I was getting my hair cut, and my barber was telling me how he already had copies of American Gangster and Things We Lost in the Fire. Then he told me how much he loved Blood Diamond (but that he’d seen it way too many times), and one film he couldn’t get enough of was Van Helsing. Then again, he used to hang out with Rick James, and even met Marvin Gaye. Ironically, if this guy posted on a message board, I’d be apoplectic. But he wasn’t trying to convince me these were good movies, or make a case for them. In some way I’m happy Stephen Sommers’ film found its audience. But what was I talking about again?
IN WITH THE NEW?
Two films from veteran filmmakers (with possible aspirations to change the way movies are made and delivered) hit the screens this week. Robert Zemeckis’s Three-Dimensional, Motion-Captured Beowulf and Brian De Palma’s five-Million-dollar shot-on-HD Redacted. Ultimately they strike me as more of the same, but I’m a cynic.
The big question, the all-encompassing question as we move into the innerspace (sadly, not Joe Dante’s) era is: What will happen with theatrical distribution? Will we as a society ever be able to eliminate going to the theater? I doubt it. The communal experience is something people still value, even if they don’t go as often (then again, with so much entertainment a click away, why would they?), but when there’s something they want to see, they turn out in droves. This year saw four films do over $300 Million dollars theatrically, with three released within weeks of each other. That’s close to a billion dollars of revenue generated from one month’s worth of films. And that’s just their domestic gross. Ain’t that some shit? But those three were franchise films, and franchises cannot be counted on. When you want to play the summer or Christmas season, you’ve got to dress your film to the nines, and it’s a big investment – we may see shortly how much of a folly staking a franchise can be.
Evidence suggests that we are at the verge of a paradigm shift, these blockbusters are often costing $300 Million, and that strikes as similar terrain to when musicals started getting bloated, and with Warner Brothers and Universal already attempting to re-invent both Superman and the Hulk, it’s not as if there’s a lot of propertes they have to mess with. But America is a very stubborn country. Some filmmakers have moved to digital photography, but it’s not become an industry standard yet. Some theaters have moved towards digital projection, but it is also not a standard yet (Miami Vice, for instance, was shot digitally but not shown digitally. Explain that one.). The theatrical business is still fueled by American interests, and we’re talking about a country that couldn’t get their shit together to adapt to the metric system (and please do not get me started on the metric system, because… grr. Pet peeve). The same could be said for 16×9 televisions, and HD becoming an industry standard. We have, literally, been hearing this for years. And we may eventually get there, but it seems that in some ways the country refuses to evolve – except that the iPod has completely changed the way most people handle their new music. But that’s to be expected – when it’s supposed to happen, it doesn’t, and when it’s easy and convenient, it changes everything.
Beowulf was done with the motion capture system. And there is evidence that mo-cap is a very useful tool in film making. With the performance captured, where the camera is is all up to the director. With someone as gifted as Zemeckis at composition and editing, it will make for more than just an interesting experiment. That said: Uncanny valley, dead-eyed zombies, bacon (yummy bacon), Uncanny Valley Girl Deborah Foreman, The George Foreman Grill, Dead Honky.
The tool is fine and fun, and can be used by talents for interesting things, but like all freedom, perhaps only discipline and limitations will make it more than a gimmick. And what would Shawn Levy (the director), or even Judd Apatow do with these tools? In three dimensions The Polar Express is duly worth seeing, but projected flat it is less than worthless. Beowulf may work better as a narrative, but the breaking point for three-dimensional cinema will likely be the home-replay factor. And 3-D has never worked well at home. Last Jedi Council I was at, two years ago now, they were prepping Star Wars for a 3-D release, but like most of the 30th anniversary celebration, it has not come, and seems little more than a whisper.
What this also does is turn Beowulf into another product, much like its past 3-D brethren, something bound to be a great theatrical experience. It’s something to leave the house for because you won’t be able to see it like that at home, and many venues are offering 3-D presentations. Like Creature of the Black Lagoon, Dial M for Murder and Robot Monster, it’s partly made to get people to the theater again. Even if they were going anyway.
Then there’s Redacted. Done on the cheap with only a handful of Brian De Palma’s regular crew, the film is an act of provocation. Unlike the other films on Iraq, it neither sugarcoats its argument or tries to pretend it’s anything but a screed. This is a hot button “issue” film, the likes of which also draw its roots from social message films like The Defiant Ones and The Phenix City Story. Alas, the stories ripped from the headlines here were not ripped by the filmmakers, but by the newspapers themselves.
I recommend the film highly, and so there’s that. The “hitting all platforms” model of release (Redacted snuck on HDnet on Wednesday before opening on 14 screens today, though the DVD isn’t due until February) was tried with Steven Soderberg’s Bubble, and it didn’t take. This though has some heat, but also people seem to hate it/not get it. Magnolia should be able to turn a profit, so that’s something, but will we see more films like this? Redacted at least has salable elements to get it over. Currently, though, it’s just a gimmick, and not a whole new world. Again, what will change the industry is what works best for the public.
As Led Zepplin once sang (well Robert Plant, but there you go): Ramble On. I fear that’s what I’m doing so as the late Pat Morita once said "Ramble On, Ramble Off."
I’M GOING TO PREDICT YOU OUT, MOMMA SAID PREDICT YOU OUT
Beowulf looks to kick ass this weekend. Love in the Time of Cholera looks to be sickly and wan this weekend. Mr. Poopstick’s Stick of Poop looks to be crap on a twig. But Bee Movie and American Gangster will likely hold strong because – gasp – people seem to like them.
So let’s stop with the talking, and get with the guessin’
1. Beowulf – $29.2 Million
2. Bee Movie – $16.8 Million
3. American Gangster – $15.9 Million
4. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium – $11.3 Million
5. Fred Claus – $10.4 Million
Expect the Coens to crack the Top ten (albeit lower half) with No Country for Old Men, expect Lions for Lambs to do less than it (expect a 60% plus drop), and Cholera also might just crack the top ten. Again, there’s not a lot of love for New Line this year, so the limited release should die on the vine. See you Sunday.