The UBS Evening Movie News 03.29.07
Posted by George H. Sirois on 03.29.2007
The “I Love NY” Edition…
Welcome everyone to the latest chapter of The UBS Evening Movie News. I'm George H. Sirois, and being a born and bred New Yorker, our top story this week really puts a smile on my face…
TOP STORY
Deluxe Entertainment Services Group intends to enter the New York market by opening a full-service facility in downtown Manhattan. Services will include a motion picture laboratory, high-definition telecine, editorial and media-management services. The business also will house a digital intermediate postproduction center under Deluxe's Efilm brand.
Deluxe New York -- whose primary markets will include theatrical releases, television and commercials -- hopes to open services by October and have full operation in a roughly 40,000-square-foot custom-finished space available by early 2008.
"We've wanted to be a part of the vibrant New York film community for a long time," Deluxe CEO Cyril Drabinsky said. "We're excited and committed to the success of this new facility."
The move comes at a time when incentive programs offered by the city and state have been contributing to a general interest in the market.
"Deluxe's expansion here is the latest endorsement of the booming film and television economy under Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg, and its attractive package of postproduction services will ensure that New York film crews have access to the best facilities the industry has to offer," said Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting. "The Made in N.Y. film tax credit covers postproduction costs for qualifying projects, making postproduction in the city even more affordable."
Credit: hollywoodreporter.com
New York City has always been a frequent area where filming for either a television series or movie takes place. But a move like this just makes a New Yorker proud of how much pride Mayor Bloomberg has in this place. He wants this city to be on equal grounds with Hollywood, and his method is working. People are taking notice in not only shooting on location here, but also in bringing in production companies. We may not have the real estate to move a whole film studio over here, but it won't be long until we'll have a New York office for every company in Hollywood.
SYBIL THE SOOTHSAYER
UPCOMING MOVIES
Blades of Glory: After stripped of their gold medals and banned from figure skating, Chazz (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy (Jon Heder) finds a loophole and decides to skate together in pairs' figure skating. At first glance, this looked funny. But then the commercials kept coming, and I know this will take the top spot at the box office, but I just don't feel the urge to go see this anymore. I'm not sick of either star (well, maybe Jon Heder), but this looks like at the most, I'll be catching this on a matinee viewing.
Meet the Robinsons: Lewis is a brilliant inventor who meets mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson, whisking Lewis away in a time machine and together they team up to track down Bowler Hat Guy in a showdown that ends with an unexpected twist of fate. Gee, Disney's done such a good job of giving us computer animated features without the help of Pixar, haven't they? I'll give them credit for not having ripped off a film that was in theaters just a few months before, but if they wanted to have a dinosaur in this one, would it have killed them to come up with one that doesn't remind viewers of a toy dinosaur from a much more successful Pixar franchise?
The Lookout: After experiencing a brain injury, and facing a mental disability, janitor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes part of a heist at the bank which employs him. Last time I saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he was getting killed by Michael Myers before his name shows up in the opening credits of Halloween H20. I'm glad to see him still working after all those years, and I'm really glad to see him in a movie that I'm interested in seeing. Based on what I've read, it sounds like a solid character drama mixed in with a bank heist thriller. Not a bad mixture at all.
Credit: themoviebox.net
CASTING COUCH OF THE WEEK
I'm still shaking my head over this one. Tom Welling, known as Clark Kent on TV's "Smallville," has signed on for a movie. The bad news? Well, it's a remake. Of Teen Wolf! Yes, a year or so after Hollywood decided not to attempt a remake of Revenge of the Nerds, they've decided to search through the Misunderstood Masterpieces archive and try the Michael J. Fox "classic" 80s flick. And what's the big twist to make this film stand out as not just another remake? The character who was once portrayed by Michael J. Fox… will now be a girl.
So, does this make Tom Welling "Boof?"
Credit: World Entertainment News Network
MOVIE TRAILER OF THE WEEK
Well, it's not the exact same trailer that was shown before 300, but it's got enough of what I want to see to make this a shoe-in for Movie Trailer of the Week. Enjoy…
JIM WEBBING AND HIS IT'S-THE-HONEST-TRUTH-DEPARTMENT
Our Childhood is Up and Running Again!
