The Big Screen Bulletin 01.04.10: Avatar is a Billion Dollar Baby!
Posted by Steve Gustafson on 01.04.2010
This week introduces a brand new format filled with news on the Avatar sex scene that didn't make it to the big screen! Flash Gordon casting rumors, Moon doesn't get any love from Sony, and meet a new character from Toy Story 3! Also, Avatar rules the box office, updates on a number of projects from Captain Nemo & 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Footloose, and DVD releases! All this and more inside!
Are we still saying, "Happy New Year?" Regardless, welcome back to the Big Screen Bulletin. My name is Steve Gustafson and I've been using the holiday season to do some tweaking to the Bulletin. Let's see how it goes, but my main goal is to get you the news from the weekend, throw a little insight, and take a look at what's coming up.
Before we jump into it, my Hollywood 5 & 1: Celebrity Predictions! was another fun outing. This week I made my celebrity predictions for 2010! Also, It's the battle of the Buffy babes in VS., 5 things about Michelle Trachtenberg, and Natalie Portman was our "& 1" Model of the Week!
Now for the changes. The Box Office Report is pretty much the same. Instead of the Top 10, I'm expanding to the Top 12. Also, I'll be throwing in the percentage change in box office revenue so we can see how far a movies dropped from the previous weekend. Or gained. All information comes from boxofficemojo.com, unless specified otherwise.
The big change comes in the actual Bulletin. Instead of breaking it up by movie news, trailers, DVD releases, and comic book news, it's all in one place! But I've classified the news by a symbol in front of the news segment. That way, if you're looking for certain information, just look for the logo. Easy enough to decipher but to ease your reading pleasure I've provided a legend for you. So when you see one of the following:
Now you are all set! NEXT WEEK: I'll start rolling out my EXCLUSIVE features that will make their way into the Bulletin. From film reviews to casting calls, I'll have something for everyone. Enjoy!
Avatar: King of the Universe!
1. Avatar $68,300,000 (-9.7%) ($352,111,000) Read the review!
2. Sherlock Holmes $38,385,000 (-38.5%) ($140,675,000) Read the review!
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $36,600,000 (-25.1%) ($157,345,000) Read the review!
4. It's Complicated $18,700,000 (-15.4%) ($59,105,000)
5. The Blind Side $12,650,000 (+10.3%) ($209,052,000)
6. Up in the Air $11,350,000 (+0.7%) ($45,020,000) Read the review!
7. The Princess and the Frog $10,013,000 (+11.2%) ($86,085,000) Read the review!
8. Did You Hear About the Morgans? $5,200,000 (+4.0%) ($25,620,000)
9. Nine $4,250,000 (-22.1%) ($14,047,000) Read the review!
10. Invictus $4,130,000 (+2.1%) ($30,755,000) Read the review!
11. The Twilight Saga: New Moon $3,605,000 (+18.3%) ($287,753,000) Read the review!
12. Brothers $1,290,000 (+6.6%) ($27,510,000) Read the review!
The box office results didn't provide any shockers or twists. But James Cameron's Avatar showed it's making a run for the number one spot in the New Year with worldwide take of $1 billion through Sunday. That puts it at the fourth highest grosser of all time. OF ALL TIME! In the United States it's total is $352.1 million, with $68.3 million coming from this past weekend. Sherlock Holmes held steady at No. 2 over New Year's weekend, grossing an estimated $38.4 million for a total take of $140.7 million in its first 10 days. Surprisingly, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel stayed at No. 3, grossing an estimated $36.6 million while the romantic comedy It's Complicated grossed an estimated $18.7 million and critical favorite Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney, grossed an estimated $11.4 million.
So, where is Avatar end up in the all time list? Let's take a look at the Top 5.
1. Titanic $1,842,879,955
2. Return of the King $1,119,110,941
3. Dead Man's Chest $1,066,179,725 4. Avatar $1,018,811,000
5. The Dark Knight $1,001,921,825
Next weekend will be a good indicator where Cameron's epic will end up. My gut says it will settle easily into the number two spot, but with the positive word of mouth about the effects, enough general audience curiosity exists to drive it close to the top. This next weekend has newcomers Daybreakers, Youth in Revolt, and Leap Year, but don't expect them to shake up the results.
