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Movie Reviews: Hamlet 2
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
After five days in limited release, Hamlet 2 is opening wide today (Wednesday) but ticket sales for it are likely to be as lackluster as the reviews for it, analysts suggest. The movie follows the formula developed to scientific precision by the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team who made the Airplane movies a generation ago: keep the jokes coming fast enough and the audience won't notice the bad ones because the good ones will keep them laughing. The problem with Hamlet 2, several critics seem to suggest, is that the bad ones outweigh the good. As Claudia Puig observes in USA Today: "Its sharply funny moments make its lack of consistency all the more evident. The movie ends up feeling like a collection of moments, rather than a coherent quirky comedy." Stephen Holden concludes in the New York Times: "It all adds up to the kind of bad family entertainment likely to raise only a few eyebrows." Many of the critics, even those who rap the movie mercilessly, at least give its star, British comedian Steve Coogan, high praise for his performance. Not so Kyle Smith in the New York Post, who says that he had been a fan of Coogan "until now." In this movie, he writes, Coogan mostly "makes silly faces and falls down frequently." As for the movie itself, Smith notes that "there's a long, long sequence in which a chorus of gay men sings "Maniac," which could have been funny if it had run 10 seconds instead of several minutes. Then there's another long, long sequence in which the same men sing 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight,' which is as redundant as Richard Simmons in drag."
Movie Reviews: Traitor
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
Several critics seem to suggest that Traitor, starring Don Cheadle, tries to take a complicated story and condense it for easy digestion -- but succeeds only in giving the audience something to chew on. As A.O. Scott puts it in the New York Times: "The movie ... tries to cover every side and cater to just about every possible ideological objection, an effort at comprehensiveness that seems noble and a little nutty." Similarly Tom Maurstad in the Dallas Morning News writes that "this movie tries to blur the line between action-thriller and a probing drama. The result is a confused and unsatisfying experience with some nice moments that don't amount to much." But Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune writes that the movie "tells a good, snakelike story, slithering in some unpredictable directions." And just about everyone heaps praise on the performance of Don Cheadle. Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer observes that while the movie "never fully engages the ethical conflicts it raises," Cheadle "delivers an electrifying performance."
Towelhead Title Draws Fire From Arab-Americans
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
Warner Bros. has rejected a demand by the Council on American Islamic Relations to change the title of its forthcoming movie Towelhead to its original title, Nothing Is Private. Cair had objected that "the use of such a derogatory term by a major film studio will serve to increase its acceptability in public discourse." Towelhead, however, is the title of the novel by Arab-American Alicia Erian on which which the screenplay -- which she also wrote -- is based. In an interview with Reuters, Erian said she had used the racial slur in the title "to highlight one of the novel's major themes, racism." And in a commentary posted on the Cinematical website, critic Eric D. Snider, addressed Cair's protest this way: "Could it be that one of the movie's messages is that slurs like that are unacceptable? Could it be that only the most bigoted and idiotic of viewers could come out of it thinking, 'I'm gonna start sayin' "towelhead" more often!'?"
Three Film Studios May Rise In Michigan
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
Michigan's recent enactment of bills aimed at using tax incentives to lure filmmakers may also result in a studio building boom in the state. The Grand Rapids Press reported on Tuesday that Los Angeles-based V-One Entertainment Group, which says that it provides "infrastructure" for film companies, is planning to build sound stages and install production facilities in three locations around the state. It is headed by David O'Malley, who directed a 2006 film titled Kalamazoo? that was filmed entirely in Kalamazoo, MI. (Despite a cast that included Claire Bloom, Chita Rivera, Renee Taylor, and Dee Wallace Stone, the film was released in only five theaters -- including one in Kalamazoo -- and grossed just $53,609. It was never released on DVD.) Meanwhile, a new movie studio opened Tuesday in Columbia, SC, complete with sound stages, editing facilities and trained film crew. At ribbon-cutting ceremonies, State Film Commissioner Jeff Monks said that while numerous movies have been shot in part in South Carolina, "having a facility where larger and more expensive projects can be produced" will likely attract Hollywood filmmakers
Disney To Push Blu-ray
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
Children's movies, which are generally credited with giving home video its initial thrust, may do the same for high-definition Blu-ray, if the Walt Disney Co. has anything to say about the matter. The New York Times reported today (Wednesday) that the film studio plans to release five "platinum" classic titles in the Blu-ray format over the next two years, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, and Beauty and the Beast. The studio had previously said that it plans to release a Blu-ray version of Sleeping Beauty on October 7. Each of the discs, the studio said, will include a BD Live component, allowing children to connect directly onto the Internet to play the included interactive games with friends in other locations. Bob Chapek, president of Disney's home entertainment unit, told the Times: "BD Live is not a niche product. ... We see mass adoption of the technology." However, the newspaper pointed out that currently Blu-ray players with the Bd Live technology are from $300 to $700.
