The UBS Evening Television & Movie News 1.28.10
Posted by George H. Sirois on 01.28.2010
A look at the upcoming films for this weekend, a nod to the new worldwide box office champion (not counting inflation, of course), an update on the novel’s pre-orders and my take on the upcoming match-up for Super Bowl XLIV. All this, plus Andy Critchell’s Photo News Brief swan song and more in The “Starting AND Finishing Strong” Edition…
Welcome everyone to the latest edition of the UBS Evening Movie News. I'm George H. Sirois, and if you're on Twitter, you can find me HERE! And don't forget, for all of you who are new to 411Mania.com, make sure you check out all of our zones. We have some of the best writers on the Internet right here, and we love to hear from all of you! So keep coming back to read what we have for you, make us your homepage and if you have Facebook, make sure to join our group HERE!
CHOSEN ONES, STEP FORWARD!
"Eons ago, on the planet known as Denab IV, its creator Excelsior appeared as a vision to several people he deemed "Chosen Ones." Those lucky few were selected by him to lead their fellow Denarians in keeping the planet as the paradise he always envisioned. As each passing generation of the Chosen Ones reached a certain age, Excelsior visited them in their dreams to give them the wisdom necessary to pick up where the previous generation left off. This continued on until Excelsior's spiritual form was cast down to the planet he had taken such care in crafting.
The pre-orders keep coming in. My goal was to reach 75 pre-orders by the end of this month, and I'm less than 10 orders away from reaching this goal! Come on, guys! You're not just buying a book, you're investing in a dream. And that may sound corny, but it's true. This is a story about a character who goes back to the summer of 1992 with me, whose alter ego is named after my cousin who passed away five years ago and who came to life thanks to the six months of unemployment that I had to deal with due to my previous position being eliminated. Now if the accomplishment of this dream doesn't inspire you to follow your own dreams (and ask your friends to invest $17.95 into that dream), then I don't know what will…
This week, we'll be bidding a fond farewell to the great Andy Critchell as he has decided to step away from the Babe Photo News Brief. He's been a huge help to me over the past year and change (my God, how time flies!) and I'm currently considering the possibility of a suitable successor or just letting the section retire with him. Let me know, guys. If you want to continue to see more pics, or something else of that nature, please let me know.
And with that, let's move on…
SYBIL THE SOOTHSAYER
EDGE OF DARKNESS: As homicide detective (Mel Gibson) investigates the death of his activist daughter, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up.
I‘ve missed seeing this side of Mel, the pissed-off Payback & Ransom version of him that you can tell is very cathartic to him. We‘ve seen in recent years that the man‘s got quite a bit of rage in him, so from what I‘ve seen in the commercials, he‘s letting out that rage in a much more constructive manner. I‘m interested in seeing how that translates to the big screen.
WHEN IN ROME: A successful real estate agent (Kristen Bell) finds an overabundance of suitors after picking up coins from a reputed "fountain of love."
Ucchh. The trailer to this looks awful. The commercials look even more awful, especially when you see John Duhamel almost talking down to the plot. I want nothing to do with this, and thankfully, my wife wants nothing to do with it too.
SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS: An ex-gambler (Steve Buscemi) is lured back into the game by a veteran insurance-fraud investigator.
I saw a commercial for this for the first time last Friday during the last Conan Tonight Show, and I laughed quite a bit. It seems like this has my style of humor woven in it, so that makes me interested in seeing what it‘s all about. And it‘s always good to see Steve on the big screen.
Credit: TheMovieBox.net
JIM WEBBING AND HIS IT'S THE HONEST TRUTH DEPARTMENT
Could Vice-President Johnny Depp be far behind?: Tim Burton will serve as jury prexy for this year's Cannes Film Festival. A master of fantasy and animation, Burton directed cult films like "Beetlejuice" and "Edward Scissorhands." He travelled to Cannes in 1995 with Johnny Depp starrer "Ed Wood," which was selected for the Competition.
Burton's next film, "Alice in Wonderland," a 3D adaptation of Lewis Carroll's cult novel, starring Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, will bow in the U.S. on March 5.
