Slashdot Mirror
Wired on Hollywood's Elite Message Boards
superflippy writes " Wired journalist Ben Mezrich gets the scoop on the online forums that film producers and other Hollywood heavyweights use to "track" the buzz on spec scripts, actors, writers, etc. "The tracking boards are the herd mentality gone digital," says one tracker. This helps explain how dreck like Kangaroo Jack makes it to theaters."
Imagine what a goatse redirect would do!
Nah...back to Fox. ;-)
Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
Score: -1 100% Flamebait
But since the linked article had eye candy, you get a pass.
Ryan T. Sammartino
"Ancora imparo"
As everyone knows, a certain well-known site has a similar problem. Yet with the magic of Zoo, trolls can be banished with just a few mouse clicks! And as we all know, now slashdot is perfectly free of such ill-behaved creatures.
So the obvious answer is for Hollywood to use slash! Blacklist the Trolls, and we'll get better movies.
sulli
RTFJ.
I read this guys book "Bringing Down The House" I enjoyed every page of it. I read this article he has written about hollywood fuckwits, and it all seems farely believable.
Having to work around writers and executive producers and other people in the industry is a drain. You will never find a group of folks more full of shit. I completely agree with the article in that all the movers and shakers in the industry run on fear, constantly looking around to see what everyone else is doing.
They certainly don't need to be doing research of any kind for the type of trash they are putting out these days. More like job justification for some "researchers" to troll message boards all day. But if their consumer preference model is based on the denizens of online message boards, that explains a lot.
MoviePoopShoot.com, anyone?
Yeah, except for me, it just when I hit skip, it just goes back to it. I haven't been able to get to wired news all day :(
Of course, it could be that the ad is trying to place a nasty cookie on my hd. *thanks mozilla*
neurostarHmm... I'm not sure how that got there.
neurostar"that movie's gonna make some huge bank."
"What buzz?"
"The Internet buzz."
"What the fuck is the Internet?!"
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
I wanna be diffrent just like everyone else.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
You pretentious little fuck.
"oh, the internet. is that thing still around?"
Chute.
reading a board is one thing, basing your decesions on it another.
Then again, there is this anecdote from Terry Pratchett. He met a Hollywood executive who wanted to make a movie out of his book "Mort" (that is about Death taking on an apprentice). Here's what happened in the word of Pratchett himself:
"A production company was put together and there was US and Scandinavian and European involvement, and I wrote a couple of script drafts which went down well and everything was looking fine and then the US people said "Hey, we've been doing market research in Power Cable, Nebraska, and other centres of culture, and the Death/skeleton bit doesn't work for us, it's a bit of a downer, we have a prarm with it, so lose the skeleton". The rest of the consortium said, did you read the script? The Americans said: sure, we LOVE it, it's GREAT, it's HIGH CONCEPT. Just lose the Death angle, guys.
Whereupon, I'm happy to say, they were told to keep on with the medication and come back in a hundred years."
I've managed to end up quite cynical after the flood of crap I watched through the late 90s. I haven't been to a theatre or hired/bought/downloaded a movie since I saw The Sixth Sense - and I can't remember exactly when that was. I'm planning on seeing LOTR sometime after the third is out, however.
The amount of crap in movieland makes it all barely worth watching. blah
I thought, "That movie with Steve Martin? WTF does that have to do with anything?" Then I realized it was referring to a book.
And I care because...?
Sounds like you could pick up some very interesting projects by being a contrarian; ie, getting the stuff that's getting poo-pooed on the boards and actually READING it; then picking it up for less than the project would've gotten if it were universally lauded.
10 to 1 you're going to be one of the first in line to watch The Matrix: Reloaded.
Remember, these people formerly made all of their business decisions at parties and in hot tubs. Mostly this is a crowd that confuses their ability to make money with being truly significant. They all operate under the same set of deluded assumptions about themselves, they're drawn to this type of community for the insulation from reality it provides.
This doesn't make them bad people, some of them are exceedingly decent human beings in terms of their personal habits, but the "creative" community in Hollywood is really dominated anti-creative forces and incredibly self-absorbed people. It's truly amazing we ever get any good movies at all.
The best way to do is to be.