TiVo To Tape Magazine's Recommendations
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
Stepping up its drive against johnnie-come-lately rivals, TiVo plans to announce an agreement with Entertainment Weekly magazine that would let TiVo subscribers automatically record programs recommended by the magazine's staff, the Wall Street Journal reported. Terms of the deal between TiVo and the magazine, a publication of Time Warner's Time Inc., were not disclosed. TiVo has a similar deal already in place with Common Sense Media, which suggests programs for kids.
Anti-Piracy Lobbying At Conventions
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
Motion Picture Association of America chief Dan Glickman and Recording Industry Association of America president Cary Sherman are currently attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver lobbying on behalf of legislation that would create a cabinet-level copyright czar, according to Wired magazine. It quoted spokespersons for the two leaders as saying that they also plan to attend the Gop convention in Minnesota next week.
MSNBC Hosts Go On The Attack -- Against Each Other
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
The decision by NBC Universal executives to counterposition MSNBC, their cable news station, as a liberal-leaning alternative to Fox News produced political sparks between the channel's anchors Tuesday that threatened to short-circuit their coverage of the Democratic convention. It began when host Joe Scarborough, apparently feeling isolated as the only openly Republican among the channel's lineup -- he is a former Republican Congressman from Florida -- took umbrage when correspondent David Shuster remarked to Scarborough that "your party, the Republican party" scorns those calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Scarborough shot back, "My party loathes me much more than your party, the Democratic party, loathes me." When Shuster attempted to continue, Scarborough interrupted, "What about your party?" Shuster replied, "I have no party. I'm a complete independent." Scarborough scoffed, "Oh, I feel so comforted by the fact that you're an independent. I bet everyone at MSNBC has 'independent' on their voting cards. 'Oh, we're down the middle now.'" Another exchange was replayed on Fox News later in the day, when Scarborough's remarks were interrupted by anchor Keith Olbermann, who seemed to be unaware that his microphone was on when he commented, "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?" Fox commentator John Gibson then remarked that Scarborough and Olbermann "are supposed to be colleagues, and everyone around NBC except Tom Brokaw is afraid of Olbermann because of the way he got Dan Abrams fired." (Abrams remains an MSNBC host, but he has been replaced in his primetime slot by Rachel Maddow.)
Olympics Runs Rings Around Rivals
27 August 2008 10:35 AM, PDT
NBC's telecast of the Beijing Olympics last week left its competition in the dust as each day of coverage took one of the top-seven spots on Nielsen Media Research's ratings list. The "Beijing Closing Party" took an eighth. Overall, the network's primetime coverage averaged 23.3 million viewers with 27.8 million tuning in to Sunday's closing ceremonies. While the ratings of all of the other networks' primetime programs sagged under the weight of the Olympics' audience, the Fox and CBS coverage of preseason football was particularly hard hit, with each game drawing just over 4 million viewers. But the biggest loser of all may have been ABC/Disney's High School Musical: Get in the Picture, which debuted with critics' predictions of a sure-fire hit. But initial ratings for the show proved to be lackluster, and by last week fewer than 2 million viewers tuned in. Commented Washington Post TV writer Lisa de Moraes, "Since July, this show has managed to frighten off almost 50 percent of the crowd that was at least curious enough to watch the first episode."
The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. Summer Olympics (Tuesday), NBC, 16.3/27; 2. Summer Olympics (Monday), NBC, 15.8/26; 3. Summer Olympics (Closing Ceremonies), NBC, 15.5/25; 4. Summer Olympics (Wednesday), NBC, 15.2/26; 5. Summer Olympics (Thursday), NBC, 13.8/23; 6. Summer Olympics: Beijing Closing Party, NBC, 12.3/21; 7. Summer Olympics (Friday), NBC, 10.7/19; 8. Summer Olympics (Saturday), NBC, 10.3/19; 9. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 5.3/8; 10. NCIS, CBS, 5.2/9.