Look away kids! I hear baby making music! As reported by Reelz Channel, the Avatar DVD will have a deleted Na'vi sex scene between Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana)...native style! In the movie, Jake and Neytiri get close and personal but it's kept away from innocent eyes. James Cameron explained, "We had it in and we cut it out. So that will be something for the special edition DVD, if you want to see how they have sex." Saldana had some additional details to keep your imagination from spinning out of control. She said, "If you sync to your banshee and you're syncing to a tree, why not sync into a person? I almost feel like you'll have the most amazing orgasm, I guess. It was a very funny scene to shoot because there were so many technical things that sometimes you have to keep in mind that paying attention to all those might disrupt the fluidity of how a scene is supposed to take place." Don't expect anything too graphic. Saldana said that Cameron made sure to keep the scene PG-13 appropriate "and because Jim was shooting for a PG-13 rating, we couldn't move in certain directions." She added, "The motion would look a little too past the PG-13 rating standards. So it was really funny for Sam and me. We had a lot of giggles there." There you go you filthy animals. Something to keep you warm on those cold nights. I can just imagine how this is going to spread through the internet and what kind of adult films this will inspire. Avatar Sex Scene. Yay or Nay?
According to HollyScoop, both Ryan Reynolds and Sam Worthington are in the running to play Flash Gordon in a new live-action adaptation of the classic comic strips. The word is, "Right now it's between Sam, Ryan Reynolds and one or two others for the lead role should the project actually get off the ground. If [Worthington] gets the role it would be quite a big deal as Flash is an all-American hero." Is there a shortage of action actors out there that I'm not aware of? While I enjoy Reynolds immensely, he's already involved with Deadpool and Green Lantern. And I have nothing against Worthington but he's attached to Terminator: Salvation, Avatar, Clash of the Titans, and the rumored Mad Max relaunch. UPDATE: Aintitcool posted a supposed email from Worthington saying he has not been approached. In the world of Hollywood, that means nothing. Take it as you will. Back to casting: Flash Gordon has two directions can take. One, straight up action. Two, spoof it. With action, the Flash Gordon name, while not really known among the younger demographic, can be the selling point. Put an unknown in there. If you go the spoof route, why not put Owen Wilson as Flash, Ben Stiller as Ming, Will Ferrell as Dr. Hans Zarkov, Vince Vaughn as Prince Barin...you see where I'm going? Have a little fun with it. Between this and Buck Rogers, I don't know the audience exists out there to support both, especially when their up against better known franchises. Who should be Flash Gordon? Serious or Spoof?
Jay Chou will portray Kato, in the new Green Hornet flick, a role that was famously portrayed by Bruce Lee in the '60s TV series. In a recent interview, Chou said that the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Lee was a big part of his decision to take the role: "I had to do it. It's a role that Bruce Lee once played, plus it's a positive Asian role which is rare in Hollywood. Over [in the States], I'm a newbie. There is a lot of waiting around before my scenes and I cannot speak too loudly. I have to be well-behaved. But overall, it was fun, and a good but different experience. Anyway, I went to Hollywood not just to make it big and develop my film career. I went there to also introduce my music to the Americans. So that they will notice me." In a separate interview, Chou said that he had fun working on The Green Hornet, but that the Hollywood-style production tried his patience: "In Asia, we get through a movie very quickly. We get the script, we get working and it's done. In Hollywood, they have rehearsals that go on for half a month before they begin shooting and shooting can go on for months." The Green Hornet was adapted for the screen by Seth Rogen and collaborator, Evan Goldberg, and also stars Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Edward Furlong and Edward James Olmos. For those who don't know, The Green Hornet is a masked crime fighter created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker for an American radio program in the 1930s. He's had several appearances in other media, including film, television, and comic books. The Green Hornet is Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher by day who by night goes out in his masked "Green Hornet" identity to fight crime as a vigilante, accompanied by his similarly masked partner Kato and driving a car, equipped with advanced technology, called "Black Beauty". The Green Hornet is often portrayed as possessing fair to above average hand-to-hand combat skills and is often armed with a gun that sprays knock-out gas. The Green Hornet is scheduled to open December 22, 2010.