It might be interesting to have a fly-on-the-wall view of this site. Anyone found a way in yet?
I only watch the movies I make. So there!
Just because a company has bought a hyped-up idea, it doesn't nessecarily mean that they will shoot a film of it. I remember a guy who worked as a trainee in Hollywood talking in a newspaper about what he did there. He was one of those hapless people who had to read the freshly-written scripts and then give an evaluation of how good they were. This guy said that only a small number of scripts actually make it to production, the others are trash. He also said, though, that these rules don't count for big stars - if a script is good enough for Arnoid, it's good enough for his fans, too... This was about three years ago, so things may have changed over the time.
(Or maybe I just underestimate the stupidity of people)
Hell is not other people; it is yourself. - Ludwig Wittgenstein
If you were using internet explorer, your whole system would have crashed, and you would have needed to reboot. I know, because it happens to me every day @ school. Explorer lags, and then the whole system has to go down. I get to laugh and say I hate windows.
Yeesh. I thought people would get the puns and not take my troll seriously.
Oh, wait. This is slashdot.
"That's why I only watch indy movies. I like to steer clear of herd mentality. I don't put much stock in mainstream stuff anyway, since lately it's all bull."
SLASHDOT
With special guest star: Lisa Simpson.
This helps explain how dreck like Kangaroo Jack makes it to theaters.
That said Kangaroo Jack made money. It grossed $65 million in the USA alone, which matches its budget. Add in foreign releases and DVD/VHS sales/rental and you have a profitable movie. So what was wrong with it again? Oh yes - it was crap - but you know hollywood is a business.
That's why I only watch indy movies. I like to steer clear of herd mentality. I don't put much stock in mainstream stuff anyway, since lately it's all bull.
I don't watch movies at all, it's a waste of my fucking time.
And no, I don't consider "porno movies" actual movies so they don't count, but those don't waste much time as I just watch short clips.
--Drunk as in Beer
Imagine if this sort of thing made it to other Internet boards. Oh well, at least it hasn't tainted the quality of radio.
That comment about Kangaroo Jack wasn't fair.
Don't blame the internet or even hollywood. Blame the people who went to see it. That movie was a success (as much as it might scare some of us), because for one reason or another lots of people bought tickets.
There have always been people making crap movies (and tv shows) and people who have what most of us would consider poor taste going out to watch them.
Hollywood isn't bringing down movie quality by only making crap like "The Core". Viewers are bringing down movie quality by watching crap like "The Core". Entertainment is an industry, they produce what sells.
about how a bunch of 1337 h4x0rz from 5l45hd0t trashed the bullitin boards that control the movie industry....
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
The problem is NOT that Kangaroo Jack "makes it to theaters". The problem is that someone has the power to shove it onto everyone's screens while other quirky stuff never gets filmed and the vast majority of things that do get filmed never see a screen. The article's author gives us, "The truth is, I don't belong here. I am not a Hollywood player." The real truth is that there should be no such thing as a Holywood player. Theater owners should be independents who are able to pick and choose films suited to their own audience. In reality, some dorks in LA make a playlist.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
Perhaps we can send them some of our trolls.
I wonder what they'd do with the Stephen King or Natalie Portman ones....
(And before anyone suggests we send them the goatse trolls, that's a different kind of movie studio.)
[ from http://stinkyshorts.blogspot.com ]
LOS ANGELES, April 11 -- The one and a half inch piece of pink plastic, familiar to television viewers throughout the world as Michael Jackson's nose, is to host its own talk show on the Fox channel. The star of "The Nose", set to run in May
The diminutive artificial limb, which has been known by the aliases "Holy shit, is that his nose?!" and "Oh my god, what is that thing?" is hitting the big time after starring in wildly popular television specials on Britain's ITV, as well as on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX in the United States. The ABC broadcast alone pulled in 27 million viewers.
The new show, tentatively titled "The Nose," will provide "unprecedented, personal access to Michael's nose, in a timely, touching, personal manner, in a format that is a first for network talk shows," Fox said. Doing away with guests and talking altogether, the show will travel to a different city each week, where studio audience members will be allowed to take photographs with Jackson's nose, and in some cases, will be "invited to come up and actually poke it and squeeze it," the network said. Squeamish guests will be provided with six foot poles to use, if necessary.
