‘This isn’t a paranoid future nightmare’: the explosive return of Chris Morris
Looking forward to this. Four Lions seems like a long time ago now.
Movie news & trailers
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Kid stuff:
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Bill and Ted 3 is going to VOD in some territories:
It’ll be interesting to see if more movies do this, with overseas cinemas getting angry at the studios for not releasing new movies, while it’s still economically dodgy to do so in the US.
Bill and Ted is a relatively cheap blockbuster with a nostalgic fan base, but it’ll be interesting to see if studios try releasing movies overseas first with a delayed release in the US.
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Bill and Ted is a relatively cheap blockbuster with a nostalgic fan base, but it’ll be interesting to see if studios try releasing movies overseas first with a delayed release in the US.
I think it’s time they started looking at that. 30 years ago it was the norm for releases to be staggered globally. I can’t help but think with the variable reach of Covid-19 and chances of second waves that if they wait for every country or state to be back up and running it could be a year or more.
It’s going outside their comfort zone but the longer they hold out the more cinemas are going to risk going out of business. New Zealand is operating with no restrictions, give them the movie.
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Isnt it also mitigated by actual physical distribition costs?
I.e You would want concrete release dates for Australia and some of Oceania as well to get all your distribution discounts.
Theres probably aomw number crunching to do befoee giving everything to New Zealand is viable.
I say: give nothing to New Zealand! Make them suffer like the rest of us! Bloody kiwis…
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There are no physical distribution costs any more. Apart from a tiny number of arthouse places they have converted everyone to digital projectors, the films are sent encrypted over the internet.
When The Force Awakens came out my friend who’s a cinema manager (and Star Wars fan) shared a photo of a screen with it sat with other films on hard drive storage, a lock next to it say it would be released to show in 7 days, so he actually gets the films a week out from release (unlike the old days when tins of film would arrive Thursday morning for a Friday release).
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In this kind of scenario though I don’t think it’s a major stumbling block. Films aren’t all simultaneous release as it is and that marketing material is often customised for language and other factors . Even in English the posters have to display the local ratings board certificate and sometimes a different distributor so are normally printed locally anyway.
It’s not ideal but as I said if you wait for ‘ideal’ you will be many months and more closed cinemas down the road.
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Okay, this is all very interesting but I’m still not happy about giving movies to New Zealand.
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Okay, this is all very interesting but I’m still not happy about giving movies to New Zealand.
Australia 6, New Zealand 7
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but it’ll be interesting to see if studios try releasing movies overseas first with a delayed release in the US.
Why not? so many countries are doing a better job managing the crisis than the US. A co-worker works for the Air Force and has to make a delivery to the Middle east. His plane was supposed to stop over in Germany but last week, an American Airman tested positive for Covid and the German government banned American planes from making stopovers in Germany. His new stopover is in Spain but he is restricted to the hotel he is staying in during the stopover. The US is a mess. The rest of the world is treating US like NY is treating Florida, Texas, and California. Persona non grata.
In lighter news, I watched this and really enjoyed it. It is 1hr and 1/2 long so be aware
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Well it looks like the execs read my post Don and agreed.
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet will skip the United States for its initial release because of ongoing safety concerns surrounding the pandemic. It will instead roll out to several international territories weeks before the US gets it.
Warner Bros. is gearing up to release Tenet in 70 international territories, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom on August 26th, according to a press release. Tenet will then roll out into select theaters in the United States beginning September 3rd. The studio does not have plans currently to release Tenet in China right now, Variety reported.
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Jesus, Netflix are still going bigger and bigger. I have no idea how this kind of effort fits into their business model, it seems overly expensive.
My suspicion is this kind of thing is the step to make them essential over the competitors. It’s all a bit more desperate for Netflix to take that tole because all the others have different revenue streams. Apple don’t really need the TV bit, Amazon will be fine doing mail order, Disney likewise will still have endless IP and theme parks.
There’s no immediate logical return on $200m for a single film for them but it’s all adding to that essential back catalogue if it works.
I wonder if it’ll end up slightly like a publishing slate. The likes of Random House can survive a year very easily selling zero copies of new books because catalogue is so strong they have evergreen sellers on there.
Netflix is in kind of an odd place at the moment.