As well as working as a filmmaker for more than 25 years, Burton is also an illustrator, painter and photographer. The New York's MoMA is currently hosting a major exhibition of his work until April 28.
Cannes fest prexy Gilles Jacob said, "He's a magician of visual delights who turns the screen into a faery wonder. We hope his sweet madness and gothic humor will pervade the Croisette, bringing Christmas to all. Christmas and Halloween."
"After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I'm finally ready for this," said Burton.
Cannes unspools May 12-23.
As a Tim Burton fan, I couldn‘t be happier to see him getting this kind of recognition lately. It‘s pretty amazing how the snowball effect works, with the retrospective look at his artwork at MoMA and now this new position. Could there be some Oscar buzz for the man in the near future? Well, if the new format of 10 nominated films is a success, who knows what else is in store for him?
Credit: Variety
"Yo Neytiri! I did it!": Avatar is the winner and new worldwide box office champion.
After six rounds on the foreign circuit, "Avatar" is now the biggest-grossing film of all time, as earlier predicted.
Distributor 20th Century Fox said the James Cameron mega-budget blockbuster's worldwide cume -- excluding Puerto Rico -- was through the weekend just $2 million shy of "Titanic's" global boxoffice record of $1.843 billion. (Boxoffice in Puerto Rico, although generated offshore, is considered by Fox as part of its domestic total.)
The distributor confirmed that "Titanic's" historic benchmark fell as of early Monday.
"Avatar" rolled up an overseas cume through Sunday of $1.292 billion, exceeding by $50.1 million "Titanic's" 13-year international boxoffice record of $1.242 billion. The foreign record actually fell Saturday, as earlier predicted.
Avatar's domestic cume through the weekend stood at $551.7 million, still $49 million shy of "Titanic's" record $600.8 million.
The latest No. 1 weekend overseas tally was $108.3 million grossed from 11,925 screens in 111 markets. It was the sixth consecutive weekend that "Avatar" grossed more than $100 million on the foreign circuit.
Among the key territories on the weekend were: France (cume $124.8 million), Germany ($95.8 million), the U.K. ($93.2 million), South Korea ($79.7 million), Japan ($77.7 million), Australia ($77 million) and Spain ($76 million). "Avatar" is now the biggest-grossing film of all time in China, Spain, Russia, Hong Kong and Chile. It is the biggest Hollywood film ever to play in India.
The latest gross numbers underscore yet again the importance of the foreign circuit playoff to "Avatar's" success. Nearly 70% of the film's worldwide revenues come from overseas. That's about the same as the 67% slice of "Titanic's" worldwide total gross that originated abroad.
Peculiar to "Avatar's" success is the latest wave of exhibition technology. At least 65% of its overseas boxoffice and nearly 80% of its domestic earnings derive from 3D venues, which charge the equivalent of several dollars more than conventional theatrical sites. Imax locations worldwide playing "Avatar" have rolled up $134 million in 38 days at ticket prices at about $15 each.
Big contributors to "Avatar's" foreign success are China and Russia, two key territories that were not significant boxoffice factors when "Titanic" played overseas. On the weekend, "Avatar" secured $12.5 million in China, boosting the market cume to $103 million. In Russia, the weekend tally was $4.8 million for a market cume of $96.3 million.
Then there is the inflation factor. According to a formula developed by the department of U.S. Labor Statistics, "Titanic's" 1997 worldwide gross is worth at least $2.5 billion on an inflation adjusted basis, or $805 million domestic and $1.664 billion foreign.
Still champ is "Gone With the Wind," which grossed $400 million worldwide in 1939, now worth at least $6 billion in today's dollars. One dollar in 1939 is the equivalent of $15.43 today.
When you look at the numbers that Gone with the Wind had in 1939, you have to wonder how much more that would have been if Selznick had the luxuries of IMAX screens and ticket prices higher than 5 cents for a matinee and 10 cents for an evening show. Being in New York City, ticket prices are simply out of control as an average screening costs $12 and an IMAX screening costs $16 to $17. And that INCLUDES the IMAX in-name-only-screens that are simply regular screens with extra panels.