"The Nose" will begin running sometime during the May television sweeps, possibly at the onset of the spring allergy season. While final arrangements are still being ironed out, as of last night Michael Jackson was said to be loosely attached to the project.
Searching For The Next Reality TV Hit? Try Go_Ogle.
The CEO of the company behind open source software for online matchmaking, code-named Go_Ogle, has a bad case of comic plight: like many men, he wants to succeed in his professional life and also be the best boyfriend, and later husband and father, he can. In his case, achieving this balance is complicated by the magnitude of the stakes in the market for online matchmaking software.
And will be further complicated by company-affiliated actresses, who will routinely employ their beauty, and their charms more generally, to make a favorable impression on him.
To learn why leadership of the market for online matchmaking software is the gateway to early leadership of the market for lifelong learning and career services, which will be worth hundreds of trillions of dollars in the coming decades, see this prototype of the web site that will launch when the TV show is announced.
To learn why company-affiliated actresses will go to great lengths to make a favorable impression on the CEO -- and more about why they will be effective -- click here.
To learn how the CEO and his girlfriend will creatively struggle to make their relationship work, click here.
Thoughts? Is Hollywood ripe for an open source comedy?
I don't only watch Indy movies, but I do have to agree that they are quite good. There are few movies as timeless as Raiders of the Lost Ark, that's for sure.
If not all sentients are human, couldn't it be possible that not all humans are sentient either?
Actually, the next Indy movie is set to cost $130,000,000 up front (Indiana Jones 4, starring Ford and Connery, directed by Lucas and Spielberg). You're telling me that's not a mainstream movie??
I'm just an Australian (who uses Linux :-), portrayed incorrectly in that infamous Simpson's episode (with the toads, the boot, ocre accents, etc).
Skippy the Bush Kanagroo was a successful, long running series. Don't diss the kangaroos, unless you are talking about the AFL football team.
Premiere Magazine has been reporting for years about how H'wood chooses and sinks projects. Now they do it at the speed of broadband. Thank god Wired was on the scene to break the story that someone in a big office now has a teenager.
A knock on the door of the KID's room, heavy, authoritative. The EXEC enters loudly.
EXEC
Young lady, you need to explain the bill for
your cell pho-- What's that?
KID
(glued to screen, typing)
I'm on a talkback board.
EXEC
I think you talk back plenty already.
KID
Dad! No, it's like when you want to discuss
stuff with people. You know, like movies or
stuff.
EXEC
Is this that Internet thing I keep hearing
about? Wow!
(beat)
You know, that gives me an idea...
This came to be a good idea.
Did anyone get that incredibly annoying full-screen Flash ad when hitting the Wired.com front page?
Nope. I'm using Mozilla, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it.
I loved that indie movie about the drug addicted lesbian and her wretched depressing life.
word.
this kinda reminds me of Karel Capek's book "the making of a movie" - a part of this book goes something like this:
a writer writes a film script called "the great waltz". then the studio boss calls him and says "great stuff, only it should have more chinese people", and when the writer asks why, the studio boss says "hey, if it's called 'the great wall', it oughta have some chinese". so the writer puts in some chinese, the studio boss is happy, some other person "reads" the script and says "great script, only where's the walking part, if it's called 'the great walk'?"
and the script goes on another round and so on ad infinitum.
Hell is not other people; it is yourself. - Ludwig Wittgenstein
Guess not in LA.
Personally, I thought it was a great article that really shows just how rapidly the internet has changed the way we think/act/say/do in a converstational or consensual manner.
In fact I think it's fairly obvious that we can expect to see even more of this mode of consensual decision making as communication devices continue to permeate our culture.
For example: I have a G4 tiBook, it has rendezvous which in turn is supported by an app called Hydra that allows multiple users to edit a single document real-time. And that is a fairly obvious and straight forward model. I believe that within 2-3 years the notion of 1 user/computer will be old hat and many tasks will be done as part of a consensus.
