Untitled Film Blog

May 30

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May 24

Two days ago, G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu posted the above photo on his Twitter and Instagram accounts with the caption: “What ever u do… Do NOT press the button.”  We can safely assumed that many of Chu’s followers have already joked that somebody pushed the button after Paramount decided to change the release date of Retaliation. On Wednesday, Paramount announced that the film was moving from June 29 to March 29, 2013 release. Paramount’s spin on the situation is that the film will go under a lengthy 3D conversion process. In other words, this film could be a total disaster and Paramount wants to find a way to minimize their loss.  Ain’t It Cool News presents two interesting hypotheticals about Retaliation: potentially filming more scenes with Channing Tatum and 3D means higher ticket prices.  It’s squeaky bum time in Hollywood especially if you’re a studio releasing a very expensive action/four quadrant movie. Nobody wants to lose their job or take a financial blood bath. Basically, nobody wants to have another John Carter or another Battleship on their hands. If 3D ticket prices might mean, let’s just say, an extra five million dollars to the domestic box office tally, that makes sense. More importantly, if 3D is popular in foreign markets like Asia, then go for it. A film no longer makes a majority of its money from domestic release, it’s all foreign box office returns. Battleship was deemed a failure a few weeks before it’s North American release because it failed at the foreign box office. Was the film too ‘American’ for international audiences? Would 3D have saved the film? Maybe and probably not. While I personally enjoyed certain parts of Battleship, the audience, at large just rejected the film because it was inspired by a board game. There’s only so much that an audience can take. Comic books, video games, and theme park rides is where the line has been drawn.  The first two trailers for G.I. Joe: Retaliation presented the film in an extremely positive light. Bright and colorful. Flying ninjas battles. The Rock and Bruce Willis chopping it up, shooting bad guys. In other words, an ideal summer popcorn movie. Additionally, the exact opposite of Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Chu’s film seems more closer in tone and style to the beloved cartoon series where as Sommers’ film had a strong international, James Bond vibe. Also, the first two trailers for Retaliation did its best to distance themselves from the first film by theoretically killing off Channing Tatum and the Joes from the first film (save for Snake Eyes). I never thought that Tatum’s Duke was wiped from the slate….I just naturally assumed that the character would’ve poped up towards the end of the film and help save the day.  Apparently, I was wrong and perhaps Paramount will find a way to include more Channing Tatum into the final film. Granted, I’m not an scheduling expert, but I’m not sure how that’s going to work. Tatum will most likely spend a good part of summer promoting Magic Mike and has two films lined up for the fall: Foxcatcher and White House Down. The Rock is very busy as well; he’s doing the new Michael Bay film right now, starting work on Fast & Furious 6 soon and an additional film as well. They will find a way, obviously but it just seems really daunting. 

Two days ago, G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu posted the above photo on his Twitter and Instagram accounts with the caption: “What ever u do… Do NOT press the button.”  We can safely assumed that many of Chu’s followers have already joked that somebody pushed the button after Paramount decided to change the release date of Retaliation.

On Wednesday, Paramount announced that the film was moving from June 29 to March 29, 2013 release. Paramount’s spin on the situation is that the film will go under a lengthy 3D conversion process. In other words, this film could be a total disaster and Paramount wants to find a way to minimize their loss. 

Ain’t It Cool News presents two interesting hypotheticals about Retaliation: potentially filming more scenes with Channing Tatum and 3D means higher ticket prices. 

It’s squeaky bum time in Hollywood especially if you’re a studio releasing a very expensive action/four quadrant movie. Nobody wants to lose their job or take a financial blood bath. Basically, nobody wants to have another John Carter or another Battleship on their hands. If 3D ticket prices might mean, let’s just say, an extra five million dollars to the domestic box office tally, that makes sense. More importantly, if 3D is popular in foreign markets like Asia, then go for it. A film no longer makes a majority of its money from domestic release, it’s all foreign box office returns.

Battleship was deemed a failure a few weeks before it’s North American release because it failed at the foreign box office. Was the film too ‘American’ for international audiences? Would 3D have saved the film? Maybe and probably not. While I personally enjoyed certain parts of Battleship, the audience, at large just rejected the film because it was inspired by a board game. There’s only so much that an audience can take. Comic books, video games, and theme park rides is where the line has been drawn. 

The first two trailers for G.I. Joe: Retaliation presented the film in an extremely positive light. Bright and colorful. Flying ninjas battles. The Rock and Bruce Willis chopping it up, shooting bad guys. In other words, an ideal summer popcorn movie. Additionally, the exact opposite of Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Chu’s film seems more closer in tone and style to the beloved cartoon series where as Sommers’ film had a strong international, James Bond vibe.

Also, the first two trailers for Retaliation did its best to distance themselves from the first film by theoretically killing off Channing Tatum and the Joes from the first film (save for Snake Eyes). I never thought that Tatum’s Duke was wiped from the slate….I just naturally assumed that the character would’ve poped up towards the end of the film and help save the day. 

Apparently, I was wrong and perhaps Paramount will find a way to include more Channing Tatum into the final film. Granted, I’m not an scheduling expert, but I’m not sure how that’s going to work. Tatum will most likely spend a good part of summer promoting Magic Mike and has two films lined up for the fall: Foxcatcher and White House Down. The Rock is very busy as well; he’s doing the new Michael Bay film right now, starting work on Fast & Furious 6 soon and an additional film as well. They will find a way, obviously but it just seems really daunting. 