They were the first streaming network to strike big, and their name alone is synonymous with streaming; it’s like Scotch tape, Xerox, or Coke right now. “Netflix and Chill.”
But they’re also in a really crowded field. Aside from Apple and Amazon entering the game, they’re also facing competition from the four major studios: Paramount (All Access), Disney (Disney+), Universal (Peacock), and Warner Brothers (HBO Max). And even smaller outfits like Quibi.
In the near future, when contracts expire, the studios will probably want to keep the content they own exclusive to their own platforms, so Netflix now has to start building its own library of content it owns.
Netflix obviously has a revenue stream going on with monthly subscribers, but I don’t know how many $200,000,000 movies they’ll be able to bankroll and still receive a decent ROI. I mean, if they do one major feature film every two months, that’s $1.2 BILLION dollars a year they’re laying out.
The major studios also have another advantage over Netflix, in that they own franchises. Paramount has Star Trek. Disney has the Disney stable, Star Wars, and Marvel. Warners has DC Comics and the Wizarding World. These are all properties that can be exploited through both merchandising (toys, shirts, theme parks, and anything else you can slap a logo on and sell), and supplying a steady stream of nearly weekly content.
The closest thing Netflix has is Stranger Things, which seems to be a merchandising powerhouse, but it probably only has one more season, and then it’s gone. There’s also Millarworld, but they don’t seem to have done much with it yet, and even then it’s not really a franchise in the traditional sense, and it’s still unproven in the greater marketplace.
And Netflix, as a corporate policy, doesn’t seem set up to build brands and franchises. They tend to cancel things prematurely like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Sense8. And they’ve managed to fill up Target and Hot Topic stores with Stranger Things toys and lunchboxes, but once season four ends, it’s probably going to end up on the pop culture scrap heap.
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I note that New Zealand is not mentioned.
They read your posts too Tim.
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And even smaller outfits like Quibi.
That’s selling Quibi very stongly.
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In lighter news, I watched this and really enjoyed it. It is 1hr and 1/2 long so be aware
I only watched a few bits, but it was fun. Nice to see everybody again, and to see them reacting to each other’s lines during the read (favourite moment was everybody laughing at Chris Evans’ “Why wouldn’t you be?”, which he delivers so perfectly).
I recently rewatched the movie with my kid (who loved it), and it holds up really well, too.
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But they’re also in a really crowded field. Aside from Apple and Amazon entering the game, they’re also facing competition from the four major studios: Paramount (All Access), Disney (Disney+), Universal (Peacock), and Warner Brothers (HBO Max). And even smaller outfits like Quibi.
I think one area where they have a massive head start is global reach. Those offerings either don’t exist or have very limited penetration outside a couple of key markets. Of the ones available widely Apple have very few shows and basically give it away free as a perk for buying devices and services, Amazon struggles when the delivery aspect is taken out of the package.
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And even smaller outfits like Quibi.
Yeah no, Quibi is dead. Hell, it was never really alive to begin with…
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I note that New Zealand is not mentioned.
They read your posts too Tim.
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My favorite was Aubrey Plaza. As in all things she does, she commands my screen, outshining all her costars. She even brought her own prop which she used in a most timely manner.
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And even smaller outfits like Quibi.
That’s selling Quibi very stongly.
Qui-what?
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Oh yeah, that one. I only know it from Codys video.
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I follow a TV podcast and they spoke for months about how Quibi looked like a shit idea and their predictions came to pass when it launched to absolutely zero impact. Then I read the boss of the company blaming a launch during Covid, which is an interesting analysis while all the other streaming platforms were booming because millions of people were stuck at home.
Maybe it’ll turn around, one of us could win the lottery.
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I follow a TV podcast and they spoke for months about how Quibi looked like a shit idea and their predictions came to pass when it launched to absolutely zero impact. Then I read the boss of the company blaming a launch during Covid, which is an interesting analysis while all the other streaming platforms were booming because millions of people were stuck at home.
Maybe it’ll turn around, one of us could win the lottery.
Quibi is flailing because no one at Quibi understands what Quibi is
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Qui-what?
Huh. Interesting how easy it is for some people to pour lots and lots and lots of money into a really bad idea.