Imagine a team of genetic research scientists in the year 2007. They run Linux workstations and perform calculations to create a designer genome for the creation of a bacteria to use as an eco-friendly solvent. While they work, their CPU/HD and memory are all shared via the net and they are able to operate asynchronously on the same problem via this distributed architecture. Of course any distributed architecture amongst real-time users would require chat. So this small team could also allow in research fellows and peers to help guide and assist them in their work. And now we see an environment just like the one written up. But here, a chat user could influence the course of R&D, by trolling accordingly, they could cause the scientists to follow their friends research while shunning other research by those they do not favor personally.
And as such, would likely follow a similar killing floor for college research papers to be applied and praised or ignored out right WITHOUT even being read.
As you can see today hyper-communication causes people to act without doing any research and as technology progresses it won't get better. In fact far worse in the respect of it's cultural permeation and impact but hopefully better if tools made available to quantify and qualify data may be equally as ubiquitous in the coming age.
Having to work around writers and executive producers and other people in the industry is a drain. You will never find a group of folks more full of shit. I completely agree with the article in that all the movers and shakers in the industry run on fear, constantly looking around to see what everyone else is doing.
." and we get two or three movies that are exactly the same.
;)
We're discussing this at Fark. Here's what I had to say there:
Ben's experience matches up EXACTLY with what I've known to be standard industry practice for as long as I can remember.
We used to joke that there was one guy, who'd get drunk at a restaurant and spout out movie ideas (it changes as things go in and out of style -- in the 80s it was Spago, in the 90s I think it was the Viper Room. I have no idea what it is now, as I attempt to claw my way back up to the "b" list.) The joke went that there were execs from all the major studios, and they'd only hear flashes of the conversation, like ". . . asteroid . . . earth . . . big summer movie . .
The worst thing about this article is that Hollywood will see it, and they'll add Ben to the "we hate him because he doesn't play by our rules" list, and Bringing Down The House will never get made.
Which REALLY sucks, because I was hoping to score a part in it.
A friend of mine (who is now an indie director) worked on "Batman and Robin."
The horror stories he told me about the insane wasting of money on actor crap would make you explode.
The budget for actor garbage -- workout rooms, personal chefs, personal assistants, personal drivers, groomers, and all that useless shiat -- was THREE MILLION DOLLARS.
We made Neverland for less than 50 grand, and even THAT was a ton of money to me. (I'm not an investor, just an actor, in that picture.)
Jane White Is Sick And Twisted, which is coming out on DVD in just a couple of weeks, was similar in budget . . . and I'd wager that both of these movies are more entertaining, and more watchable than Batman and Robin.
Yeah, Hollywood is fucked. Royally. The big media conglomerates (you can't even call them 'studios' any longer) have co-opted "independent" as a marketing device . . . but there are some real indie studios out there, with people who love the material, love the process of bringing it to life, and create great work. It's just hard to find right now, is all.
As for Ben's movie? I'd DIE to play Kevin, but a part that big will go to someone who is currently "established," who can "open" a movie. (By "open," I mean that they can get people into the theatre based on their name alone.)
Kevin's character is asian in Real Life, IIRC, but they'll change that for the movie, and you'll see someone like Matt Damon (if Hollywood is smart, which they're not so we'll probably see someone who's a lousy actor, but on a "hot" series right now. I leave it to you to fill in the blanks on that one) in that role. Which he probably won't take, because it's too similar to "Rounders," which leaves it wide open for me!
. . . to lose out to some guy who's hot right now.
But Dealer #5 is all mine, baby!
Let's see what happens...
the guys from mr. show made a movie called 'run ronnie run' a couple years ago, but touchstone spent a shitload on this funny as hell movie that was never released and can now only be seen if you snag it over kazaa.
here's some info on it
Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
Everyone's out to get you mother fucker!
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Don't tell anyone.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
no nothing, time to uninstall all of the spyware dude, i think its mesing with your web experience. and BTW wired is the best magazine printed today, i have a subscription for the next 2 years!
I want 2D games back.
Homer: The code of the Hollywood message board, Marge! The rules that teach a flunky to be a exec. Let's see. [enumerates them on his fingers] Don't tattle. Always make fun of those different from you. Never say anything, unless you're sure everyone feels exactly the same way you do. What else...
Slashdot readers have a chance now to read a message board filled with even bigger assholes than they are!
Amazing!
- They allow one company to control all the boards.
- They know people manipulate the boards, but trust them anyway.
