Linkapalooza - March 3, 2008

Paris Hilton poses for 'Repo' gig - link on Variety - I think it would be way too easy to tear into Paris, so to speak, so I'm just going to take this opportunity to ask a big WTF is with this film? I know it's based on a musical/opera stage play and there's been lots of talk about it, but... I just don't get it. My best guess is that they're trying to emulate a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" vibe, but, seriously, do we need another horror musical on the big screen? To give credit where credit is due, the plot sounds awesome: An epidemic of organ failures plagues the planet, then GeneCo, a multi-billion dollar biotech company emerges. They provide organ transplants for a profit, by financing organs. If you stop paying for your organs, they'll repo them... and their repo men happen to be skilled assassins. Great plot... but why keep the music??? I know "Sweeney Todd" made a pile of money and won a bunch of awards, but do they really think that Paul Sorvino and Darren Lynn Bousman ("SawII", "Saw III") can follow Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's act? I really think the world has seen way too many horror musicals of late and, by that, I mean one. If they had just kept the plot and cut the music out, I'd be pumped about this film. Sure, there'd be a few guys that would protest and say how it's a sin to do it without the music, but the droves of horror fans who would go see it wouldn't know the difference. Here's a link to the trailer and a link to their official site.

Will the Movie Experience Die in the On Demand World? - link on /film - Great post on /Film about what VOD, Movies on Demand and the internet is doing to the movie experience. I comment on it a lot, as I think the shift is a good one for low-budget indie filmmakers, but is it a good shift for movies as a whole? I must be a little older than Peter Sciretta, the guy who wrote that post, because he's remembering the 'good old times' when he lined up to see "Epidsode I". I actually remember getting off school to go see "Return of the Jedi", albeit I was skipping an afternoon of the 3rd grade and going with my Dad, but there is something to say about that experience that we don't really get too much of, anymore. Well, here's my thoughts on it - that experience will come back. Here's why... First off, I think we're going to see a mass seperation between Hollywood and Indiewood and Hollywood won't give up the theater experience. Secondly, the same people and companies behind the transformation of the home theater experience are going to upgrade the movie experience, just in different ways. When "Transformers 3D" comes out in the theaters, people will line up. Technology has been driving the home experience for the last 5 - 10 years, you wait until technology starts driving the theater experience. Coming soon to a theater near you - something you can't experience at home.

Hollywood, Silicon Valley and AT&T? It’s a Deal - link to NY Times - So, the William Morris Agency, Silicon Valley venture capital firms Accel Partners and Venrock and AT&T as a limited partner? Hmm... do you think that Hollywood's thinking about that 3rd screen? (mobile, if you're not tech - media savvy) So, you've got your movies/tv, your computer and now your mobile device - here's what you, as a filmmaker need to know... the studios and media companies are looking for franchises. They want to create content that can span all mediums, from TV and movies, to the computer to your mobile phone. They want to be able to have the film, the TV show, the website, the ringtones, the wallpapers, the 1-minute clips sent to your phone, the 4-minute Youtube clips, the social networking, they want it all. That's what they're trying to come up with... ideas that won't just sell box office tickets on opening day, they want to make money from all sides, for a few years... keep that in mind next time you're writing that intimate, art house horror.

Page out of Hell - Ellen Page pulls out of Sam Raimi's "Drag me to Hell" - link to The Hollywood Reporter - So, Ellen Page, Oscar nominated actress for her role as the title character in "Juno", has pulled out of Sam Raimi's upcoming horror film, "Drag me to Hell", which he's returning to the directors chair for. Turns out that it's because of conflicts, but I'd be putting off the other shit to do a Sam Raimi film... seriously. "Drag me to Hell" is a morality tale about the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse. Raimi calls it a 'spook-a-blast', a wild ride with all the chills and spills that "Evil Dead" delivered, without relying on the excessive violence. Well, it should still be good... with or without Juno and the gore.