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Who I’d have cast as Sammy Davis Jr:
Elijah Kelley, probably best known for playing Seaweed J. Stubbs in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical adaptation of Hairspray.
Looks like Sammy, and can sing and act.
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They’re doing this. They’re actually doing this:
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Disney have lost patience and the live action Mulan it’s reported will go to streaming for $29.99 in September.
It’s a lot of money but as people have said if you compare it to a family of four plus popcorn at cinema prices it’d be cheaper. I suspect it’ll end up as a major financial loss overall compared to a cinema release but they have a new network to promote (you have to subscribe to D+ and then pay the extra).
It’s a weird situation because you do have a raft of releases backed up to come out, potentially all at once when cinemas open up again in enough territories, but 2 years down the line we may have a big gap in material from when filming was halted. You could actually space it all out to match the closed cinema period with the filming downtime but these companies are measured on short term quarterly receipts. Disney need some income now to keep shareholders happy even though medium term it’s probably not a great idea.
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I think it’s going to flop. Paying $30 for two cinema tickets for a night out is a very different prospect to paying $30 to watch something while sat on your sofa that evening, especially given how much you have at your fingertips for free (including everything on regular Disney+, where Mulan will end up in a few months anyway).
I do think that they should just sit on stuff until cinemas open again, because there will be a drought of new material at that point and struggling cinemas will need big releases to put bums on seats.
It feels like maybe this is a test run for putting big stuff like Black Widow out that way, but I just can’t see this model bringing in the value a film like this would need (whether the $30 one-offs or in terms of extra subscriptions) to pay for itself.
I can’t believe Disney is struggling for cash so badly that it needs to rush out stuff that will generate a tenth of what it would at the cinema.
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I think people underestimate the ‘night out’ element. When I was working in a cinema a sizeable proportion would ask at the box office what to watch, they weren’t going for a specific film but just the occasion, now of course that’s far from all or every film would make the same money but it was pretty common.
Even now there are some films I’ll definitely target specifically to watch but I also get the kids asking to go to the cinema and check the website to see what’s on and choose whatever looks best.
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It’s entirely possible we could be wrong
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I said that to be polite, we are right.
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I mean, you could have just left that at “anyone”.
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If you wait long enough and the premium content becomes free, enough will have paid not to wait.
If they do that. I still find it unlikely that $500m worth of people will sign up waiting for a single movie to appear. That’s probably a reasonable box office amount to predict and it’d mean tens of millions new subscribers motivated only by Mulan.
I suspect there are other things at play.
First is cashflow and investor demand – at the moment with no new releases income is zero which is tough. They have to announce revenues every 3 months and can’t wait forever with poor numbers.
Secondly is boosting the profile of a new service, $200m worth won’t sign up to Netflix for a single movie either but it’s playing a long game with more essential content.
I’ve sat through 35 years of stories that new technology will kill cinemas, in the UK and Ireland since 1985 the number of tickets sold (no inflation involved here, it’s the only territory that records that stat) has only increased from 72 million to 176 million in 2019.
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Oh no. :(
I was too busy thinking about dote-y dog star to notice adorable Tim!
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Charlie Kaufman + David Thewlis makes me very happy too. Rejoice!
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HBO Max Adds “Proper Social Context” Intro to ‘Blazing Saddles’
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Jason Bateman, ‘Game Night’ Writer Reteam for ‘Superworld’ (Exclusive)
The story, which hit this summer as an Audible audiobook, is set in 2038 where every person on the planet has superpowers, except for one man names Ignatius Lohman. Lohman is stuck in a white-collar job while his father is one of the most powerful people on the planet and leader of defense organization Peerless. But Lohman will get his chance to step up when he is forced to face a corporate overlord whose power is neutralizing anyone with a superpower. The story has been described as having tones of The Incredibles.
I feel like there was a comic with that premise ages ago? Can’t pinpoint it.
Are you thinking of this?
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I feel like there was a comic with that premise ages ago? Can’t pinpoint it.
There’s an arc in Millar’s Ultimate Fantastic Four with an alternate timeline where everyone on Earth gets powers except Ben. It turns out the Skrull pill that gave them powers can also be used to neutralise them, and so Ben is left as the only human able to fight back.
This may be a quite different story but the bare bones of the plot outline feel very similar.