May 21

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May 15

Bad Film News….. Warner Bros has changed the release date for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity. Originally slated for a November 21st, 2012 release, the film has been moved to unspecific date in 2013. Film Stage believes that the film has been delayed due to special effects work, which could be very true. Jeffrey Wells offers another hypothesis: a lack of IMAX and 3D screens in November and December.  One has to assume the new James Bond film, Skyfall and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit will dominate IMAX theaters in November and December. Not to mention, Gravity, a more adult film would have to compete with the likes of Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and family friendly films.  Most recently Universal moved the Keanu Reeves 3D samurai film 47 Ronin from a November release to February 2013 for presumably the same reason. Not enough theaters/tough market. The pessimist that lives in each film fan wants to take this news as a sign of no confidence from the studio. They shouldn’t. Yes, studios know that they’re going to lose money on some films, but we, as the audience just can’t throw our hands up and assume that a film is garbage because a release date is changed or there’s delays. This is how we killed John Carter before we even gave it a chance.  Let’s just relax and wait for the film’s release and remember that North American box office returns aren’t as important as foreign markets.  If there’s a silver lining to this story, Warner Bros has moved up the release of Gangster Squad to early September. 

Bad Film News…..

Warner Bros has changed the release date for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity. Originally slated for a November 21st, 2012 release, the film has been moved to unspecific date in 2013. Film Stage believes that the film has been delayed due to special effects work, which could be very true. Jeffrey Wells offers another hypothesis: a lack of IMAX and 3D screens in November and December. 

One has to assume the new James Bond film, Skyfall and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit will dominate IMAX theaters in November and December. Not to mention, Gravity, a more adult film would have to compete with the likes of Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and family friendly films. 

Most recently Universal moved the Keanu Reeves 3D samurai film 47 Ronin from a November release to February 2013 for presumably the same reason. Not enough theaters/tough market. The pessimist that lives in each film fan wants to take this news as a sign of no confidence from the studio. They shouldn’t. Yes, studios know that they’re going to lose money on some films, but we, as the audience just can’t throw our hands up and assume that a film is garbage because a release date is changed or there’s delays. This is how we killed John Carter before we even gave it a chance.  Let’s just relax and wait for the film’s release and remember that North American box office returns aren’t as important as foreign markets. 

If there’s a silver lining to this story, Warner Bros has moved up the release of Gangster Squad to early September. 

May 11

Nicolas Winding Refnis on Twitter and working very hard on editing his next film, Only God Forgives.  In an earlier tweet, Refn said that the goal was to have the film ready by the end of August. Maybe Refn wants to premiere his latest at the Venice Film Festival or Toronto.  Only God Forgives reunites Refn with Drive collaborator Ryan Gosling in what should be a bloody epic set in Thailand with gangsters and Muay Thai. 

Nicolas Winding Refnis on Twitter and working very hard on editing his next film, Only God Forgives. 

In an earlier tweet, Refn said that the goal was to have the film ready by the end of August. Maybe Refn wants to premiere his latest at the Venice Film Festival or Toronto. 

Only God Forgives reunites Refn with Drive collaborator Ryan Gosling in what should be a bloody epic set in Thailand with gangsters and Muay Thai. 

May 08

Nerds Rejoice!  On Monday, 20th Century Fox ended months of anxious speculation about the fate of Sir Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. The film has received an R rating for “sci-fi violence including some intense images and brief language.” In other words, it’s going to tense and scary film.  While some may wonder if the R rating will hurt Prometheus’ domestic box office tally, it seems unlikely. Adults go to the movies as well and teens as they often do will find their way into a screening. More importantly, does this rating hurt the film’s chances in international markets? International box office performance has become more important than domestic. As long as Prometheus is a hit all over the world, the rating doesn’t matter. 

Nerds Rejoice! 

On Monday, 20th Century Fox ended months of anxious speculation about the fate of Sir Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. The film has received an R rating for “sci-fi violence including some intense images and brief language.” In other words, it’s going to tense and scary film. 

While some may wonder if the R rating will hurt Prometheus’ domestic box office tally, it seems unlikely. Adults go to the movies as well and teens as they often do will find their way into a screening. More importantly, does this rating hurt the film’s chances in international markets? International box office performance has become more important than domestic. As long as Prometheus is a hit all over the world, the rating doesn’t matter. 

Apr 30

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Apr 27

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“[For] Prometheus, it would have been very easy—in fact probably in Chapter One of the Executive Handbook, if I ever read such a thing, it would say, ‘Go ahead, make a straightforward prequel to Alien.’ That would have been the easy thing to do. ‘Prometheus is the more challenging thing to do. It’s bolder, it’s original, it’s in the universe, but it’s not a literal story-based prequel to [Alien], it’s a wholly new science-fiction entry from Ridley Scott, who hasn’t made a science-fiction film in 30 years. I can assure the fans—I’m very aware of their concern—absolutely they can take it that the film will not be compromised either way. So if that means that the film is R, then it’ll be an R. If it’s PG-13, then it’ll be a PG-13, but it will not be compromised.” - Fox CEO Tom Rothman

“[For] Prometheus, it would have been very easy—in fact probably in Chapter One of the Executive Handbook, if I ever read such a thing, it would say, ‘Go ahead, make a straightforward prequel to Alien.’ That would have been the easy thing to do. ‘Prometheus is the more challenging thing to do. It’s bolder, it’s original, it’s in the universe, but it’s not a literal story-based prequel to [Alien], it’s a wholly new science-fiction entry from Ridley Scott, who hasn’t made a science-fiction film in 30 years.

I can assure the fans—I’m very aware of their concern—absolutely they can take it that the film will not be compromised either way. So if that means that the film is R, then it’ll be an R. If it’s PG-13, then it’ll be a PG-13, but it will not be compromised.”

- Fox CEO Tom Rothman

Apr 18

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