Catching Up With Audience Demand

We're gonna need a bigger camera...

Ok, let's talk film. Well, I should not pat myself on the back too much for this. But, I am right again. I know I am right often in this blog. I have been saying for two months now that Michael Bay needs to start shooting Transformers 2 in IMAX. Well news from Variety.com yesterday says that Bay will indeed pick up an IMAX camera. Though I can't take all the credit for this. We all knew this. In fact I think myself and everyone was wondering why it was taking Bay so long to announce that he was going to film in IMAX.

Well he announced it yesterday. It is official. It will be interesting to see Bay's breakneck speed directing on such a large canvas, but hey, it's IMAX. It's the only way to go for this film. Someone at Paramount caught this in time and sent IMAX cameras to Bay. Or maybe they read this blog and knew how much I could not understand why they were neglecting something so painfully obvious. Well they fixed the error and all is well.

Well the IMAX and 3D revolution is here. I know. You still don't believe me. It is actually a far fetched thing to believe that a great portion of film will be in 3D, but it will. Hollywood has planned for it. They gave X number of dollars to help facilitate that and it will happen. I mean the sequel that we all knew we'd see, well not The Dark Knight Returns, but Kung Fu Panda will get a 3D sequel. Hollywood swears to us that this is not your mama's 3D and I am inclined to believe them. With the sweeping technology we have these days, I am confident that the audience will be demanding more 3D film.

Because as I always say, this is about getting people into the theater. I am a huge advocate of that. I believe that film will always be better on the big screen. We are coming to a crossroad where we will choose to view our film on Blu Ray and out God awful huge LCD's And why not? It's a good way to go. Yet, there will never be a substitute for watching a great film on a large screen with audience reaction. Sure, some audience members can steal theater experiences with loud popcorn chomping and talking even though the theater strongly forbids it. And everyone around you probably hates it.

The only thing Hollywood needs to remember with all this technology is to give us interesting film. That's the thing that Hollywood is and will always be incompetent in. They will always be incompetent in producing great film. They don't do that regularly. They do it once in a while. When it's just Lightning in a Bottle. They do it when it just happens. They don't know how to start from an idea and know from script page one, how to make great film. Pixar does it! It can be done. But mainstream Hollywood can't do it. Until later, let's talk film!

Lost and Found in Translation

Based on hoping for a good translation...

Ok, let's talk film. Well we lost a legend over the weekend. It's been that kind of year. We are losing legends and greats too often this year, in my humble opinion. I guess that's not like any other year. However, this year feels more personal for me. Feels more immediate. Legends and actors too young. I guess life is life. Well, God Bless Paul Newman and everything he did for film.

Number one at the box office was Eagle Eye thanks to it's high concept idea, strategic marketing to the target demo, and decent star power with Shia Labeouf. Nights in Rodanthe held on strong to come in second with half of what Eagle Eye made. 14 mil to Eagle Eye's 29 mil. 14 mil is very average for Romantic films, drama or comedy. This year with What Happens in Vegas came in at 20 mil. That was a spring release. Yes romantic films rarely see more than 15-29 mil. It appears to be a dying genre in theaters. Probably has to do with the quick market to DVD, people know if they wait they can watch a romance at home. Still, this particular period or post Summer, is a slow period. Things won't pick up till November.

So the LA Times today tells this very sad story of the translation of books to film and how difficult or a "horror story" it could be to do so for an author. You can read the article here or you can just imagine what the article says. It says Boo Hoo, films NEVER live up to the book. That's right they never will. Unless the book has a very strong narrative like Hemingway or the DaVinci Code, which are in essence, screenplays in disguise. That is a paraphrase of the article.

BUT, what's it really all about? Why are books singled out over original material. Well a book following is a built in audience. You like the book? Check out the movie! It's built in ticket sales. Hollywood loves that. They only make films with guarantees, not creativity. Don't let this article fool you. Don't let the LA Times woo you into thinking that Hollywood is the firing squad for a novel. It's not. Hollywood buys rights to books because its easier and more of a guarantee than original material. In fact, you will see most films out there are based on something. It's a safe haven.

