| Posted by: corran horn at June 6, 2008, 3:07 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | I'm resurrecting this thread to note that 2009's lineup has prospects that could easily join the list Monotreme made: Shutter Island Public Enemies State of Play Lovely Bones (granted, its subject matter is unsettling, but never underestimate Peter Jackson) Lincoln Green Zone The Human Factor (I could easily see this being a hit for Eastwood) The response of online critics has, IMO, worsened the trend Monotreme mentioned. While AwardsDaily is fairly even-handed when it comes to studio vs indie films, there has been an alarming degree of snobbery on the part of certain online awards prognosticators. My philosophy (which I'm sure many here will echo): being independent doesn't automatically make a film good just as being studio-made doesn't equal rubbish. Hopefully, we'll see the trend reverse gradually this year and next year. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: john_rambo at April 14, 2008, 4:59 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | I love the third Godfather... the end scene at the opera always has my heart pounding even when I know what is going to happen. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: bigred760 at April 14, 2008, 4:39 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by corran horn Rarely do you find a film trilogy in which all three components met with such strong acclaim (Godfather started out that way, but missed the boat on the last one). It was nominated for 7 Oscars - including Best Pic and Best Director. Just didn't win. I think it mostly gets crapped on because it's not as good as the first two. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: corran horn at April 14, 2008, 4:36 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | Quote: Originally Posted by bigred760 The LOTR movies made a boatload of moola while being adored by critics ([i]The Two Towers not as much as the bookends). All three were nominated for Best Pic, and we all know that the third went 11 for 11 at the Oscars. While Two Towers wasn't as loved as the other two, it wasn't by much: Fellowship: 92% from Metacritic Towers: 88% Return: 94% Rarely do you find a film trilogy in which all three components met with such strong acclaim (Godfather started out that way, but missed the boat on the last one). | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Monotreme at April 12, 2008, 1:34 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | That's true, but the LOTR are not only a box office/Oscar exception but also an exception in filmmaking in general. It was an unprecedented, indiscribably brave gamble on New Line Cinema's part that could have gone either way but ended up paying off admirably. Most studios would never have and probably will never again make such a ballsy gamble of a film production. Still, in the end it boiled down to quality - if the movies weren't good they probably wouldn't have succeeded. It was the good word of mouth and advertising that kept them going and that led to INCREASE in box office success from film to film, and not the decrease which usually occurs in trilogies that also see a drop in quality as they go along (Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean). | | Static Link |
| Posted by: bigred760 at April 12, 2008, 1:06 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | I'll give you it's an exception, but I do think that if the first one bombed, then the last two would've done the same. The first was the catalyst for the movies' successes. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Monotreme at April 12, 2008, 12:55 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | LOTR is an exception, because it is a rare example of an established franchise that probably would have made money ANYWAY that also benefited from actually being damn near perfect examples of cinema thus garnering universal critical acclaim and a pile of Oscars. It's a rare occurence, though; usually, the Academy pretty much ignores fantasy/sci-fi movies in the major categories no matter how good they really are. It's not by chance that ROTK is the only full-fledged fantasy movie to have won Best Picture, ever. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: bigred760 at April 11, 2008, 3:23 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | The LOTR movies made a boatload of moola while being adored by critics ([i]The Two Towers not as much as the bookends). All three were nominated for Best Pic, and we all know that the third went 11 for 11 at the Oscars. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: corran horn at April 11, 2008, 2:17 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | While the trend mentioned here is somewhat disheartening, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that, at least once a year, there's an acclaimed film that does better than 100M at the box office. The best example of this was THE DEPARTED in 2006. I think we could see another film or two in this year's fall lineup do as well or better. I do think a film like TRAFFIC could still do well, and there are a few upcoming projects of a similar sort that could do well (I won't name them to avoid a jinx), but here's the problem: in recent years (2005 and 2007 especially) too many films tried to mimic its success and fell short. It's also worth noting that a number of the directors behind the movies Monotreme mentioned have either died, gone on to make smaller-scale movies, declined in quality, or become a lot less prolific. | | Static Link |
| Posted by: Homyrrh at April 11, 2008, 12:31 pm | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | Quote: Originally Posted by Monotreme
Shakespeare in Love - $100 mil Unforgiven - $101 mil Road to Perdition - $104 mil Kramer vs Kramer - $106 mil Driving Miss Daisy - $106 mil Pulp Fiction - $107 mil Terms of Endearment - $108 mil One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - $108 mil On Golden Pond - $119 mil Traffic - $124 mil Erin Brockovich - $125 mil Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - $128 mil American Beauty - $130 mil The Silence of the Lambs - $130 mil The Godfather - $134 mil Platoon - $138 mil The Sting - $156 mil A Beautiful Mind - $170 mil Rain Man - $172 mil Gladiator - $187 mil Saving Private Ryan - $216 mil Now here's the real kicker: How much are you willing to bet that almost ALL of these movies, if released today, would get at most limited arthouse releases and would be lucky to hit $50 mil at the box office? Seriously, do you actually see movies like American Beauty, Kramer vs Kramer, Road to Perdition, or Traffic being huge blockbuster hits if they were released today? I find it hard to believe,... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: Monotreme at April 11, 2008, 10:49 am | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | Oh many. I agree with your sentiment that the four-star review movies are for smaller, more independent films that usually don't make a splash at the box office. But I think that this trend exists only from the last 3 or 4 years. Looking back to the early 2000's and 1990's, big praise more often than not also meant big money and big awards. It has only been in the past 3 years that the Oscar nominations for best picture were primarily dominated with small independent films that weren't huge box office success stories. I think that in the past handful of years there has been an increasing reliance on the Studio's part on franchises and sequels unlike ever before. One of the best examples I could think of was Memoirs of a Geisha. It had all the makings of a classic Studio-backed critical and box office success - sweeping romance, epic setting, exquisite production values. But for some reason it sort of fell between the chairs. Critics who became used to the indie films providing the goods while the Studio film... | | Read Entire Entry |
| Posted by: Homyrrh at April 11, 2008, 10:26 am | | Topic: The Blockbuster Dilemma Forum: JoBlo | | Historically, BIG movies make BIG money, but don't always garner BIG praise. Summer blockbusters will always comprise the vast majority of the year's highest-grossing films, though critis usually reserve their "four-star reviews" and "top-ten selections" and "upward-pointed thumbs" for smaller, more independent films. Of course, I'm blanketing the theatrical landscape with this statement, but it's agreeable on the whole, right? Right. However, there's often a film or two released every year that both grosses a quarter-milions dollars and earns a positive lasting spot in the critics' books. Personally, a favorite blockbuster release of mine has always been Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator' back from 2000. While not necessarily dime's worth of film, it does, on any metric, consist of great acting, effects, sequencing, choreography, etc. Of course, Ebert said the fact that it won Best Picture in '01 was the Academy's single biggest mistake (courtesy IMDb). 'Saving Private Ryan', perhaps? ... | | Read Entire Entry |
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