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Author Topic: Trend, change or anomaly Jim Bedford Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 597 From: Telluride, CO, USA (733 mi. WNW of Rockwall, TX but it seems much, much longer) Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-27-2004 12:47 PM                        What's going on with the content of theatrical films? Are things really changing in the marketplace? Films like "SuperSize Me" (shot on video for spare change) that used to be relegated to a late evening slot on PBS are not only getting theatrical release, but SSM has pulled in over $8.5M to date. Open now and doing well, or soon to open, are a number of political titles that would NEVER have been at the local multiplex before "Bowling for Columbine." "Control Room," "The Hunting of the President," "What the #$*! Do We Know?, "The Corporation," "The 25th Hour," "Bush's Brain," and of course, the 800 pound gorilla (no, not Michael Moore) "Fahrenheit 9/11," are playing next to "Shrek 2" and "Harry Potter." The right has "America's Heart and Soul," "Michael Moore Hates America, " "The Big Dance," and other titles in the pipeline. Most of these are all probably coming out right now because it's the political season, but is something really changing in the market? Or will everything return to normal after the election in November? Before you answer that, take a careful look at the "SuperSize Me" grosses.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-27-2004 01:10 PM                        Could it be that it's easier to get a theatrical release now because there are so many screens to keep filled, and movies tend to play out so fast. Harry Potter is only 3 weeks old and it's already played even the smaller towns around here and is long gone. Combine that with the "cheap" production of some of these films and maybe you have an answer.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-27-2004 03:55 PM                     Just like the other day I was reading that we can expect more reality TV shows than ever even if the rateing are poor do to the extreme low cost of production compared to dramas and music shows as the talent (term used loosely)is usually free or for a prize and there are no residuals and the like  |  IP: Logged Ky Boyd Hey I'm #23 Posts: 314 From: Santa Rosa, CA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-27-2004 05:58 PM                       Sometimes real life is more compelling than fiction. Sometimes it is easier (faster, more convenient, less work) for distribs to figure out how to market something that already ties into current events people are already intertested in. In a celebrity saturated culture even more people wanna be famous. Also camcorders have been around for almost a generation now, so more people are comfortable with the idea that "hey, I could make a film." It's not as easy as it seems but having a marketable idea is a great starting point as Super Size Me well demonstrates. Ever see the musical "Rent?" In the title song one of the verses goes: Draw a line in the sand And then make a stand Use your camera to spar Use your guitar  |  IP: Logged David Favel Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 764 From: Ashburton, New Zealand Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-27-2004 08:30 PM                     Wasn't it after the writers strike in 98/99 or so, we had some really innovative movies dug out of storage? Perhaps it's just that a great idea doesn't need a mega budget.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-27-2004 09:35 PM                     I honestly think this industry has been going down hill since the middle-90's for a few reasons. One is that there are, indeed, too many screens and Hollywood is forced to pump out absolute crap in order to keep something on those screens 12 hours a day, 365 days a year. Also tied to that are the "children" who are running Hollywood. I'm talking about guys like Bill Mechanic, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Michael Eisner, and the list goes on. They are NOT Sam Goldwyn, Abel Gance, or the original founders of United Artists (Chaplin, Pickford, Griffith ...etc). Think about it. Mechanic was the asshole who green lighted almost every mega dollar flop first at Fox then Paramount. The Weinsteins push their crazy art-imitating-life-imitating-art garbage on every film one of them gets to executively produce. And Eisner ... well lets just say he wishes he only had the balls and brains his predecessors like good ol' Walt did. Lastly, the lack of professionalism not just in exhibition, but at all levels. There are college graduates in this business who cannot properly write a general letter to exhibitors without punctuation and capitalization mistakes, There are telephone operators who don't even know what company they work for (thats right New Line, I'm talking about YOU). Finally, of course, there are those idiots who permit shit like Screenvision ads hyping next season's TV schedule to play on there studio's prints. Thats great for business  |  IP: Logged Adam Wilbert Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 590 From: Bellingham, WA, USA Registered: Mar 2002 posted 06-27-2004 