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Great idea! I’m sure that the new version will be 10X better than the original!!
Seriously, I just watched Smith in MEN IN BLACK and Hart in JUMANJI over the weekend, and they are both talented comedic actors; I’d love to see them pair up for a buddy film. But why not something original rather than a remake that is likely going to suffer in comparison to the Steve Martin/John Candy classic?
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Great idea! I’m sure that the new version will be 10X better than the original!!
Seriously, I just watched Smith in MEN IN BLACK and Hart in JUMANJI over the weekend, and they are both talented comedic actors; I’d love to see them pair up for a buddy film. But why not something original rather than a remake that is likely going to suffer in comparison to the Steve Martin/John Candy classic?
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Someone’s got to cater to that rabid Planes, Trains & Automobiles fanbase.
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They should do a sequel rather than a remake. Smith & Hart could play Martin & Candy’s sons who hilariously get caught up in an almost identical situation.
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Well I have my ticket booked for next Wednesday so I hope Catherine Shoard is just a grumpy critic and wrong. 😂
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I am a bit disappointed though that it’s not going to be a big simultaneous global event and is going to be a staggered release worldwide (and even then, going to the cinema in some places is going to be too much of a risk to take). It’s going to take the edge off it a little.
I’d dearly love to see a new Nolan movie at the cinema safely but I just can’t justify the risk with things as they are, so I guess I’ll have to wait for a digital/home release.
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I for one am not nearly as excited for Tenet, regardless of of amounts of rave reviews it might get, as I am for next weeks release of Bill and Ted Face The Music.
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I for one am not nearly as excited for Tenet, regardless of of amounts of rave reviews it might get, as I am for next weeks release of Bill and Ted Face The Music.
Not out until late September here, in cinemas, when other places are getting it VOD earlier.
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To be fair despite picking some out individually the aggregate on RT is 88% positive.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tenet
I’ve paid my ticket money and there’s no way I’m letting Gross shit on it with his selective bad review links. 😂
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NYT weighs in
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Well, now I’m disappointed I didn’t get “Rick-Rolled”
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I for one am looking forward to this movie.
Oh I get it, sometimes he makes you work for it, but he’s earned a re-watch or three to try and get it (if not on the first try).
Hearing some negative reviews just go for the jugular is kinda surprising, especially when others just love it.
But that’s the way it goes. If you don’t get him, you think he doesn’t deserve what he has right now.And what he has (some would say) is being a creative genius, and putting bums in the seats (making good money). That’s a pretty good combo.
I’m sure there are differing opinions, but since the days of Kubrick and Speilberg are over, the top two that come to mind (for creative + bank both good) are Tarantino and Nolan.
I’m sure some can make a case with Villeneuve, Inarritu, and more. Plus it will always be subjective.
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I think maybe one of the reasons Tenet is getting some bad reviews is because Nolan doesn’t seem to have evolved much as a filmmaker since he arguably peaked with The Dark Knight and Inception. And whilst they were cinematic tours-de-force, they don’t stand up that well in retrospect not least because they have plot-holes a mile wide. There’s a sense you’ve been had.
Also I think our sensibilities have changed a lot in the last decade. Nolan’s work always took itself a little too seriously and one of the criticisms I’ve seen repeatedly levelled at Tenet is that it’s humourless.
Or maybe it’s just not that good.
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I recognise the problem that his work is very serious, which is why I had a lot of reservations about his Batman films. The tone always felt odd to me, especially the last one.
Saying that my favourite Nolan film is his lats one, Dunkirk, which suits that approach.
So far anyway though I’ve enjoyed all his films even if I haven’t loved all of them them. A lot like Dave. So I’m sure my RM20 Imax ticket investment should be ok.
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That’s interesting. I don’t view the humour as undermining the seriousness of the MCU; more a coping mechanism and a way to diffuse tension. Nolan explores serious questions and themes without being earnest or pretentious. Ragnarok demonstrates as much sleight-of-hand as the characters in The Prestige. It’s a very timely, political film. Beyond the banter and bright aesthetic it’s an excoriating examination of colonialism, the hidden history of conquest and oppression all gilded by colourful Asgardian murals. I haven’t seen it since the cinema, it’s a heart-breaking watch.
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