Variety had a great piece on lost projects, that sometimes get a second chance at life. For better or for worse. In summer 2008, the CIA thriller Edwin A. Salt was clinging to life after the studio failed to reach a deal with star Tom Cruise. Behind the scenes, Sony originally tried to make the film with Cruise and Angelina Jolie, but a project insider says the studio opted to make the film with Jolie as the protagonist. Running the numbers, you realize you don't need both," the insider explains. "I don't think you get a lot of benefit using both, and the back end would have been huge." Thus, Kurt Wimmer penned a rewrite, and Edwin A. Salt became Salt, scheduled for release on July 23, 2010. Though Salt's development life saw two directors attached, Peter Berg and Terry George, before Phillip Noyce took the reins, the film didn't have a particularly long gestation period by Hollywood standards. Paramount's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's journey to the big screen, which began in the mid-1980s, saw more twists and turns than the film's labyrinthine plot. The project, which attracted such would-be directors as Spike Jonze, Gary Ross, Ron Howard and Phil Alden Robinson, was previously set up at Imagine and Sony and was once envisioned as a co-production with Universal. Once David Fincher came onboard, Benjamin Button was scheduled to begin production in October 2005. That date was delayed due to Fincher's start on another Paramount project: Zodiac. Steven Spielberg has often been associated with long-gestating projects, from the Rob Marshall-helmed drama Memoirs of a Geisha (which Spielberg eventually produced) to the Stanley Kubrick passion project A.I. Artificial Intelligence (which Spielberg directed after Kubrick's death). The new year might find Spielberg dusting off yet another long-gestating passion project: an Abraham Lincoln biopic. A number of recent Oscar best pictures spent time in development purgatory. The Shakespeare in Love screenplay took a decade to reach the bigscreen and saw Julia Roberts and Daniel Day-Lewis come in go. I can make a list of 100 movies that are stalled in production that I would like to see make the light of day. And not one of them is a sequel or remake.
2009 provided us some great movie selections. But it's what DIDN'T get made that caught my attention this past week. Last year studios and financiers didn't hesitate to pul the plug on several high-profile projects. Here's a quick rundown: Captain Nemo and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Nemo's stoppage was one of the bigger shockers in the industry, especially given the fact that the studio had already spent millions on the film AND Will Smith had been targeted as the lead. Don't have a cow. "This one had people scratching their heads," says a high-profile deal maker. "This was a go movie. You don't go into pre-production on a movie like this and say, 'We won't make it if we can't make a deal with Will Smith.' You cast someone else." Expect this one to make the rounds again, give Avatar's success, with a new lead. The Danish Girl. Is an independent sex-change drama which was packaged as a Nicole Kidman-Gwyneth Paltrow-starring vehicle. Too "indie" and the viewing demographic would be too slim to invest much money in it. Wedding Banned. The studio put this romantic comedy, which was to have starred Robin Williams, Anna Faris and Diane Keaton, in turnaround. Blame a weak script and the performance of Old Dogs on this stalling. Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride. The sequel to the 2007 surprise hit was set to begin production this summer, with cast members John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy returning as a friendly gang of biker friends in midlife crisis. Money put this one on the back burner. While it doesn't look hopeful, I wouldn't count this one out just yet. Moneyball. This one was squashed just days before cameras were set to roll. A source close to the project says the studio's decision came down to the screenplay being "too experimental" and "not commercial enough." Couple that with the fact that baseball has limited appeal internationally, Moneyball had a few strikes against it. The insider went on to say, "But this film doesn't have a wide audience. This was ultimately a passion project for Brad (Pitt) and Steven (Soderbergh) that was being made for $50 million-$60 million. The studio couldn't take that risk. With those two big names, this is one project that will find its way to the big screen. Footloose. Buried over creative and budget differences less than five months before the start of production, leaving the fate of the dance-themed remake in jeopardy. The studio is still trying to get this in order before a scheduled March start. Neighborhood Watch. 20th Century Fox's $90 million comedy fell apart after star Will Ferrell and director David Dobkin exited the project in August. I've seen bits of the script. It's no big loss. Man-Witch. Director Todd-Phillips was supposed to helm this comedy Jack Black. Black dropped out six months before the film's tentative start date but that turned out to be a GOOD thing. The cancellation opened up Phillips to turn his attentions to The Hangover. -- perhaps the most profitable 2009 film that almost didn't happen.
Which project do you want to see made from this list?