U.K. studio group Pinewood Shepperton has announced a 22% hike in revenue for 2006. The studio is set to expand further this year as new tax incentives lure Hollywood studios back to England. "As anticipated, a number of significant film customers returned to Pinewood Shepperton during 2006," commented studio topper Ivan Dunleavy.
Film revenue grew by 25% to £22.8 million ($44 million). Productions using the group's studios included "Casino Royale," "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass," "Fred Claus," "Inkheart" and "Stardust."
The studio also said its 007 stage, ravaged by fire last July, had been refurbished at a cost of some £8 million ($15 million) and was now fully operational. The original Star Wars, the 1989 Batman, the original Superman and many James Bond films have been shot at these studios. So it's not only a relief that Pinewood was able to bounce back from last year's fire, but it's also good to see that both London and New York have become such hot spots for filming lately. It's just like the good old days all over again.
Credit: Variety.com
"It's Over When I Say It's Over!"
Reed Hastings, CEO of online DVD renter Netflix, has acknowledged that it is only a matter of time before people stop renting DVDs. "Renting DVDs through the mail in 25 years? For sure, that's not going to exist," Hastings remarked in an interview with Tuesday's Wall Street Journal. Hastings acknowledged that the end could come far sooner than 25 years. However, he added, "If one thinks of Netflix as a DVD rental business, one is right to be scared. If one thinks of Netflix as an online movie service with multiple different delivery models, then one's a lot less scared." Hastings said that Netflix is "aggressively" investing in its Internet delivery system, putting $40 million into it this year. "We'll be up to 5,000 films by the end of the year," he said. How cocky is this guy that he's willing to put a timetable on his own business? Personally, I don't see the whole Internet delivery system taking off just yet, not until they start manufacturing televisions that have an Internet feed (which won't be that far off), but considering how fast technology upgrades itself, I can see the mail-order system going obsolete by then. Of course, with my luck, it'll be right after Netflix closes that postmen realize that when you can't fit a disc into your mailbox, it'd be okay to just leave the disc at the door instead of trying to force it in and breaking it in half.
Credit: Wenn.com
* Score Interview of the Week: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" by Klaus Badelt
* US Register of Copyrights: No Performing Rights on Net Downloads "Common Sense and Sound Policy"
* Marc Shaiman to receive Henry Mancini Award from ASCAP
* Alan Silvestri to head Madrid Film Music Festival
* LvB's "X" Software "does the job of composers"
* Monster Movie Composer Herman Stein Dies at 91
* Tom Salta Game Scoring Seminar in Boston
* Signings and Projects by William Ross, Dennis McCarthy and more
* Soundtrack Reviews: The Host (Beyong Woo Lee) and Black Book (Anne Dudley)
Download This Week's Issue at: www.filmmusicweekly.com.
MISS MATA HARI AND HER SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET
Kumar Goes to College
Actor Kal Penn – forever known as Kumar who went to White Castle, and is now starring in The Namesake - is taking a chance to be a guest instructor at the University Of Pennsylvania next year. He will teach two undergraduate courses, according to university director Grace Kao. Penn received a bachelor's degree in sociology with a specialization in theatre, film and television from the University Of California in Los Angeles, and he is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in international security at Stanford University. Now, this may not seem like much of a story since it's not "scandalous," but it's nice to see that not every young actor in the film industry acts like an asshole. Oh wait…
An Actor in the Film Industry Acting Like an Asshole
Jeremy Piven has reportedly been banned from America's Nobu restaurants after paying a waiter's tip with a DVD. According to a fellow diner at the Aspen restaurant, Piven – who was in town for the US Comedy Arts Festival – showed up with a large group of 12 or more without reservations and asked for a table. After paying the bill, he paid for the waiter's tip with a copy of an Entourage DVD. The server threw the DVD at him when he came to collect. According to the same diner, on the way out the door, Piven said "Thanks for nothing" to the manager. He was later advised to steer clear of all Nobu restaurants.