- From the sound of it, they use them as their sole source of information in many cases.
Not smart. Not smart at all.Free Hans!
clearly, your not george lucas... ...rimshot...
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
> On the other hand, your sig contained one of my favorite lines from Donnie Darko. What a spectacular movie Donnie Darko was.
Indeed. And your comment provides me the opportunity to post the URL to my just published, really long and detailed review of Donnie Darko. I've posted it before. Given the opportunity, I'll post it again. Hell, I've maxed out my karma, and if causes one intelligent person to seek out this singularly interesting film, it will be worth it...
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
It's either "mainstream", "indy" or "foreign" with you guys.
How 'bout rooting for some "good" films?
How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life
"And no, I don't consider "porno movies" actual movies so they don't count, but those don't waste much time as I just watch short clips."
No use in watching the entire movie anyway, none of them have any plot. Just the same people fucking over and over again in different ways. Easier just to skip the garbage in between fuck scenes...
SB
It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
Hollywood's Hidden Digital Ether
The Birth of a "Tracker"
Where the Network is Today
- James
So Slashdot, the movie died on one of these boards?
Can you imagine, Wil Wheaton playing CmdrTaco?
StarTux
"This helps explain how dreck like Kangaroo Jack makes it to theaters."
Hollywood will keep making dreck as long as it makes money.
BOX OFFICE SUMMARY FOR "KANGAROO JACK"
Box Office Total: $65,708,774
Box Office Opening: $16,580,209
No. of Weeks at #1: 1
No. of Weeks in Top 10: 5
BOX OFFICE HISTORY
Week Rank Wkd. Gross Theaters Per Theater Cumulative
1 1 $16,580,209 2,818 $7,770 $21,895,483
2 2 $11,548,247 2,848 $4,055 $35,112,415
3 4 $9,048,362 2,848 $3,177 $45,886,113
4 7 $6,105,250 2,848 $2,144 $53,035,263
5 8 $3,953,199 2,535 $1,986 $58,954,899
6 13 $1,988,368 1,742 $1,141 $61,901,888
7 17 $1,363,485 1,545 $883 $63,609,564
8 19 $772,413 1,110 $696 $64,691,137
9 23 $352,060 615 $572 $65,478,341
10 44 $108,774 216 $504 $65,708,774
Box office cumulative figures also include daily grosses from Monday through Thursday (not shown).
In a world that is Free and Open, who needs Windows and Gates?
Isn't this a good thing? With this kind of system, political conservatives
will have to use other ways of manipulating the public.
This blackballing is helping to protect us against a bad political philosophy.
hahaha
damn, thats funny.
I loved that indie movie with the bad camera shots...
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
No I didn't, what are you talking about? I went straight to the article. I just went to the main page, I didn't see any full screen flash ad.
This is obviously the kind of behavior that can only exist within a cartel - the free market would never abide this kind of nonsense.
The ROI of a good script reading department would be comparitively high, but instead a bunch of spoiled self-important brats would rather spend their day power brokering. Cripes, somebody should teach them l33t talk.
Oh, and the investors should have their heads.
I thought the article in Wired was very clear, and however depressing for spec writers, the harnessing of insider consensus makes a lot of sense....
It is a lot like wagering on political outcomes http://www.biz.uiowa.edu/iem/ except here you have the added value of having a select group of insiders help you predict.
Sure it can be gamed, but probably not consistently...
Bottom line... if your job and career was on the line and a huge investment in a film was at issue, you'd play it cautious too.
Fascinating inside look.
I almost too heartily agree with you, which makes me wonder when you will see the matrix:reloaded. Or if like me it will be a question of how many times. :) There are good movies just try to keep the crap-filter updated and you will get to see some really neat things. I just wish the execs would ask the teens what they wanted to see, not which celebs are hot. There have to be some interesting ideas in smart rich kids in the hollywood hills right? :P
Fnord.sig
High School USA was a Michael J. Fox movie from 1983. I believe you're thinking of USA High, which was produced by Tartikoff's buddy, (and everybody's favorite), Peter Engel, who brought you Saved By the Bell, plus the eminently forgettable California Dreams, City Guys, and All About Us.