While it's not ground breaking, if you don't want Toy Story 3 spoiled in the slightest, look away! Recently we've been introduced to a brand new character. In the new featurette below, director Lee Unkrich walks us through the basics of Toy Story 3. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen it except one small thing. Unkrich introduces us to Mr. Pricklepants, a stuffed thespian hedgehog just trying to stay in character. He's voiced by Timothy Dalton, best known for playing James Bond in The Living Daylights and License to Kill. WIll he be a friend or foe? All I know is it's one more new toy to put into play in the marketing division. CHA-Ching. Toy Story 3 comes out June 18th, 2010.
Raise your hand if this surprised you? **Raises hand** Sandra Bullock made it onto the cover of Entertainment Weekly as the Entertainer of the Year. Now, according to the Quigley Publishing Company, the group who surveys movie theater executives to ask who they considered the top star of 2009, Bullock earned the top spot. Slashfilm speculated that the group conveniently chose to ignore All About Steve. I would have to agree. Instead, they focused on Bullock's two hits, The Proposal, which grossed $315 million worldwide, and The Blind Side, which is already in the top 10 for the year with a $200 million domestic gross. While I would agree, Bullock was a part of two solid films, I would have to give the nod to Ryan Reynolds. Adventureland, X-Men Origins: Wolverine", and The Proposal. While he didn't have the leads in those flicks, his presence was noted in each, along with him being attached to numerous other projects like Deadpool and Green Lantern. If only they would Paper Man would get a wide release! Who do you think should be ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR?
If you're still looking for a reason to pick up The Hangover, here you go. For those who caught it in the theater, who could forget the incredible photo selections during the end credits of the film? But did you know there were a few more photos that didn't make it to the big screen? Check out the video for proof, which compiles some more hilarious moments from the night that they'll never forget, if they could remember! These pictures are newly recovered from the infamous camera and have surfaced as special features on The Hangover DVD and Blu-ray!
As the award season approaches, seems a little drama is occurring in the world of Academy screeners. Sony has not included copies of the film Moon, written by Nathan Parker and directed by Duncan Jones, in its package of awards-season screeners. Interesting. News of this exclusion comes from Jones, who has been tweeting with supporters about the situation, since it severely kneecaps the film's, and star Sam Rockwell's, chances at Oscar consideration. I included this as one of my favorite films of 2009. Among Jones' tweets, are these references to Sony and its decision: "we have more than asked..we've knocked heads. they have chosen the films they are backing & we are not in their plans." and "They say it costs too much for our little film as they would need to be water-marked copies as our DVD isn't out yet in the US." Neil Gaiman has offered his help to Jones via tweet, and others have suggested enlisting Jon Favreau to the cause, since he is rumored to be disappointed by Sony's disinclusion of Moon. This has BS written all over it. Who is Sony trying to fool here? The whole "cost" argument is an insult to everyone who worked on this great film. While I know watermarking DVD copies isn't free, the cost isn't as bad as Sony would want you to think. Yet, why wouldn't they want to push Moon? While nothing is likely to change, it is good to see other filmmakers coming forward to show support and hopefully something good will come of it.
The first DVD release of 2010 doesn't have too many heavy hitters. The well reviewed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a sure hit for the young and young at heart. Joseph Lee reviewed if for 411mania and you and read his review here. For the horror crowd you have The Final Destination. Hey! Look who reviewed it! Joseph Lee comes through again and you can read this review hereThe real selection comes in the TV series releases coming out. While the series has been hit-or-miss with me, it's still chugging along for NBC. Chuck: The Complete Second Season is a must for fans. A personal favorite of mine is Big Love. Take in Big Love: The Complete Third Season. On a side note, I was an artistic consultant for a couple of episodes of the upcoming fourth season. From what I've seen, this next season is going to be huge! Last, for the ladies (and guys who won't admit that they watch it) is Kendra: The Complete First Season. I hope she sends Hef a thank you card everyday!
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That's all the time I have, I'll see you next week! Make sure you check out Jeremy Thomas and the Hush Hush News Report and Mike Gorman's Babes, Bombs, & Blockbusters tomorrow so you don't miss the latest in movie news and opinions! See you next week!
Posted By: MBD (Guest) on January 04, 2010 at 12:17 AM
Love the new format!!
Posted By: HollywoodJim (Guest) on January 04, 2010 at 01:09 AM
Great job as usual, Goose!