So yeah, it‘s no surprise to me that Avatar made the leap to the top of the worldwide box office list so quickly. But at least I thought it was a great movie and that it deserves its acclaim. Also, despite Cameron being at the helm and the film industry bending over backwards to please the man, it's great to see a semi-original science-fiction story taking the number 1 spot again. Hopefully, this will mean we'll get more sci-fi stories hitting the big screens in the future.
ANDY CRITCHELL'S INTERACTIVE BABE PHOTO NEWS BRIEF WITH ANDY CRITCHELL
Hey everyone, meet Corin Riggs. This hottie comes from Virginia and was a co-ed at Arizona State which is known for its fine looking student body. She has been published in several Playboy Special Editions including Playboy's Natural Beauties Oct/Nov 2009 and Playboy's Sexy 100 2009, and has been Playboy Website's "Coed of the Week" for Sept 4, 2008 and "Coed of the Month" in November 2008. Let's check her out!
She has her own website which you can find just by doing a quick Google search. Check her out, she's great!
So this is also my last time posting a girl for the UBS Report. It has been a lot of fun but it is time for me to move on. For those of you that care, thanks! And for those of you that don't, well I hope you enjoyed the pretty gals anyway.
Author's Note: This is what they like to call "going out in style." Andy, you've been a huge help to this report and you've provided me with plenty of alternatives to use for my main events whenever I was dry for a Mad Prophet rant. You've been and continue to be a good friend, and since you had written for the Wrestling Zone, let me borrow a page from them and say I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
MAD PROPHET OF THE AIRWAVES
I have to admit, I had something completely different prepared for this week's Mad Prophet rant. While on my way home from a weekend in Jersey at my dad's place, I was contemplating the potential match-ups for Super Bowl XLIV and how great it would be if the Jets actually got past the number 1 seeded Indianapolis Colts and reached their first Super Bowl in 41 years. I'm not a Jets fan by any means, but I'm an absolute sucker for the extra elements that tell a story during this wonderful game of football.
Think about it: the Jets and Colts, the rematch of the biggest upset in Super Bowl history with both teams in similar circumstances as their 1968 counterparts. And these teams would face off for the right to go to Miami, the same place where BOTH teams won their last Super Bowls. Now, how great is that? It's not as personal a story as, say, Jerome Bettis finally winning the Super Bowl in his hometown of Detroit or Ottis Anderson winning the MVP in the same state as his alma mater, but it's a part of both teams' history and it was a chance for the Indianapolis Colts to avenge the loss that still tugs at the heartstrings of every last member of the Baltimore Colts.
Despite not being a Jets fan, it was difficult for me to not get caught up in the confidence Rex Ryan had in his young team. Once they snapped the Colts' winning streak to stay alive in the playoff hunt, they were all so pumped up, they would have ran through a wall for Ryan, which was a stark contrast to my Giants, who closed out their half of Giants Stadium with a flat, uninspired, lifeless "performance" that pissed me off to no end. (Granted, I'm glad they played like shit the last two weeks since it just assured the front office that a change was needed at the defensive coordinator position.) I enjoyed how Ryan kept telling them, "Three more wins and we're world champions!" He had them believing they could do it, he had their fans believing they could do it, and he had me wanting them to do it.
In the past few years, we've seen - in one way or another - a scrappy underdog overcoming past difficulties and overcoming superior opponents. In Super Bowl XL, the sixth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers beat the one-seeded Seattle Seahawks. Before the Colts could reach Super Bowl XLI, they had to beat their longtime nemesis, the New England Patriots. To get to Super Bowl XLII, the Giants had to beat the quarterback that beat them twice in the playoffs, the team that swept them earlier that year and the team that was getting to play in their freezing elements in Ice Bowl II. And after all that, who was waiting for them at the end of that tunnel? The undefeated New England Patriots. And the Giants beat them too. Then we have last year, when the Arizona Cardinals blazed a trail that had them only 2 minutes and change from their very first Super Bowl win.