11:52 PM                        quote: There are college graduates in this business who cannot properly write a general letter to exhibitors without punctuation and capitalization mistakes <period>. There are telephone operators who don't even know what company they work for (thats right New Line, I'm talking about YOU). Finally, of course, there are those idiots who permit shit like Screenvision ads hyping next season's TV schedule to play on there <their> studio's prints. That<'>s great for business <period> just messing with you I personally think that it is great that more independent and low-budget films (videos?!) are being given the opportunity to be seen by a wider audience. Many of them might be schlock, but then there are the gems that make it through that wouldn’t have otherwise been given proper recognition. It’s not Hollywood’s fault that so much crap is pumped out; it’s the general movie-going public that swallows the garbage and creates a market for it. Somehow, that last sentence ties back to SuperSize Me, but I’m not sure that I want to make that connection right now. -Adam  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 06-28-2004 12:40 PM                        Nothing wrong with the increased variety that documentaries and independent features bring to theatres. I just sometimes wish that the production values and image quality were better, so they looked better than television or home movies on a big screen.  |  IP: Logged John T. Hendrickson, Jr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 889 From: Freehold, NJ, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 06-28-2004 08:35 PM                     To answer Jim Bedford's question: "is something really changing in the market?" Yes. When two controversial films, namely, "The Passion of The Christ" and "Fahrenheit 911" end up blowing away the competition on their opening week, something must be changing. I suppose one could attribute that to astute marketing, but on the other hand, it is the filmgoers who choose to fill the seats or leave them empty. Interesting that these films cover two verbotten topics at cocktail parties: religion and politics. Hollywood being what it is, there will be other movies along these lines, as imitation seems to be the quickest way to making a buck (or so the industry mogels think). But will these clones be as fresh as the originals? I think not. We await the next great departure from the norm. If I knew what that was, I'd never have to work again.  |  IP: Logged Tim Lockridge Film Handler Posts: 20 From: Indiana, USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 07-04-2004 01:36 PM                     I'll gladly take a "Super Size Me" over most of the derivitive Hollywood crap that comes into my theater. I think that when "White Chicks" is number two at the boxoffice, Hollywood's problems speak for themselves.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-04-2004 02:15 PM                     "America's Heart and Soul" is not a right-winged movie. It's not political at all. It explores all types of people all over America and what they're in to. It cuts out all the political crap and shows America's True Freedom -- that you can follow your passion and your dreams despite how odd or crazy they may be. I'd think of it more as a travelogue for the United States. It made me want to explore the rest of this country beyond the humid sweathole known as Florida. A truly beautiful film!! Hats off to Disney and co-sponsor Kodak! BUT, I was the only one in the 200+ seat theater. Dare I say, I enjoed it more than Fahrenheit 9/11!! I think this trend towards "documentaries" (and yes, documentaries can have a slant. They're not just about endangered tigers and outer space) is the same trend we're seeing in television with "reality" shows. People like the sense of realism, the raw and "on-the-fly" feel of the shaky, grainy video, and the fact that they take place in people's home towns instead of "Windchestertonfieldville, Iowa" =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Tim Lockridge Film Handler Posts: 20 From: Indiana, USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 07-04-2004 02:30 PM                     America's Heart and Soul is only on 98 screens, and Disney has done almost NO advertising for it. I don't really understand why... it seems like it has lots of potential.  |  IP: Logged Julie Havlin Film Handler Posts: 9 From: St. Louis, MO Registered: May 2004 posted 07-04-2004 11:29 PM                     America's Heart and Soul may not be a right-wing type of film (I haven't seen it yet to judge) but I have the honour of playing it alongside 3 screens of Fahrenheit 9/11 and you would not believe the culture-clash we get! I have Heart & Soul customers coming up to complain to me that we have the cajones to play these 2 films next to each other, and WHY is 9/11 on 3 screens!?!?! Then they start fights with people in line for 9/11. Heart and Soul may be a great sampling of American life and non-aligning, but the trailer made me want to vomit with the cheesy lines and John Couger Mellancamp music. Plus we were forced to play it on every screen (except 9/11).  |  IP: Logged

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