Posted By: Santa (Registered) on January 04, 2010 at 05:28 AM
Nice new format. I hope we don't see a new doc titled "Avatar:The Secret Files.".
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on January 04, 2010 at 05:36 AM
To play Flash Gordon: Will Smith
Avatar sex scene: YAY!
Wild Hogs was surprisingly a funny film, so here's to hoping Wild Hogs 2 is made.
Sandra Bullock as EOTY is okay with me. The Proposal was really funny and The Blind Side was amazing. However, I agree with you: Ryan Reynolds should have gotten it over Sandra. But still, it's good to see Sandra get out of the slump of mediocre films she had been doing.
Posted By: Santa (Registered) on January 04, 2010 at 05:42 AM
"So that will be something for the special edition DVD, if you want to see how they have sex."
Sounds like a diversionary tactic to make the viewer feel like a pervert. James, YOU filmed it for YOUR movie that YOU wrote. Don't make me feel dirty if I choose to watch what YOU choose to include on YOUR DVD.
Posted By: neverAcquiesce (Guest) on January 04, 2010 at 12:35 PM
Entertainer of the year: Robert Downery, Jr.
Sherlock Holmes > Anything Bullock and Reynolds do.
Posted By: Jeffrey (Registered) on January 04, 2010 at 01:42 PM
Adventureland is the most boring p.o.s. I've seen in a long time
Posted By: Guest-O (Guest) on January 06, 2010 at 05:09 PM
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According to HollyScoop, both Ryan Reynolds and Sam Worthington are in the running to play Flash Gordon in a new live-action adaptation of the classic comic strips. The word is, "Right now it's between Sam, Ryan Reynolds and one or two others for the lead role should the project actually get off the ground. If [Worthington] gets the role it would be quite a big deal as Flash is an all-American hero." Is there a shortage of action actors out there that I'm not aware of? While I enjoy Reynolds immensely, he's already involved with Deadpool and Green Lantern. And I have nothing against Worthington but he's attached to Terminator: Salvation, Avatar, Clash of the Titans, and the rumored Mad Max relaunch. UPDATE: Aintitcool posted a supposed email from Worthington saying he has not been approached. In the world of Hollywood, that means nothing. Take it as you will. Back to casting: Flash Gordon has two directions can take. One, straight up action. Two, spoof it. With action, the Flash Gordon name, while not really known among the younger demographic, can be the selling point. Put an unknown in there. If you go the spoof route, why not put Owen Wilson as Flash, Ben Stiller as Ming, Will Ferrell as Dr. Hans Zarkov, Vince Vaughn as Prince Barin...you see where I'm going? Have a little fun with it. Between this and Buck Rogers, I don't know the audience exists out there to support both, especially when their up against better known franchises. Who should be Flash Gordon? Serious or Spoof? 
Jay Chou will portray Kato, in the new Green Hornet flick, a role that was famously portrayed by Bruce Lee in the '60s TV series. In a recent interview, Chou said that the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Lee was a big part of his decision to take the role: "I had to do it. It's a role that Bruce Lee once played, plus it's a positive Asian role which is rare in Hollywood. Over [in the States], I'm a newbie. There is a lot of waiting around before my scenes and I cannot speak too loudly. I have to be well-behaved. But overall, it was fun, and a good but different experience. Anyway, I went to Hollywood not just to make it big and develop my film career. I went there to also introduce my music to the Americans. So that they will notice me." In a separate interview, Chou said that he had fun working on The Green Hornet, but that the Hollywood-style production tried his patience: "In Asia, we get through a movie very quickly. We get the script, we get working and it's done. In Hollywood, they have rehearsals that go on for half a month before they begin shooting and shooting can go on for months." The Green Hornet was adapted for the screen by Seth Rogen and collaborator, Evan Goldberg, and also stars Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Edward Furlong and Edward James Olmos. For those who don't know, The Green Hornet is a masked crime fighter created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker for an American radio program in the 1930s. He's had several appearances in other media, including film, television, and comic books. The Green Hornet is Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher by day who by night goes out in his masked "Green Hornet" identity to fight crime as a vigilante, accompanied by his similarly masked partner Kato and driving a car, equipped with advanced technology, called "Black Beauty". The Green Hornet is often portrayed as possessing fair to above average hand-to-hand combat skills and is often armed with a gun that sprays knock-out gas. The Green Hornet is scheduled to open December 22, 2010. 