Celebs Arrive For Venice Film Festival
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
The 65th annual Venice Film Festival is due to open on Wednesday with a screening of the Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading. Stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt are expected to attend. The film, however, is not among the 21 films entered in the official competition. Also expected to attend the festival -- and screenings of films they'll be appearing in -- are Kim Basinger, Charlize Theron, Mickey Rourke, Debra Winger, and French actress Juliette Binoche. The seven-member jury is headed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders.
Second Week Of Claps For Thunder
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder held on to the box office crown for the second week in a row as it earned $16.3 million to bring its total to $65.7 million. Most analysts expect it to remain on top over the upcoming Labor Day weekend, which is generally the only major holiday of the year that does not attract big business for exhibitors. Tropic Thunder beat out The House Bunny, which placed second with $14.5 million, but beat Thunder on a per theater basis. Universal's Death Race opened in third place with $12.6 million. Slipping to fourth place was Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight, which added another $10.5 million to its total -- which has now reached $489.4 million and will likely to cross the $500-million mark over next weekend. Rounding out the top five was Star Wars: The Clone Wars with just $5.7 million in its second week, making it the first bona fide Star Wars flop. The top-12 films of the weekend grossed $88.5 million, off less than half a percent from the $88.8 million that the box office counted during the comparable week a year ago.
The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):1. Tropic Thunder, Paramount, $16,272,195, 2 Wks. ($65,839,915); 2. The House Bunny, Sony, $14,533,702, (New); 3. Death Race, Universal, $12,621,090, (New); 4. The Dark Knight, Warner Bros., $10,542,424, 6 Wks. ($489,416,885); 5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Warner Bros., $5,661,456, 2 Wks. ($24,999,054); 6. Pineapple Express, Sony, $5,452,163, 3 Wks. ($73,780,191); 7. Mirrors, Fox, $5,010,663, 2 Wks. ($20,211,066); 8. Mamma Mia!, Universal, $4,314,840, 6 Wks. ($124,469,900); 9. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Universal, $4,177,950, 4 Wks. ($93,921,245); 10. The Longshots, MGM, $4,080,687, (New).
German Extras Sue UA
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
Eleven German extras who were injured during the filming of United Artists' Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise, have sued the studio for $11 million, claiming that production personnel were aware that the World War II-era trucks that they were riding in were unsafe. In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Ariane Bluttner, the extras' lawyer, said, "The studio knew the trucks were rickety. ... There had even been an internal memo about the railings." The magazine observed that although the extras had signed waivers before agreeing to participate in the scene, their lawyers could still make a case of malice that would override the waivers.
Only Two Movies Shooting In Southern California
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
Only two major studio films are currently being shot in Southern California, DreamWorks' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Sony's Angels & Demons, the Los Angeles Times observed today (Tuesday), blaming the production slowdown partly on scheduling decisions made a year ago in preparation for a possible actors strike. Most of the films set for release during the coming year have already been filmed, the newspaper noted. "We had 17 films in production between January and June, which is unheard of," Donna Langley, president of production for Universal, told the Times. The newspaper also observed that production is likely to accelerate next month, since many studios have now concluded that an actors strike is unlikely.
Lion For Sale?
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
MGM Tuesday denied published speculation that it had retained Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale. In a statement, the studio couched its denial in language that appeared to some to fortify the rumors, saying that while it had indeed retained Goldman Sachs it was doing so "to explore enhancements to MGM's long-term capital structure." At the same time, it insisted that its present owners, "are pleased with the company's current momentum and are committed to the future growth of the studio." But analysts were not so sure about the company's current ability to acquire financing for its production slate given the sluggish economy and suggested that the rumors about a possible sale will only make the studio's efforts to raise cash even more difficult. Nevertheless, other analysts pointed out that MGM -- like most other studios -- had already reduced its production schedule after going full bore earlier in the year in anticipation of a possible actors' strike.
