Posts filed under 'Upcoming movies'
November 9th, 2009
According to the New York Times, the total cost for James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi extravaganza, AVATAR, could reach the fabled $500 million mark…
“The final cost of the film has not been tallied, as Mr. Cameron, who has worked on the film for 15 years, and his collaborators, as far-flung as Weta Digital in New Zealand, continue to complete their work. Published reports have put the production budget at more than $230 million. But the price tag would be higher if the financial contribution of Mr. Cameron and others were included. When global marketing expenses are added, AVATAR may cost its various backers $500 million.”
On the one hand, that’s a lot of money. On the other hand, does that really matter to moviegoers?
As Kristen Thompson says over at the Observations on Film Art blog in a post titled “Don’t Knock the Blockbusters”, in most cases we don’t know (or care) how much it costs to develop a new car, or publish a book, or record a CD. And when that car/book/CD is released, those development costs don’t have much of an effect on the price of the product. With movies, we generally know exactly how much it costs to develop (i.e. film) one, but why do we care? When that movie hits theaters, whether it’s a $500 billion AVATAR or a $15,000 PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, the ticket price is going to be about the same.
And, in a big picture, global economic sense, expensive Hollywood movies are, no kidding, good for America — because they’re what foreign audiences really want to see. As Thompson says…
“Yes, it may sound absurd that it requires $200 million to make a movie, especially one that gets mediocre reviews from critics and fans. Still, from a business point of view, it makes sense and it’s good for the country. It’s especially important in a period of financial crisis, when the movie industry’s income seems considerably less affected than many others. Our overall trade deficit is falling, since Americans are saving more and buying less from abroad. This year the film and television industry’s share of the surplus will presumably grow.”
It doesn’t mean they’re good artistically or creatively, or even entertainly. But economically speaking, a $500 billion movie can be good for Uncle Sam, even if it bombs here in the States.
Though you can bet that James Cameron is hoping and praying that isn’t the case with AVATAR. We’ll find out soon enough. The movie opens Dec. 18.
September 16th, 2009
Variety reports that the fourth SPIDER-MAN movie, imaginatively titled “SPIDER-MAN 4,” will arrive in theaters on May 6, 2011. Director Sam Raimi is returning once again, along with stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.
And that’s not all: Two other Marvel Comics movies will be arriving around the same time. THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA (which was originally slated for May 6) will be moved to July 22, 2011, and THOR will hit theaters on May 20, 2011. The rumor mill says both CAPTAIN AMERICA and THOR will be heavily connected to the IRON MAN films (they’re all members of The Avengers, see), but there’s no word on whether SPIDER-MAN 4 will be connected as well.
September 11th, 2009
Here’s the trailer for BLACK DYNAMITE, a faux-blaxploitation movie that looks like it nails the genre more accurately than anything I’ve ever seen, from the frenzied voice-over to the kung fu to the list of (fake) actors’ names at the end. (The actual trailer it most resembles is the hard-to-believe-it’s-real promo for Rudy Ray Moore’s oddball masterpiece, DOLEMITE.)
It opens Oct. 16, and as a fan of crazed ’70s cinema, I can’t wait to see it. Here’s one of the posters which, like the trailer, nails the time-period perfectly. (For more, check out the official site.)
September 10th, 2009
One of the fall movies my wife and I are most looking forward to is THE ROAD, the post-apocalyptic drama based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel. And now, as it turns out, we’ll have to wait a little longer.
It was supposed to arrive in theaters Oct. 16, but now Dimension has pushed that release date past Thanksgiving to Nov. 25. From the report in Variety…
(Dimension chief Bob) Weinstein said the Thanksgiving date was selected in order to position the Cormac McCarthy pic in a slot prior to the Golden Globes nominations.
So, much like the bump of Martin Scorsese’s SHUTTER ISLAND from this fall to next year, the stated reason behind this change is that the movie is good — better than expected, in fact — and a later date will bring more attention to the movie.
Here’s hoping that’s true and the wait — the ever-lengthening wait — is worth it. I guess we’ll find out Nov. 25.
September 10th, 2009
There’s no trailer yet, but here’s a clip from George Clooney’s new movie, UP IN THE AIR.
The actress in the clip is Vera Famiga, whom you might recognize from THE DEPARTED and (ahem) ORPHAN. The cast of UP IN THE AIR also includes Jason Bateman and Danny McBride, who are in it because they’re in every movie. It’s co-written and directed by Jason Reitman, who directed JUNO. I wasn’t a fan of JUNO, but I’m hoping that minus Diablo Cody’s too-cute-for-words screenwriting, UP IN THE AIR will be a big improvement. At least no one in this scene is using a hamburger-shaped phone!
September 8th, 2009
Even if you’re not an Oliver Stone fan (though I am), his upcoming movie, WALL STREET 2: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS, sounds pretty interesting. The cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella and Michael Douglas (reprising his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gecko), and according to a report from Cinematical, the villain is going to be played by Josh Brolin (who last starred for Stone in the underrated W.) and Charlie Sheen (star of the original WALL STREET) will appear in a cameo as his original character, Bud Fox.
Cinematical quotes a New York Times story about Stone that says “he never would have made a second version (of WALL STREET) if it didn’t appear that the system, and high finance, had finally been brought to its knees.”
Then there’s this very Oliver Stone-ian quote from the man himself:
“We wouldn’t have done this movie in 2006. Things were too loose. I didn’t want to glorify pigs.”
WALL STREET 2 is due in theaters next year.
Here’s the original WALL STREET trailer, by the way. It couldn’t look more dated if it were black-and-white and silent.
September 3rd, 2009
Woody Harrelson’s new movie, THE DEFENDOR, is slated to screen at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. Here’s the plot description, courtesy of Twitchfilm.net….
Reality intersects with delusion in the mind of Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson), a regular man who adopts a superhero persona known as Defendor, and combs the city streets at night in search of his arch-enemy, Captain Industry. In his attempts to combat crime and bring down Captain Industry, a drug and weapons dealer who he mistakenly blames for the death of his mother, Defendor ends up befriending a young prostitute, Katerina Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings). Armed with unconventional weapons of mass confusion, aided by his new friend, and putting his life on the line, Defendor proves that everyone is capable of making a difference.
I’m a sucker for amateur super-hero movies (SPECIAL, MYSTERY MEN), and this one has been building some solid buzz. Here’s the trailer…
August 28th, 2009
Here’s the trailer for George Clooney’s upcoming film, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS. Besides being based on a fascinating book by Jon Ronson (I highly recommend it), GOATS has a heck of a cast — Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, among others.
Plus, it’s funny to hear someone tell McGregor about being a Jedi, considering he played Ben Kenobi himself in those STAR WARS prequels.
GOATS opens Nov. 16.
August 17th, 2009
Heck, I liked Jared Hess’ NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. And I liked his follow-up, NACHO LIBRE, which no one seems to have seen, much less remember a few years later. So I’m looking forward to his new movie, GENTLEMEN BRONCOS, about a student writer who gets his story swiped by his sci-fi author idol. The concept is good, the cast is strong, and I like the idea of incorporating dueling versions of the story in the movie.
Plus, as the icing on the cake, Jemaine Clement (of FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS) as the writer. Here’s the trailer…
GENTLEMEN BRONCOS opens later this fall.
August 5th, 2009
Here’s the trailer for THE LOVELY BONES, the new movie from Peter Jackson. You might remember him — he made a few low-budget art films about Hobbits, elves and a giant ape.
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