This was another Engel classic, involving the cute guy, the dorky guy, the athletic guy, the cute girl, the smart girl, and the black girl. Except this time, they go to a boarding school! Replete with the dopey headmaster and hot secretary. Embarassingly stupid, though it survived for some years after being axed on NBC by moving to, of all networks, USA.
I'm in the process of making a half hour student film for $600 or so, which of course I'm accomplishing by shooting on DV and using all volunteer labor. It seems to me that the real costs of filmmaking (minus stupid actor expenses) come when you offer a fair rate for skilled labor. Since I'm hoping to get into the ultra low budget business, I wonder if you could tell me more about the budget on those films. How much were people paid? Did you meet guild rates and all that? What, more generally, did things cost?
...
Thanks for your time
I wish I hadn't learned this much about Kangaroo freakin' Jack! That's information overload!
there is no mainstream.
Only the sub and slip stream.
With all of the effort that goes into writing cracks for things like Everquest, you would think that someone would be interested in finding a way in to cleverly promote things that make sense.
But the whole vetting thing they do would be a pain to get around. A really closed community.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
but, those people don't do /.
Firstly - it isn't just that Hollywood makes dreck, or that the public is at fault 'cos they pay to watch it. I reckon the truth is, your average Slashdot poster (and indeed, people in general) is unlikely to circulate with a very broad cross-section of humanity. And you know what? Not everybody likes science fiction, quirky stuff, or thoughtful, original premises. There are perfectly worthy people out there, who lead lives contributing positively to society, who just wanna kick back with a beer at the end of their day and watch "Jackass: The Motion Picture". To dislike and avoid movies like that is one thing, but to heap disdain on the whole idea of them at least borders on elitism.
Secondly, whatever you think of the arguably-insane power structure of Hollywood (of which this article gives only a peek), that's where the money is for performing artists and other creative types. You can rail against the idiots, neurotics, assholes and paranoids that run the system all you like (and rightfully so, if you have that kind of spare time), but I have to admit they have a heck of a counter-argument - they got the money.
Virtually all of my friends (wife included) are in showbiz in one form or another; only a few have achieved financial security outside of Hollywood, and they did so primarily by virtue of uncommon brilliance. And conversely, there are some genuinely brilliant people who ARE part of 'the system' and are not getting what they deserve, for reasons unrelated to anything under their control. But every now and then, someone good gets a break. So, it's not all bad.
But it's mostly bad. Anyone who's actually visited Hollywood knows how grimy, slimy, and generally depressing most of the city is, and anyone who Knows People in the business and has had the opportunity to listen in on gossip understands what an incredibly high proportion of people there have drug/alcohol problems, failing marriages, or both... it's darkly funny, from a distance, but sadly I'm about to move there myself. I need a drink.
Perfectly Normal Industries
See here http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,8352,00.html
PG and PG13 movies do better than R rated movies in terms of total $ taken in.
Contrast that with the stream of R rated 'art film wannabee movies' made by big name studios so that the people involved in the project can look 'cool' to their other hollywood loser 'friends'
This is a good reason to not support the movies/music from DMCA and DRM friendly companies.
They get less than $50 per year from me.
Also, DVD rental $ is not shared with hollywood.
These numbers are as depressing as the death toll from WWII concentration camps.
"* They allow one company to control all the boards."
OSDN
"* They know people manipulate the boards, but trust them anyway."
Moderators
"* From the sound of it, they use them as their sole source of information in many cases."
Hence a lot of the bad information, and ill-informed opinions on this board.
A bunch of independent young film makers, actors and techies get fed up with the Hollywood system and move to India, where it is much cheaper to make movies. Will Bollywood welcome them with open arms, or see them as American interlopers out to steal their business? In the tragic ending, they all die from dysentary and cholera.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
The parent is insightful? Petulant pissyness is more like it.
I though J&SBSB was a pretty dumb, moderately amusing waste of time. Compared to a lot of work I'd certainly see how it ends up in the "crap" bin.
--I LMAO at some parts of KJ. And Estella Warren is a *total* hottie. :b
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Warren,%20Estella
--My favorite part of the movie is when Anthony Anderson moans, "And now he hoppin' awayhey..."
.
== WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??
Even worse they'll (apparently) make sequels! I'm told that Kangaroo Jack 2 will take place in Las Vegas where the kangaroo has now stolen more money for some undisclosed reason.