As for the author, it's all about the money. If an author sells to Hollywood, it's for money and fame. That's it. I don't think these authors should cry over spilled book because they sold it to hungry lions in the first place. If authors want their ideas to stay pure, don't sell to Hollywood. Then there is nothing to cry about. How much does Stephen King really care if his films are sub par? He doesn't. He keeps writing books and selling then, he cashes his check. Don't let this creative process distress you. It's hit or miss anyway. Books and novels are two completely different mediums. What works in a book will NOT work in a movie. Peter Jackson knows that.

The Lord of the Rings books are WAY different than the film. So, in some cases it's good and in some it is a horror story. But do not forget it's all about the paycheck and the guarantee for the studio. It's the gamble writers take. They should stop whining about it. If they are gonna whine, they should not sell. Until later, let's talk film!

The Friday Night Rave

Ravin till dawn...with my boots on...

Ok, let's talk film. It's easy to get caught up in Hollywood. There is a lot of money and a lot of fame. It's very easy to get lost in the promise of what Hollywood has to offer. Fame, Sex, drugs all that stuff. If you're a screenwriter, like Diablo Cody and you really know and resits the faux glitz of it all, you know better than to get too excited before your name is properly established. Well there is whole slew of young comic book movie writers out there that read comic books, take cool parts out of them and write them on paper and get oodles of dollars for this David Blaine like magic trick. And they get way too excited before the deal is sealed.

Usually these writers come in pairs. Magic couple number one consists of Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci. They are the writers of Transformers 1 and 2. They recently got the good fortune of getting credit of taking dictation for Star Trek, the new prequel, sequel, whatever it is. Now I say that they take dictation because that's all they really do. They don't have any ideas of their own regarding the screenplay. They just take notes from the director and the ever so insightful execs and then they run into an over decorated office and write what they just took notes on. Then after they do that they run back to the aforementioned people and ask for approval.

This is what these two guys do. There is no creativity in it. I know what you're saying...It's a paycheck, it's a good gig. Well maybe so. But I am just here to tell you what they do. I am here to shine the light on this.article in the MtV Blog. The blog talks about more couples making gazillions being Secretaries, namely, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, the writers of Iron Man. It seemed they have been called up to other jobs as secretaries. Well read the article, judge for yourself. I think they are overpaid secretaries. Am I just jealous? Maybe, but I am still here to point out the truth.

So I saw this really amazing film the other day. It's called Redbelt. It is written and directed by David Mamet. And it is one of the best films I personally have seen this year. It's not one for the awards, but it is a fantastic film. I very much recommend it. Until later, let's talk film!

Disney Talking Smack

Brains of the operation...

Ok, let's talk film. Yes, I think that I may be getting a little of my old spunk back. I am getting comments again, so that keeps me writing at my best. I know. What an attention whore if you will, I am. Well, I think it's just a need for recognition from my peers. If you have read my Monday's blog about Diablo Cody, you may noticed I have revised it (four times). That is because if you google, Jennifer's body, Diablo cody, this site comes up at like third or fourth on the list. So I am actually trying to proofread now.

Well let's dive into this Article posted today by the Hollywood Reporter. Apparently Dick Cook, Disney Exec extraordinaire, gathered the who's who of the media biz and announced their future schedule. I am sure everyone waited with bated breath to see what Disney will have in store for us regarding live action. Do we really care? We know what Disney does. They rehash anything in their path and pass it off as their own. They ran out of ideas a while back so they had to come up with a brilliant idea to tie in the Disneyland theme park rides with the movies.

Haunted Mansion tanked at the BO. But, Pirates did not suffer a tragic fate. Yes Disney was saved by talent. If Disney does success, they DO NOT do it themselves. There is not ONE talented person at Disney. All of their talent is outsourced. Johnny Depp saved them in POTC. Looking back, Pixar saved their animation department since Howard Ashman died in the 90's. He was the lyricist for Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. They did not resuscitate their animation quality until Pixar did their Toy Story thing and breathed life into animation again.

