Pirates 3. That was tedious. How cool is it to know that a superhero film is going to be 2 and 1/2 hours long? I would think "Wow they actually have something to say." Include at least 30 min into that and give us an epic film. Why don't they do that? Cause they are chicken. They don't want to take a chance and give us a large epic film

The execs want to do what they have been doing for years and give us a WHAM BANG experience. That's safe for them. We as an audience want a risk like that. We want a 2 1/2 hour Hulk that is decent. We beg for it. The numbers are there for long films. SATC is 2 1/2 hours. Pirates and Transformers are equally as long. The highest Grossing film of all time, Titanic, is 3 hours long. Length does not matter. It can only help them at this point. A 1hr 57min Hulk is humdrum. A 2 1/2 Hour Hulk is something I would be intrigued in. A week from now execs will be asking themselves what went wrong. Hopefully they will just look at themselves in the mirror. Until Tomorrow, let's talk film!