PTC Wants To Know What's In 90210
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
The Parents Television Council, which single-handedly launched the letter-writing campaign that induced the Federal Communications Commission to intensify its regulation of television indecency, has suggested that the CW has not screened the pilot episode of the new 90210 series because it contains scenes that the network doesn't want sponsors to know about. The PTC is currently campaigning against the CW's Gossip Girl. (The CW is actually using quotes from the PTC's attacks in its ads to promote the show.) In a statement, the CW said, "Withholding the advance screener for 90210 has nothing to do with content concerns and everything to do with strategic marketing for the most anticipated new show of the fall season."
Winfrey Remains Top-paid TV Personality
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
No one comes close to rivaling Oprah Winfrey as the highest paid talk-show personality. In the latest Forbes magazine list, Winfrey holds the top spot with $275 million a year, nearly four times the amount that the second person on the list, radio shock-jock Howard Stern, earns each year ($75 million). Third place wound up in a tie between David Letterman and Judge Judy Sheindlin, who each earned about $45 million, while Dr. Phil McGraw rounded out the top 5 with $40 million.
Idol To Seat Fourth Judge
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
American Idol producers, who had vowed to spruce up the show to lure back viewers, announced the first of its changes on Monday -- the addition of a permanent fourth judge, songwriter Kara DioGuardi. Although the final nights of last season's competition remained among the season's highest-rated shows, many of the earlier episodes were well below the series' average audience. (Nevertheless it averaged 28.1 million viewers, higher than the average audience for last week's Olympic Games.) In its report about DioGuardi's addition to the judging panel, Reuters commented Monday, "Self-assured with a matter-of-fact, no-nonsense style, DioGuardi is expected to provide a counterweight to the sometimes gushy, even vacuous on-air persona of [singer Paula] Abdul." Abdul later said during a radio interview, "I am concerned about the audience and acceptance." Speaking with reporters on Monday DioGuardi remarked, "I'm just somebody who's really honest and gives my opinion, and if I feel the need to be hard with someone in order to get that across, I will be. And if I feel I need to be softer and more nurturing with some of the contestants, I'll be that."
26.3 Million Watch Olympics Close
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
Sunday night's closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics drew 26.3 million viewers, up 27 percent over the the closing night of the Athens Olympics in 2004 and 38 percent over the Sydney Olympics in 2000, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. The ratings service also confirmed that the NBC telecasts turned out to be the most-watched event in U.S. television history, beating the Atlanta Olympics of 1996 by 11 percent, with 214 million tuning in at one point or another during the 17-day event. An average of 27.7 million viewers watched each night.
Deal Draws More Viewers Than Dems
26 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT
Those who were expecting the Democratic convention in Denver to be a cut-and-dried affair were controverted Monday night by the poignant appearance of Senator Ted Kennedy, who is battling brain cancer, at the podium to endorse the Obama-Biden ticket. As television cameras panned the crowd of delegates, many of whom were wiping away tears, Kennedy declared "Nothing, nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight." The first day of the convention turned into a tribute to veteran Massachusetts senator, which included the showing of a film, directed by documentary maker Ken Burns, about Kennedy's career, and remarks by Caroline Kennedy, who introduced her "Uncle Teddy" to the crowd. NBC drew the most viewers for the first-night coverage with an audience of 4.85 million. ABC was second with 3.78 million, followed by CBS with 3.52 million. Combined, the three networks attracted 12.15 million viewers. Earlier in the evening the season premiere of NBC's Deal or No Deal drew more viewers -- 12.30 million. (Cable ratings for the convention were not immediately available.)
Nashville Plans To Become "Movie City"
25 August 2008 10:36 AM, PDT
Plans are afoot to turn Nashville, which calls itself "Music City," into a preeminent movie production center as well. The Nashville Tennessean reported today (Monday) that the city's 821 Entertainment and Woodland, CA-based Tower Investments have proposed that the 117-acre site of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds be developed into a "media village" that would include a film studio, a 5,000-7,000-seat auditorium, a film school, a hotel, and retail stores. "This is about creating a whole new industry in Nashville," 821 co-founder Eric Geadelmann told the newspaper. He said that the studio ideally would provide the kind of productions generally associated with Nashville country and Christian music. "Our goal is to plant the heartland flag, to dominate those niches and build a lasting brand," he said.
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