But again it was not Disney themselves. Disney as a new idea factory is non existent. Well here you have Dick Cook giving us a quote for his vision of the future, "Movies are constantly changing, and we want to be at the forefront," said Cook, hammering home themes of innovation and creativity throughout the day."

"innovation and creativity", you have got to be kidding me Mr. Cook! Since when has Disney themselves been self sufficient at creativity? Well at the time of Walt Disney, yes! He was a hallmark of creativity. But then that's it. The Disney Classics such as Cinderella and so forth were staples of uniqueness and treasure. But, then once Walt and his people were out of the picture. Then what happened? Well they had a few live action films in the 70's and 80's, Flubber, Love Bug, all that. But then nothing until talent found them in the form of a lyricist named Howard Ashman and a musician names Alan Menken, who still does great work. But, they were a Lennon/Macarthy, it hasn't been the same since. Road to El Dorado anyone?

Now Pixar is giving them wings. Pirates and Johnny Depp is giving them wings. So how is Disney on the forefront? How are they ever going to be on the forefront? With Pixar! With Johnny Depp. Not with Disney themselves. Let's take another quote.
"We add that extra increment of quality to everything we do," Cook said.
No you don't Mr. Cook! You have others to do that for you who are not direct representatives of Disney. So you Mr. Cook and Disney. Do not do anything except ride the coat tails of others! That's it!

This is typical exec thinking. They think they are the talented ones when they have no more responsibility of a McDonalds manager. But, that's what they do! Mr. Cook is diluted. He is in Fantasyland. He nor any other person has true talent like the talent the outsource. Until later, let's talk film!

The New Digital Age...Is Anyone Prepared?

Demand is there, Hollywood isn't. What else is new?

Ok, let's talk film. Well here is this DJ Caruso interview in Collider.com says this, "As everyone is slowly realizing, what Christopher Nolan did with “The Dark Knight” this summer has changed everything." This is a quote in reference to the audience appreciation for IMAX format that The Dark Knight was partially filmed in. Well first off on that quote. Everyone is NOT SLOWLY realizing this. I am certain everyone is rather quickly realizing this. There is just a high cost option that Hollywood is scared of. Remember Hollywood is terrified of new ideas. All Hollywood wants to do is make the same films over and over again. I say that every blog. They want to make only the teen comedy, the Superhero film that's written with snappy dialogue, the slasher film, the feel good underdog film, and the by the numbers romantic comedy. That's all they have in their playbook. That's it! That's all we get.

Sure, they may throw a thriller out once in a while, like Eagle Eye. But in essence is a "Like a Bourne film, except..." We know the formula, we're not stupid. SO when the Dark Knigh shattered all records for being a great film and shot in IMAX, Hollywood wet themselves with fear. They don't know how to make great film. Making great film eludes Hollywood, always will.

Well here is Collide.com telling us everyone is slowly realizing this concept. No! Hollywood knows this concept! They know it very well, they are just unequipped to deal with it. So, that may come off as uninformed. Well, theaters are ill equipped as well. We have this 3D craze, this 3D revolution coming to theaters and the cinemas themselves are not ready. Only digital projectors can run 3D digital film. Only 40% of theaters have this technology. It's crazy.

And where is Michael Bay in all of this? Where is Spielberg for that matter? They NEED to be filming Transformers 2 in IMAX. They need at least 3 strong scenes in IMAX format. Favreau is panting in front of Paramount, begging for the budget for an IMAX shoot. What does all this do? Well IMAX and 3D (stereo as James Cameron calls it) brings people to the cinema again. Otherwise most people will wait for blu ray. And why wouldn't they?! Blu Ray is a wonderful technology.

Michael Bay should by all means be shooting in IMAX. Why he isn't doesn't make any sense to me. They have the budget, they need the cameras. Spielberg knows better. Until Later, let's talk film!