I do think that part of the reason it did so well was because it was a rather dry time for movies appealing to idiots and children and thus raked in most of the money that is usually spent on keeping the whining shit factories quiet (but not at any of the films I attend... I recall during a "House of 1,000 Corpses" trailer in front of "Willard" one precocious young fuck asked what a corpse was, a friend of mine offered to make him very well acquainted with it).
Really... most of the absolute crap is sold to children. Disney seems to have figured this out with the glut of shitty direct-to-video sequels to decades old films that weren't much more than terrible cash-cows for children to begin with (Disney movies tend to be very much like Bollywood musicals... vapid, cheery, and crowd-pleasing... but with slightly less criminal influence in the making). Still they do well and almost any parent these days has a mess of them. Children will tolerate almost anything it seems and parents are all too happy to pay for it if they don't have to watch them too closely. Sadly there are also films that are reasonably fit to offend few people other than the guy at CAPAlert. I'd suggest the (entertaining but forgettable) "Catch Me While You Can" particularly, although it seems that there isn't much being put out in this realm and not much was done in the past that isn't disgustingly saccharine.
The other major market is artistic idiots. I've often heard from people watching terrible crap that they "just want something they don't have to think about". Any attempt to appeal to intelligence is lost on them as they merely want the lowest common denominator sit-com crap. They even make a point of wanting dumb romantic comedies that are predictable and dull since they require little to no thought, but are (presumably) entertaining. Oh, and don't make it too long. People hate getting value for their money or seeing any story that can't be crammed into the short time limit they're comfortable with. No chance for story, character development, or intelligent and thought-provoking dialogue, that'll take longer than 2 hours and might make someone unhappy!
>. Entertainment is an industry, they produce what sells.
I wouldn't say that, even though, objectively its correct, but let's face it - we are obsessed with Hollywood. We complain when a bad movie gets released. Doesn't that seem a little odd? Its just taking up space at the local 20-screen cinema, its not like we're forced to watch them at gunpoint.
A movie critic is a respected international job. Why? The TV and the internet are constantly telling us who Julia Roberts is dating or what Heidi Clum wore last week in Paris.
I've divested in Hollywood long ago. I catch the occasional movie and am stunned at how many commercials I have to watch, how much I have to pay, and the how "movie people" simply act like little children when they don't get that perfect movie they were hoping for.
The best thing I did in a long time was buy a Tivo. I now have almost no connection to pop-America, have no idea who "hot" actors are, don't see commercials for crap like "Celebrity Justice," etc. Yeah, I sound like one of those, "I dont have a TV" people, but you know what, they make excellent points. You simply can't see the forest from the trees if you grew up watching TV like I did.
It would be nice if Hollywood would just make art, but it collectively decided long ago that the celebrity star system serves it well and people don't seem to complain much. Heaven forbid we see actors, musicians, and TV-people as our peers and not saints we hope someday will sign our chest with a sharpie at Barnes and Noble.
I love how concerns over real events that affect us, politics, the war, etc made the oscars look like the cheap industry backscratching it truly is. Who wore what? Who cares. Take your little statue and go home.
The nice thing about the internet is that media people have suddenly become real. Reporters have blogs and *gasp* they're trying to make their way through life too, even though they can occasionally get a quote or two from someone holding a powerful office in government. The most common thing I heard when Wil Wheaton's blog hit critical mass was, "Oh, he's just like an ordinary person. We were so mean to him." Or "I'm a dude who wrote some software, enjoy" compared to "Mega-corp announces its newest proactive and innovative product for PC consumers, this revolutionary...."
I think Hollywood's celebrity system is more or less destined to collapse due to the egalitarian aspects of cheap/free information. I'm not going to bother to provide supporting links: (im sure you've read these stories) TV time has been interrupted by internet time, the RIAA is losing sales and indie labels are experiencing a small boom, linux is in the enterprise and kicking ass, fans petition or even pay for quality TV episodes, access to lots of different news brings balance to national tunnel vision, etc.
