It all begins next week...

Ok, let's talk film. Soooo many things to talk about today film fans I have no idea where to begin. Most of the news out in Hollywood, I have talked about. Here is a few things that written about today that I have covered and will briefly cover again. This article in THR.com talks about DC comics changing its strategy for upcoming films to rival Marvel comics and the money they have been making. Well, I don't think they have been making that much money. Iron Man was Lightning in a Bottle that caught everyone by surprise. DC holds the cards in the huge, blockbuster, comic book genre. They always will. They have always had Superman and Batman. Both films have broke 800 million worldwide. Marvel only had Spider Man and Iron Man right now. They only total over 800 million together. DC doesn't have to worry about competition for they have laid the ground work for great Super Hero film for decades. This is why there are not sweating it. I still say that we will probably see a surprise in the Dark Knight. We may even see a Superman appearance. We may not, but its a very good possibility that we may see a Clark Kent appearance. DC is not talking about its strategy because I think they already have one and are waiting for The Dark Knight to reveal it. That is my theory and I am going to bank on that.

Ok lets move on, I want to talk about Guillermo Del Toro and I have one more story to talk about again. Dan Fellman, a senior exec at Warner Bros. (haha I love it), is crying buckets of tears that theater owners are not complying with the flood of 3D movies that are going to flood multi plexes. Well, its getting infantile. That's a word to describe this yesterday. I knew it would be infantile and it has gotten this way. The execs and theater owners are squabbling like infants at this. I have to side with the execs for one because this new flood of the 3D movies I am comparing to Noah and the Great Flood.

King of the future 3D world, I am sure, is telling theater owners to get it together

When these films do hit the theater, they will be heavily advertised to be shown in 3D, but the number of theaters that can show this format appear to be limited. And from what theater owners are still saying, they will be unequipped for a while, at least until, they say, there is a demand for 3D film by the audience. SO! YET! I should say, there is going to be an influx of 3D film in 2009. It will happen. There is no getting around this. Advertising will be in 3D. This is not an Apple IPhone or Xbox or some product that you can just reorder over the weekend. If the theater owners miss a weekend, that's it. Films are made or broken in one single weekend. That is what Hollywood is all about. One weekend. So in short, well here is the quote from this article,

"John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, immediately responded, saying, "It is particularly ironic and frustrating that a senior executive from Warner Bros. would accuse exhibition of 'dragging its feet' on 3-D when Warners has been the absolutely slowest of all major studios to come to the table with support for the d-cinema rollout. If Warners believes there are an insufficient number of 3-D screens in the marketplace today, they have no one to blame but themselves, and they know it."

So this Fithian guy is crying and blaming Warner Bros for not previously releasing 3D films in the past to justify its demand for more projectors. But, this an industry that does not work like that. This industry dramatically changes every year. The genres change. People's appetites change. You can't release a film like Clueless now because we are in Sex and the City mode. You can't really release War Games, Iron Eagle or Platoon like films cause the market it not buying war films. Now audiences are not buying 3D, but they will. Sure are the summer day is long, next year they will be wanting to watch 3D. Sounds crazy now? Next year it won't. Trust me. You will be wanting to don a pair of glasses next year. Hehe.

Fithian knows this. He is not stupid. He knows the changing tide of the film industry. So what is the deal with this infantile response like he was just a manager at Spencer's gifts? I think these two super powers are just bickering like children. Both sides know the reality. It's a question of who wants to be prepared for the flood and who doesn't. Fithian will be in deep water in 2009.

Man of the Hour

So here is what I want to talk about, Guillermo Del Toro, the visionary, as they are saying. They are saying visionary. I think that's accurate. If you look at Pan's Labyrinth, its is a stunning visual film. Its is a very hard film to watch. If you haven't seen it, I recommend seeing it on TNT when it comes available if ever. Uncut is really brutal. The RT interview

He is gifted, I have to give him that. His concepts are total eye candy. If you look at the original Hellboy, you see traces of his upcoming style only in a darker light. Once he and found Robert Rodriguez's Director of Photography, Guillermo Navarro, for Hellboy, that's when it was a match made in heaven. I think it's often unfair that Guillermo del Toro gets all the credit for being a sole visionary when a director's cinematographer is like the WIFE of the director. So my fellow smart Hollywood players, when someone rightfully idolizes del Toro, don't forget to mention that Navarro has A LOT to do with this idolization.

In addition to Hellboy 2 The Golden Army, he is directing The Hobbit as many of you know of course. I am excited about this. Many Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings purists are not ready for this change, but I say to you this, The Hobbit is a different story than LOTR, it doesn't have huge battles and epic sequences. It is a smaller very visual story that Del Toro is soooo perfect for. I am excited to see this. With the material of the Hobbit, I prefer del Toro to Jackson any day. I know its sounds blasphemous, but logical. PJ has to move to bigger and better things. Anyway, in addition, Jackson is writing the thing, it's the best of both world here. And yes film fans, my opinion can be yours also, I won't tell anyone. Unless you are an exec. haha.

The Dark Knight

Well next week is Batman Mania. Let it begin. This is gonna be the most eagerly anticipated film in a looong time for it is propelled by the posthumous performance of Heath Ledger. It is an unspoken catalyst for the film, but this is true. And I have heard that Ledger's performance is legendary. Which I already knew. That made his Jan 22 death harder on me personally. There is early Oscar buzz AND the reviews that have been coming in have equated The Dark Knight to Brian de Palma's The Untouchables and Scarface AND Coppola's The Godfather. Three separate reviews have said that. It's exciting. It's amazing. It's gonna be crazy next week. GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY. It's gonna be a sold out weekend in the likes of 180 Mil. I can't wait. See Hellboy, try and get Mamma Mia song out of your head. Until Monday, let's talk film!