Diablo's Fear of Failure

Keep it personal, Cody.

Ok, let's talk film. Lakeview Terrace was number one over the weekend. Samuel Jackson playing the bad guy is even money at the box office I would say. But Hollywood can rejoice! The film got terrible reviews and people still went to see it. I didn't. I caught up with Burn After Reading and laughed my tookas off. The best reviewed movie, Ghost Town, suffered from lack of a movie star. People still want to go see movie stars. Ricky Grevais, the star of Ghost Town isn't popular. Sure he is a good actor. But, the studio should really know better. Without a movie star, well, the audience will go see something else with a movie star.

SO I wanted to go see Ghost Town, but I was a week behind, so I saw the Cohen Bros. Film. Though the Box Office is slow. The number one film is still only pulling in 15 million. That's nothing. So even if you're number one, there is still nothing really to be that excited about. Studios I am sure are doing the pogo dance rejoicing that their film is number one, but until you're pulling dark night numbers, there is nothing to get excited about. Nothing.

So Diablo Cody, one of my favorite writers, though she has only one script produced thus far, talks to the LA Times today and reveals a career killing fact. Here's one on talking about her new film, Jennifer's Body, "I did not think this would be my follow-up to 'Juno.' But I don't know if I will ever write [another] highbrow, artsy movie."

Well Diablo, or Brook, as her real name is, Brook, that's what wins awards. A highbrow, artsy film, is basically a personally written script. When I think of her description of Juno as artsy, highbrow, I think of scripts like Ordinary People, Moonstruck, Forrest Gump. They're sure artsy films, but they are what we as an audience member responds to. I know! She is sounding like a Hollywood exec! She is sounding like Paramount Pictures. They canned Vantage so they would not have to do Artsy films anymore. She doesn't want to sell out, yet that train of thinking of NOT doing Artsy films, is selling out because that is the trend of thinking in Hollywood. If she wants to go against the grain she needs to do Artsy films. Don't you see that Brook? Is it that hard to notice your current train of thought is not risky at all. It is current Hollywood exec thinking.

You're an Oscar winning screenwriter now, I think, in my humble opinion, you need to act like one. She thinks being risky is doing offbeat, genre horror films. Well that's current Hollywood ideas Brooke. It's actually not risky at all. Risky is doing an Artsy film. No one right now in Hollywood wants to do Art films. They are a liability. Hollywood wants to do huge dark studio picks (Dark Knight) or cheap audience appealing films that make back chump change in the first day.

Here are two inevitable facts about being a writer. First, you're gonna write personal and artsy eventually anyway. I mean one day every writer wants to get introspective. Cody will want to write another Juno like script. And she should. It is her life. She can't escape who she is. I do not believe she is this offbeat writer. I mean leave the offbeat, sellout writing to Tina Fey. She has smart glasses and snappy one liners. Let her sell out and do frivolous, comedy pieces.

Brook, You're way better than that. You need to write from your gut and leave a pint of blood on those pages. That's what we want! Every writer WANTS and needs to write what they know. So even if Jennifer's Body is a success, you may and will eventually want to go back and re-open up your own floodgates. It's an evolutionary fact.

Second, a writer is always afraid of failure. We always hate what we write. I hate what I am writing right now, but I do it because putting words on paper is wonderful. I love it. I think she is
afraid of failure. It is written all over this LA Times article. Why else would she do what seems to be a throwback film. She can't hide herself and say as she does to the LA Times that she wants to forget her Oscar. I think that is a lie. I think she sees it everyday and wants to repeat that success, but is terrified. And rightfully so. She is afraid of success because in life and especially in Unforgiving Jew Town, it's hard to stay on top. Even Rob Reiner's golden streak ended. Even Speilberg makes a bad film once in a while. The industry is so hard to foster success that I am positive Diablo, my fair Brook, is afraid to fail. And with her pressure who wouldn't be.