First of all, who walks around Aspen with a copy of their own show on DVD? Granted, I carry my novel around a lot, but that was self-published and, outside of my friends, family and the 411Mania community, nobody really knows me. Jeremy Piven's on one of the last remaining hits on HBO; what does he have to prove? Second of all, if you're familiar with Nobu and how busy it can be, what's the harm of calling in a reservation? Again, what does Piven have to prove? Is he that insecure that he has to convince himself that a table will be waiting because he's a star? And finally, if you're paying the bill for 12 friends at Nobu, mathematically a tip would be more than what a season-long DVD would cost, even for an HBO show. If you're gonna pull something like that, be smooth about it and drop a few extra twenties on top of it. I know HBO is cheap, but come on, Jeremy. Stop being an asshole just for the sake of being one.
VOX POPULI
TOP 10 MOVIES
1. TMNT - $24,255,205
Total: $24,255,205
2. 300 - $19,862,491
Total: $161,706,146
3. Shooter - $14,523,571
Total: $14,523,571
4. Wild Hogs - $13,850,542
Total: $123,303,817
5. The Last Mimzy - $10,024,819
Total: $10,024,819
6. The Hills Have Eyes 2 - $9,686,362
Total: $9,686,362
7. Premonition - $9,562,739
Total: $31,653,484
8. Reign Over Me - $7,460,690
Total: $7,460,690
9. Pride - $3,533,300
Total: $3,533,300
10. Dead Silence - $3,440,415
Total: $13,216,140
SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE WEEK
On the second disc of the special edition of THX-1138, you'll find a feature-length retrospective documentary called "A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Days of American Zoetrope." Here, you'll be told the complete history of writer/producer/director Francis Ford Coppola's dream of creating an independent studio that allows complete creative freedom for filmmakers to realize their visions. So many Hollywood veterans are on this documentary, including Coppola, George Lucas, Walter Murch, Caleb Deschanel, Robert Dalva, Willard Huyck, Carroll Ballard and the legendary John Milius. (Just looking at Milius with his cigar and eagle statuette in the background, and listening to him talk about how great the early 70s were because of all the dope they smoked and a lot of sex they had is worth the price to buy this DVD.) Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese chime in with their thoughts on Coppola's attempt to turn the industry on its ear. A bonus moment on the documentary is George Lucas' animation project from USC called "A Look at Life."
THE INTERACTIVE BABE PHOTO NEWS BRIEF
Turns out the mystery of the RGX Life girl has been solved. It's not Melissa Gallo or April Scott. She's Rachel Specter, and based on the attention these ads have gotten, it's a safe bet we'll be hearing more from her in the near future…
One More Cheap Plug! This Sunday, I will be co-hosting "The Political Universe" Blog Talk Radio show, with 411's own Jason Easley. Last week, I was on as a guest, and I had such a good time that I'll be stepping in as a substitute co-host. Be sure to check us out this Sunday afternoon at 1:30pm while you're getting ready for WrestleMania 23: CLICK HERE AND ENJOY!
MAD PROPHET OF THE AIRWAVES
So I'm watching the "Legacy of Filmmakers" documentary on my THX-1138 disc, and then I check out the news to find out that Teen Wolf is going to be remade. Last week, I commented on Escape from New York. This week, it's Teen Wolf? What the hell's going on?
You know what we need? We need something like Easy Rider to come blasting into our theaters again. Not a biker movie, but what that movie represented. This was an untapped market showing the older guys what they wanted to see. The studio system had collapsed, thanks to big-budget flops like Cleopatra and Hello Dolly. Audiences could tell that those movies were going to be pieces of crap, and so they didn't go. The result? Empty studios with completely puzzled executives, nobody having a clue about what would make them money. And then, all of a sudden, here was Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda leading the new generation of Hollywood and not long after, business was booming again.
Sadly, it's not going to be that easy for us to get a re-birth like this. Theatrical release is only a fraction of what a movie's revenue is, and DVDs are getting released so quickly after the movie opens that it seems like studios are encouraging their audiences to stay at home and not even bother going to the movies. (Paying at least $11 a pop in NYC doesn't help much either.) There has to be some kind of untapped market that's going to turn the industry on its ear and force itself to realize that audiences are yearning or originality. They want modern-day classics; they don't want to look at films longingly and wonder why they can't make them like that anymore. Something needs to happen, because if it doesn't, we'll start hearing stories of a studio trying to re-make a movie that came out the same decade.
If anyone's got any ideas, please feel free to send them my way. I'd love to hear them.
And that's a wrap for Chapter 6 of The UBS Evening News. I'm George H. Sirois, and I'll see you next week!