Variety had a great piece on lost projects, that sometimes get a second chance at life. For better or for worse. In summer 2008, the CIA thriller Edwin A. Salt was clinging to life after the studio failed to reach a deal with star Tom Cruise. Behind the scenes, Sony originally tried to make the film with Cruise and Angelina Jolie, but a project insider says the studio opted to make the film with Jolie as the protagonist. Running the numbers, you realize you don't need both," the insider explains. "I don't think you get a lot of benefit using both, and the back end would have been huge." Thus, Kurt Wimmer penned a rewrite, and Edwin A. Salt became Salt, scheduled for release on July 23, 2010. Though Salt's development life saw two directors attached, Peter Berg and Terry George, before Phillip Noyce took the reins, the film didn't have a particularly long gestation period by Hollywood standards. Paramount's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's journey to the big screen, which began in the mid-1980s, saw more twists and turns than the film's labyrinthine plot. The project, which attracted such would-be directors as Spike Jonze, Gary Ross, Ron Howard and Phil Alden Robinson, was previously set up at Imagine and Sony and was once envisioned as a co-production with Universal. Once David Fincher came onboard, Benjamin Button was scheduled to begin production in October 2005. That date was delayed due to Fincher's start on another Paramount project: Zodiac. Steven Spielberg has often been associated with long-gestating projects, from the Rob Marshall-helmed drama Memoirs of a Geisha (which Spielberg eventually produced) to the Stanley Kubrick passion project A.I. Artificial Intelligence (which Spielberg directed after Kubrick's death). The new year might find Spielberg dusting off yet another long-gestating passion project: an Abraham Lincoln biopic. A number of recent Oscar best pictures spent time in development purgatory. The Shakespeare in Love screenplay took a decade to reach the bigscreen and saw Julia Roberts and Daniel Day-Lewis come in go. I can make a list of 100 movies that are stalled in production that I would like to see make the light of day. And not one of them is a sequel or remake. 
The Danish Girl. Is an independent sex-change drama which was packaged as a Nicole Kidman-Gwyneth Paltrow-starring vehicle. Too "indie" and the viewing demographic would be too slim to invest much money in it. 
Raise your hand if this surprised you? **Raises hand** Sandra Bullock made it onto the cover of Entertainment Weekly as the Entertainer of the Year. Now, according to the Quigley Publishing Company, the group who surveys movie theater executives to ask who they considered the top star of 2009, Bullock earned the top spot. Slashfilm speculated that the group conveniently chose to ignore All About Steve. I would have to agree. Instead, they focused on Bullock's two hits, The Proposal, which grossed $315 million worldwide, and The Blind Side, which is already in the top 10 for the year with a $200 million domestic gross. While I would agree, Bullock was a part of two solid films, I would have to give the nod to Ryan Reynolds. Adventureland, X-Men Origins: Wolverine", and The Proposal. While he didn't have the leads in those flicks, his presence was noted in each, along with him being attached to numerous other projects like Deadpool and Green Lantern. If only they would Paper Man would get a wide release! Who do you think should be ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR?
As the award season approaches, seems a little drama is occurring in the world of Academy screeners. Sony has not included copies of the film Moon, written by Nathan Parker and directed by Duncan Jones, in its package of awards-season screeners. Interesting. News of this exclusion comes from Jones, who has been tweeting with supporters about the situation, since it severely kneecaps the film's, and star Sam Rockwell's, chances at Oscar consideration. I included this as one of my favorite films of 2009. Among Jones' tweets, are these references to Sony and its decision: "we have more than asked..we've knocked heads. they have chosen the films they are backing & we are not in their plans." and "They say it costs too much for our little film as they would need to be water-marked copies as our DVD isn't out yet in the US." Neil Gaiman has offered his help to Jones via tweet, and others have suggested enlisting Jon Favreau to the cause, since he is rumored to be disappointed by Sony's disinclusion of Moon. This has BS written all over it. Who is Sony trying to fool here? The whole "cost" argument is an insult to everyone who worked on this great film. While I know watermarking DVD copies isn't free, the cost isn't as bad as Sony would want you to think. Yet, why wouldn't they want to push Moon? While nothing is likely to change, it is good to see other filmmakers coming forward to show support and hopefully something good will come of it. 