So, she is making Jennifer's Body on purpose to seemingly take a huge risk and basically get that fear of failure out of her system. But, it's not risky. Art films are out in Hollywood. If she wants to go against the grain, she would write that auto bio stripper story and tell it from the gut. That is against the grain. Until later, let's talk film!

Manhunter vs. Red Dragon

Manhunter. Directed by Michael Mann

Ok, let's talk film. HD NET movies is a great channel to have. Watching Manhunter on my wide screen tube and I forgot how great a film this is. It was released in 1986 when high concept films were bombarding the multi plexes, so it was unfortunately easy for this film to get lost in the mix. It was directed by legendary filmmaker Michael Mann. He is the director of Heat, The Insider, Last of the Mohican's, Miami Vice, which I loved. I am not sure anyone else saw that film. It was really good. I recommend it.

Anyway I am watching this film now actually. I can two things at once and I want to write about it cause it reminds me of the hapless repetition of Hollywood. You see this film is the first Silence of the Lambs film. The definitive one was the spectacular opus starring Hopkins and Foster, both to walk away with the Oscar. But this film from 1986 stars William Peterson from CSI. Edward Norton took over this role in the Brett Ratner remake, Red Dragon. Now you have to expect a few things from Ratner and not expect a few things from him.

He's someone who could screw up a cup of coffee. But who knows if that is really his fault. I mean he is a studio yes boy. There is not too much to his style at all. If you look at his films, Rush Hour, Family Man, After the Sunset, X Men 3. There is not much to him. He is one of those directors that Hollywood likes because he went to USC film school. So he knows SOMETHING, but when it comes to meat and potatoes he is a small fry short of a happy meal. He can't improvise. At least Michael Bay can do that. Well that's all Bay does is improvise. He doesn't have any real vision as a director. So here you have this film that Michael Mann very competently did in '86 and Ratner and MGM decided to do it again. Well that's what we do in Hollywood. We do things twice, three times if needed until they get it right.

Well it doesn't really matter on this film because the original Manhunter by Michael man is far superior to Ratner's. There is a couple things artistically I want to point out. First really good camera decision is during a tense scene that is in every scary film ever. It is a slow pan around a house while a character looks for a possible killer in the home. But this pan is ingenious for Mann and DP Dante Spinotti pass the camera through a fish tank during a suspenseful scene like that. It is brilliant! It really is. The shot reminds me of Spielberg's shot in Saving Private Ryan in the beginning where he bobs the camera up and down in the water juxapositioning tranquility and chaos.

Performance or substance?

And that's what its all about my film fans and future filmmakers. You have to put two things that don't belong together together to make it interesting. Keep that in mind when you're making your film. Another interesting thing that actually is a point for the Ratner side is the infrequent use of Hannibal Leckter in Manhunter. There is actually a lot of dialogue referring to Leckter's madness and yet few scenes with him (the likeable Ronny Cox in Manhunter... I know). That is because when you have Anthony Hopkins playing his bone chilling version of Lecter (not a typo, they are spelled different in the two movies), you don't need excessive dialogue explaining how crazy he is. Hopkins shows you. Perfectly! Which brings us to lesson two, if you have good actors, the less dialogue you need. Great actors can sell emotion with fewer lines.

Well that is rub between these two films. Hopkins is fantastically bone chilling. Yet, Michael Mann is the better director. If you're looking for a great Hannibal crime thriller you may have never seen, this is something to rent. Until Later, let's talk film!

Decline of the Family Holiday Film

We want it done right or we don't want it at all...

Ok, let's talk film. The holidays are fast approaching and I wonder what kind of Holiday fare we will see. Well I can tell you right now. Its gonna be a Christmas film about not wanting to be with family. Well Hollywood echos itself this way. They show us who they are by releasing Holiday film like this. This anti family fare has been in the mix for a long time. I just saw this trailer for Four Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon and I can tell you that the trend is here to stay. If you look at the past Christmas film releases you will see the exact same trend.

