EW’s job is to piss me off. It’s part of the terrain, because as much as I want to like the magazine and because of how much I love much of the stuff they cover, they always wind up at the end of the day pissing me off with their extensive coverage of reality programs and mainstream musical acts that annoy the very essence out of me.
Now, it’s been my stance for some time that EW is what caused the whole Snakes on a Plane phenomenon to lose its way [the once hip term I believe, is Jump The Shark] and become stale. Once they started making a big deal about it (and yes I know that EW is owned by Time/Warner, who owns New Line but I don’t think that’s why) it became unhip. Granted, the people in the theater I was in were definitely what I’d call EW’s target audience, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m just being condescending.
But, owe up EW…
The magazine, in their latest issue, run a sidebar called Box Office Poison where they point fingers at everything but their own erroneous efforts to be a part of something cool and reeking from a slip of the Zeitgeist.
Their reasons: Blogs Don’t Equal Bucks, Young Men Aren’t Reliable Moviegoers, and Schlock Sells Just Like You’d Expect.
If the film had released earlier in the year they’d be running a sidebar called EW’s Influence Launches a Franchise or Asp and Ye Shall Recieve, or Watershed Moccasins. Instead, the film underperformed and the magazine washed its hands of the whole thing. Meanwhile, I love Beerfest with every fibre of my being and the fact it’s not doing to well only makes me want to try harder to get people to see it. If EW was wise, they’d have seen the non-blockbuster predicament [I won’t call it a failure because Snakes ought to clean up on video] as a call to arms. Instead they pussed out, blaming it on the most lame reasons. I mean, who expects Blogs to send people hurtling towards theaters? When done best (and hey, I hear this Blog is pretty popular) they entertain but our lazy culture ain’t getting off their couch for NO ONE without provocation.
I don’t know why I’m surprised EW pussed out, but as someone who has given them a lot of time, ink, and money I eventually try to justify my boneheadedness by projecting logic and intelligence upon them. It doesn’t take.
In other Snakes on a Plane news, Chris Gore is a champion for it.