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Psychotic Reactions
-- John Shea
27 May, 2003
Jim Carrey is still a box office monster in a comedy. Who knew? Bruce Almighty was indeed the lord of the land for the four day weekend, pulling in a startling $86.4 million. That almost doubles the take for the same time period of the year's 800 lb. gorilla so far, The Matrix Reloaded, which earned a paltry $45.6 million. Bruce wildly exceeded expectations in hitting that figure. Reviews were fairly tepid so we'll see what people really think when it faces off with Finding Nemo next weekend. Big openings are really an indicator of marketing and not quality. How much the film's business drops off in its second week should give a good feel for its real appeal. Incidently, the other major release for the week, The In-Laws, got off to a weak start with $9.1 million and fifth place.
Miramax seems to be trying to find as many bizarre ways to make big movies on the cheap as possible. Take for instance The Green Hornet, based on the old TV series. Miramax is busily shopping a proposal around to car manufacturers to feature one of their cars in the film for a mere $35 million. The original series featured a 1966 Chrysler Imperial, which had its own personality and mind, frequently driving in to rescue the hero. The car, driven by the superhero's sidekick Cato, will be featured so prominently that it ranks up with the actors. Coolness is the key here, preferably a new model or a concept vehicle. While the price tag is steep, there is a lot to like for the manufacturer. The project, scheduled for release in 2005, has no director, stars or script. Thus the manufacturer could heavily influence the final film by getting involved early. Product placement for cars is hardly new. BMW payed up to get its Z3 roadster featured in the Bond film Goldeneye. More recently, Ford did the same with the latest Bond film Die Another Day, prominently featuring the Ford Thunderbird, Aston Martin Vanquish and Jaguar XKR.
"It's not very often where the product is one of the cast," Miramax executive vice president of worldwide promotions Ms. Sale said. "This is one of those films that don't come around too often. We want to make this the largest single automotive placement ever."
I understand that Miramax tasted some success with the epic Gangs of New York and wants to make similar films in the future. These big projects require considerable cash to make so any additional source of funds is welcome. The main question though is about the film's quality being affected by this huge placement. At what point is a line crossed and the film becomes advertising instead of an art form? Off hand I'd say Miramax is getting dangerously close to that line right now. When the maker of a product being featured gets considerable say on the making of the film, it becomes nearly impossible not to see the film as advertising. Nobody pays to have advertising shown to them. It's widely available everywhere you look for free. (Adage)
Random observation
Reality TV, or the more accurate term unscripted TV, doesn't have to be awful or humiliating for those involved. It is possible to create a reality series that doesn't try and get the most pathetic of behaviors on tape. The prime example would be TLC's Trading Spaces. My wife made me watch an episode a while back and I was almost instantly hooked. For those unaware of it, the premise is that two sets of homeowners swap houses and redecorate one room in each other's home without the owner's involvement. Aiding them is a crew of designers, carpenters and the host Page Davis. Each team gets their own designer and has two days and a $1000 budget to renovate the room. Why do I like the series so much? It has little to do with interior design. I run screaming from HGTV and generally dread decorating in general. The fun comes from the strict rules and the colorful designers. The combination yields genuine surprises and drama with seeming ease. Regular watching improves the series as you become familiar with the designers. Homeowners are struck with fear when assigned Doug or Hildie, two mavericks with a pension for utilizing strange materials and ignoring the homeowners' wishes. But genuine satisfaction can be found in the designs of Frank and Vern, who go out of their way to please. The point is that the show never tries to embarass the homeowners, instead giving them a wealth of experience in design and home improvement. Even homeowners who hate what was done to their room admit they enjoyed the experience. How many of the contestants featured on Survivor or Joe Millionaire would make the same claim?
News
Ambition: Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, is now trying his hand at screenwriting and is getting close to finishing one called Ambition. In an interview with Erie Entertainment, he describes the story. "It’s an idea I have had forever about a failed artist, who’s married and his job is he mixes paint in a big hardware store. And he is approached by this little cartel of collectors, curators and art critics and they say ‘Hey this hot-shot artist who you knew in college, who is the new Andy Warhol, his current work is really destroying the value of his early work, he is losing money and is damaging our investment. We will make you the next big famous artist if you kill him for us.’ And he says ‘No, I am not killing anybody.’ And they say ‘Would it help if we told you that he killed to get where he is at…and that he is having an affair with your wife?’ And in the second act he ends up being roped into being a professional killer and traveling the world in this dark comedy, killing other famous artists who reach the end of their productive period in order to boost the value of their earlier work. Because as soon as an artist dies the value of their work just explodes. So it’s this dark comedy about him, a professional killer/artist," says Palahniuk. Certainly an amusing concept for a movie. We'll keep an eye out to see if anything comes of this one.
The Crimson Petal and the White: The name isn't likely to send anyone racing to the theater but the names behind it might. Curtis Hanson (8 Mile, LA Confidential) has signed to direct the movie adaptation of this Michael Faber novel. The project is being developed for Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man, Bring It On) to star. Set in the 1860s, the story revolves around 19 year old prostitute Sugar. She dreams of bigger things and starts to see that dream fulfilled when she becomes the mistress of a London power broker. Laura Ziskin is producing for Columbia Pictures. She says the novel is "very suprising, very triumphant and very sexy." Hanson has a wonderful touch with actors and Dunst is just oozing talent and appeal. This could be one to keep an eye on. Hopefully a better title will emerge though. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Casting Couch
Phantom of the Opera: Emmy Rossum is close to signing as the female lead in Joel Schumacher's movie adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Gerard Butler has already signed for the title role with Patrick Wilson as Paul, the love of Rossum's character. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Bewitched: Jim Carrey is apparently considering stepping into the adaptation of the TV classic Bewitched opposite Nicole Kidman. He mentioned interest in the project during an appearance on the Howard Stern show.
TV
House Arrest: Have you noticed the brief animated segments that run during commercial breaks on Comedy Central? Get ready for a lot more of that as the network has opted to turn those interstitials into a full fledged series. The Dennis Leary produced shorts proved popular enough to get a full series, making for a strange but apparently successful pilot approach.
Trailers
The Cat in the Hat
Jeepers Creepers 2
Tomb Raider 2: The Cradle of Life
Dogville
Reviews
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