The past flock of films include Saving Christmas, Christmas With The Cranks,Deck the Halls, and Surviving Christmas. The new theme here for Christmas film is avoiding family and the theme here is continued with this new Reese Witherspoon film. Why is this trend alive? I believe that Hollywood makes the films that they themselves believe in. Aside from the fact that the town in heavily Jewish, there still is necessity of a Holiday gathering in Judaism with Hanukkah. So, with whatever gathering the execs and writers in Hollywood choose, there is a need to tell a story of the estranged family.

The simple point is that execs don't care about family. They greenlight Christmas films they want to see. They think this lack of family togetherness if funny. Yet, its not funny. Those films I mentioned above did not do well because the audience does not think the same as an exec. We, as an audience, love our families. Sure, in reality it is uncomfortable to see all our relatives at once, but we don't avoid them like the films execs put out during Christmas.

All these anti family Christmas films have failed. They will continue to fail because of what I talked about yesterday. Hollywood execs and the Box Office are two different entities. Execs obviously don't care about their families. But we as an audience do. They are gonna have to do better in delivering family fare about families that actually has a traditional family theme. Otherwise we will avoid it as we have been. Until Tomorrow, let's talk film!

Box Office Truth

They are good, my film fans...Cohen Brothers

Ok, let's talk film. So I think we all know that there are two separate entities in Film. One is Hollywood and the other is the Box Office. Hollywood represents the execs, the sharks, the ones who are out to make a gazillion dollars each film. The other entity is the audience, who pay 11.50 to see a good story. These two divisions never see eye to eye. Hollywood wants to make the same movie over and over again. They think we want the same movie over and over again. You know what movie I am talking about. They make the Hero movie, the film where the hero doesn't want to be the hero, yet becomes the Hero anyway. The underdog story. That's what Hollywood keeps making over and over again.

Well there is a point here. If you look at the Box Office this weekend. Let's just post it and take a look at it here.

1 Burn After Reading $19,404,000 2,651
2 N Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys $18,020,000 - 2,070
3 N Righteous Kill Over. $16,500,000 - 3,152
4 N The Women (2008) $10,088,000 - 2,962
5 4 The House Bunny $4,300,000 - 2,763

Well the first number is of course the weekend gross and the second number is the number of theaters. Here is the tomatometer for the opening films.

78% Burn After Reading
52% Tyler Perry's The Fami… $17.4M
23% Righteous Kill $16.3M
10% The Women $10.1M
84% Tropic Thunder $4.2M
40% The House Bunny $4.2M
95% The Dark Knight $4.1M
10% Bangkok Dangerous $2.6M
52% Traitor $2.1M
38% Death Race $2.1M

This speaks for itself. The big ticket for the weekend according to Hollywood was Righteous Kill. Hollywood marketed that like it was the next Godfather. And they had high hopes with Diane English's The Women. But, look how it turned out. The audience went to see the film that got the best reviews. How upset does this make Hollywood? I could not even tell you. It takes their wind away. They can't fool us anymore. This has been going on all summer. All summer long we as an audience has told Hollywood to shove it when it comes to sub par film.

They are gonna have to do better. Well don't think that this is gonna sink in right away. We are gonna have to boycott more films. Yes of course. Hollywood is aware but they are not going to learn instantly. They still have the studio formula stuck with them like cancer. That will be the biggest thing for them to overcome. They have to stick to their inbred formula and realize that it is time for change. Well this is a bolder of an industry that is not willing to change anytime soon, yet the Box Office demands it. It is there in plain black and white. Until Tomorrow, let's talk film.

The Friday Night Rave

Of course till the break of dawn...

Ok, let's talk film. Well this week has been a week for me hence only three posts. I guess only my die hard fans are upset. This week we have news of Spider Man 4 and 5 filmed consecutively. We all saw this coming. Whenever you have a third film in the trilogy that is sub-par. You now have in Hollywood complete freedom to do a forth one. There was a time in Hollywood, that if you made a bad tentpole film, that was it. A studio moved on to the next project. Now, we can do it again. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised of doing a Spider-Man begins with an all new cast and a darker subject matter, released in late July.