I really hope my kids grow up in a society in which the self-important PR and other celebrity BS are seen plainly as lies. I hope they don't go crazy over the latest fads because J-Lo was seen wearing something similiar at Spago. Or even how to explain to them why adults can pay 9 dollars to see something like "Kangaroo Jack." I hope my generation looks crazy to them, because we probably are.
Ok i havent read the full article yet (still in the process of) but she sets up an anonymous meeting with him as a favour and he writes in his article a full description of her but with no name. Hmmm i wonder how anonymous she will be..
Slashdot - The one stop shop for procrastination
Actually there are Free & Open Flash players.
If people can make and profit from the likes of the blair witch project, or something really good like Bend it like Beckham or Frida, then Ben's movie can happen without the hollywood execs and probably be better for it.
And if you can't get big distribution, it is possible to tour a movie through local town halls until it takes off. And if you haven't got any money you could make a movie like "tape" (starring Ethan Hawke). One room, script pre-written.
Good movies still get made even if Hollywood has its head up its arse.
Do you suppose if they used Bulletin boards and forums for script writing ideas, they could make the plots of porno movies better/exist or would they be just the same?
-- it must be true, it's on the internet.
In an interview with high school kids at a local KC high school:
"We all dye our hair because we are all different."
Or perhaps I'm talking crap and this type of collusion will only force agents and writers to be nicer to Directors and Producers. I don't think it's a good idea for the Government to legislate media, and therefore these disgusting bulletin boards will unfortunately have to continue to exist.
A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
Easier just to skip the garbage in between fuck scenes
First, there was commercial skip. Now they need to take that to the next level and add "Porno plot skip"
Are you referring to Gia?
The Bad Thing about these boards is not crap that makes it into production; that has its own punishments and is thus selected against. The Bad Thing is that good scripts are killed for reasons that may have nothing to do with the script itself. But it could also be argued (as someone posted elsewhere) that smart folk could read all the "blackballed" scripts themselves and perhaps find something good at a bargain price.
[ReidNews]
You know how afraid they are of putting out a film with a bummer ending.
Frustrating knowing that many movies get ruined by tacked-on endings, and good movies get dropped before they're even made.
Makes me want to shout "Give me the Real Thing! I have money! I will pay money to see movies with tragic endings! Real US Dollars--almost as good as Euros! My ass in a seat if you can manage it, I'm game, just show me the goddamn flicks already." And I think the Hollywood Way is narrow, seeing only initial box office, and missing great opportunities. But am I kidding myself?
Exhibit A. Dancer in the Dark is among my favorite movies. For the longest time the wife didn't want to watch it because she said "It's too depressing." And she really likes von Trier and Dogme movies. She likes Dancer in the Dark too, it's just difficult to watch.
So, last winter we saw Chicago and I came away thinking like "Oh, they wanted to make Dancer in the Dark with a happy ending." Remarkably it was entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. We will definitely buy a copy and watch it, and over the years we may watch it more times than Dancer in the Dark. But there's no way in hell it's a better movie, more profound, more moving, more emotionally gripping, more stunning. Not in my house.
Is there a such gulf between what I say what I want to watch and what I actually watch? Some evidence to the contary would be that I spend more on better movies--paying arthouse admission prices with no bargain matinees, not getting the steepest discounts on movies--like I know I won't have to pay anywhere close to full retail for Chicago, although it is definitely on my list of movies to own. So there is some evidence that I'll pay more money for a more intense film experience, but I still say I'm not getting enough intensity and there's too much junkfilm in the theatres.
The irony of the movie business is they seem so unattuned to movies. Entertainment they get, sort of, but movies seem alien to them. Like they see suckers like me and they're like, "Okay, how are we going to fleece them next? Jack?"
"How about like a Widow of St. Pierre meets Run Lola Run, you know, like a techno vibe with some musical numbers and an extended anime sequence--I see some good cross marketing opportunities here. Toys, Soundtrack, Happy Meals"
"But that thing with the execution--"
"Oh, yeah. I mean, no. No. That's what I'm saying. What if like the guillotine never arrives? Like there's a huge storm and a shipwreck, you know, like a parallel reality where the lovers are like finally joined."
"Go on, go on."
I always wondered how Hollywood manages to choose such shitty movies, and now I know: incest.
In Soviet America the banks rob you!
And you are a fucking fag for using the word "fag".