I was all set to say how much I was looking forward to another David vs. Goliath match-up in Miami this February. I was ready to talk about how the team that kicks and scratches their way to victory makes for a more fascinating story than someone that just steamrolled over everyone in their path. Hell, to me - at least in the game of football - I find perfection kinda boring.
Of course, we now know the outcome of the Jets' season. The number 1 ranked defense crashed and burned as Big Brother Peyton torched them again and again and again with 3 touchdown passes and 24 unanswered points. While they fell short of their destination, I tip my cap to the Jets and thank them for a wild ride. Here's hoping both teams sharing Meadowlands Stadiums open the new home in style.
But back to what I was originally thinking about. I wasn't sure who I was going to cheer for during the NFC Championship Game. Both were very strong teams, but the Vikings had a bit of an edge due to "The Brett Favre Story" (coming soon to a theater near you, starring Abe Vigoda). However, as the game progressed, I noticed something that I hadn't seen in a while. These were the two best teams in the conference, two incredibly hungry teams with two highly passionate fan bases.
And they were kicking the shit out of each other!
Brett Favre got back up after getting knocked down so many times, I was expecting a crow to be flying around near him. And the Saints were doing everything in their power to keep this game as close as possible. No matter what both teams tried, and no matter how bad both defenses looked at the beginning, they couldn't pull away and turn the game into a blowout. This was a heavyweight battle with the number-one team and the number-two team smacking each other with anvils and daring each other to go down first. And it wouldn't be a Brett Favre game without him saving his "best" for last, when he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a boneheaded interception that sealed his fate as a gunslinger of a quarterback, for better or very much for worse.
As soon as the 40-yard field goal was made in overtime, I found myself getting really excited for the upcoming Super Bowl. Here were two teams - the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints - that were racing each other to match the 16-0 regular season record the Patriots reached only two years earlier. Two teams locked in a staring contest, wondering which one would blink first. Obviously, the Saints blinked first and the Colts followed afterwards. (Remember when everyone in the media was getting in the Colts' faces about pulling their starters against the Jets? And how the very next week, ol' Bill in New England fails to do the same thing in the Patriots' season finale and loses Wes Welker for the playoffs? I don't hear anyone yelling at the Colts about that anymore.) But nevertheless, here we are. We're two weeks away from Super Bowl XLIV and - for the first time since the Cowboys & Bills rematch of Super Bowl XXVIII - we have the number 1 AFC team against the number 1 NFC team.
And you know what? We need to see this! We need to see two teams that started hot, clinched everything they needed, then kicked ass through the playoffs to come out on top. Now, this doesn't mean I'm an advocate of this happening every year. God, no. If I were, I would have wanted to see the Cowboys play the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. And I just can't do that. No, seeing underdogs come through and get hot at the right time is a great thing for football. It's a great thing for all sports, and it's why they play the games in the first place.
But just like in wrestling, when you don't need extravagant storylines and can put two top stars against each other and just make it for the championship, sometimes that's all you need in sports. The underdog stories and the personal stories make for great additions, but in the end, it's all about who is going to raise that Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game.
Usually, there's one team that plows through their schedule with ease playing another team that had to either go through the playoffs as a Wild Card or as a third or fourth-seeded division winner. We're not getting that this year, we're getting something really special. BOTH teams had at least 13 wins before losing a single game and neither team had played each other. Until now. In two weeks, we're going to see for ourselves which team is truly superior, and we already know they're going to be coming at each other like men possessed. No hyperboles are necessary, no personal storylines are needed. (Actually, I should re-phrase that. There's one secondary storyline, but an extremely powerful one that focuses on New Orleans rising from the horrors of Katrina.)
These are two teams that started out as the best teams in football, and now they're ending the season as the best teams in football, fighting tooth-and-nail to see which of the two best teams will be THE very best of the 2009 season. We need to see this kind of setup in sports every now and then, and hopefully both teams will bring the same levels of intensity that they both brought to their respective conference championship games. I'm not a fan of either team, but I can't wait for Super Bowl XLIV.
And that's a wrap for Chapter 149 of The UBS Evening Movie News! For Andy Critchell, I'm George H. Sirois and I'll see you next week! Andy, Vaya Con Dios!