That's the train of thought now. We all know that. What will the new Spider Man be? I dunno. But you can bet that it will have a darker tone. In fact any super hero film released from now on will carry a darker tone. That's the trend. Well the new Superman Movies will be redone completely. They won't have the PC Brandon Routh whose voice and mannerisms were a direct impersonation of Christopher Reeve. That's all that casting choice was. It was to honor Chris Reeve. I think they should have taken Superman in a whole new direction. Well they will now. They won't even have Bryan Singer do it again. They will get a darker director to handle the project.

SO what's good about this downtime before Oscar season and post Summer Blockbuster? The DVD's. Iron Man is to be released on DVD September 30th and the rest of the Blockbusters will follow. That includes The Dark Knight in December. All the summer films will be in stores before Christmas. That is something to look forward to. It is almost a shame that it happens so fast. It is a shame that DVD's come out only three months after the theatrical run. They do that so there is not enough time for pirating. Yet, that could be a reason for lower theater attendance.

I hope that no one forgets that film is all about watching it in the theater. I do think most people forget that. The majority of people out there who are not in the prime demographic will wait for the DVD release and ignore the theatrical. It is a shame to see that happen. Movies will always be about the experience. If you have never seen The Godfather in the theater, I guarantee you that you have never seen it. It's a whole different experience. Go see film in theaters. Of course check the tomatometer first. I don't want you throwing you money away. Until next week, let's talk film!

The Voice of the Mainstream Generation

The Voice! God bless you Don!

Ok, let's talk film. Don LaFontaine has passed. He has left this world at 68 due to complications of Pneumonia, or something. Now this death surprises me. When I hear of the passing of Don, you all know who he is whether you consciously know it or not. He's the voice of all the movie trailers. "In a world where Jeff writes a blog and no one reads it, one man can," yeah that guy. This is a guy who truly made an impact on the world. He can go to God and say, hey I touched just about every human being on this planet. Totally. How many people can actually say that. Well the thing that strikes me as odd in Don's death is how not sad I am. I am actually happy that he will be remembered with such high regard.

It makes me smile to think of his memory and impact on this world. To touch someone like that in death is an amazing feat. Well prayers to his family and friends. God bless him. But wow, what an amazing life. I mean you could not hear a trailer without hearing his booming voice to really sell the picture. Well let's talk about trailers for a little bit in honor of Don and his legacy and just to talk about trailers because I never get to talk about them

Well, first off, if the trailer is better than the film, then why not make the film like the trailer? An obvious thought and one that Hollywood has not figured out yet. It is easier to make a story look good in two minutes than two hours. Especially when narrative can be boring and trite, Titanic spitting scene anyone? Trailers have one quality that films lack. it is an obvious quality. It is pacing of course. Trailers have interesting fast pacing. Life filet minon, all meat no fat. Well if films were like trailers, then there would be no real substance, no real moments. But then in films, most of the time a Mickey Bay film, there are no real moments or substance. So there is that.

Trailers are done by separate trailer companies. If you saw the Holiday, you know that Cameron Diaz's job was to make trailers. In fact she had one film that was not good looking good because of her. That's essentially what trailer making is, it is picking the best parts whether the film is good or bad, in essence making lemonade out of it. Anything can look good if the trailer is done well. Anything!

Which of course brings me to my last point. Don't trust the trailers! They lie! Look at them and see if they seem original or interesting. But as we all know the director and the director's approach to the material is the make or break. But I know you are a savvy Hollywood player who doesn't listen or become mesmerized by trailers with the bell and whistles on them. Even if Don LaFontaine sold it like snow in Alaska. Don't trust the voice completely even though the voice made us anticipate some of the greatest mainstream film ever made. We do popular mainstream film here in this blog. Have a good night. Until Tomorrow, let's talk film!