The Weekend at the Box Office, Genre Films Stink it Up

So, the genre film, "Skyline", didn't exactly light anything on fire. "Megamind", the 3D animated film from Dreamworks stayed in the number one spot and the new Denzel Washington, 'train-out-of-control' film, "Unstoppable", came in second. "Due Date" slipped to third and the afore mentioned sci-fi film, "Skyline", came in fourth... grossing a meagre $11Million. As "Skyline" is really the only thing of interest to me, I'll take a closer look at it.

First, let's look at the positive... which isn't much. The biggest positive is the fact that it only had a budget of $10Million. So, it grossed over its budget on the first weekend. That means that, in the end, it should be a money maker. Between international gross, a few more lingering weeks at the box office, an early DVD release and so on and so on, it'll make some cake. What's remarkable to me is that an effects driven film like this cost only $10Million. That means one of two things... either the cost of doing the effects have come way down or there just isn't a lot of effects in the film. Like, ten years ago, a shot of a spaceship sucking up thousands of people would be enough to bring hoards of people to the theater. Now, not so much...

Okay, so let's look at the negative... why did it do so poorly? Well, there's a lot of things to hang your hat on here. No big stars, a flat and generic plot, it's PG-13, poorly written... I mean, really, how could they have expected it to do anything? When you think about it, why was the film even made? If you're not going to get a big star and if you're not going to push the envelope on at least one front, what do you expect? Really, it sort of annoys me when resources are blown on bad projects. Compare this to "District 9". "District 9" had no big stars, but the film was written brilliantly. Not only that, it pushed the envelope on alien films, turning things on their head. If you're going to get in this arena, you should be ready to play - be daring, push it. It's a shame that "Skyline" didn't. There's plenty of fledgling indie screenwriters and filmmakers that could've tweaked the story enough to make it work. I'm sure of that.

Anyhow, genre films are notably absent from big screens for the next little while. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" comes out on Friday, as well as "The Next Three Days". Both should gobble up plenty of dough. If you can find it, a little sci-fi/horror film from the UK called "Heartless" is getting a very limited release... VERY limited. I think it's out on about 5 theaters. If you're lucking enough to live in a city that's getting it, you should go check it out. Otherwise, this week looks to have a couple of interesting indie's coming out on DVD, so check back in tomorrow!

"Avatar" To Help Indie Film - A big stretch, but hear me out...

The big day has come and gone, as "Avatar" has officially been released into the wild. I actually haven't seen it yet, but only because I want to see it on a particular Imax screen and it was just insane there over the weekend. In any case, the worst reviews all say the same thing, unbelievable effects and a so-so story, but, then again, if you think about it, "Titanic" had a so-so story. On the flip side, the best reviews say that "Avatar" is going to be a major Oscar contender. Either way, the film is going to easily rank in the top 10 biggest grossing films of all time (some predict that it'll come second to only "Titanic"), it's a massive game-changer as far as effects are concerned and I think it's actually going to change the theatrical experience, which will, in turn, help indie film... I think. Read on and see if you agree.

Apparently there's a joke in Hollywood that goes like this: A filmmaker dies and goes to heaven. When he gets there, he notices a guy on a massive swooping crane, manning a huge HD camera... and he asks Saint Peter, "Hey, when did James Cameron die?" Saint Peter responds, "Oh, that's not James Cameron. That's God... he just thinks he's James Cameron". Personally, I love the guy. His biggest flop, "The Abyss", is awesome. I credit "Terminator" as one of my biggest influences and then there's "Aliens". F'ing "Aliens". What a classic. Now, 12 years after making the most successful film of all time, "Titanic", he's back... and he might just save theatrical film.

You see, the theatrical experience is dying. Sorry, it is. Really, there's no reason to go. I'm not saying that great films aren't being made, they are. However, there's no reason to go see them in the theater. The home experience is just as good... and better in some regards. I can pause the film to go take a shit or grab a beer. I can make whatever food I want. I don't have some 400 lbs sleaze bag sitting next to me. There aren't a bunch of loser kids texting constantly and, really, I've got STACKS of micro-cinema to watch, none of which gets released theatrically, and Hollywood fare comes out weeks, not months, after it hits the big screen, so... why would I pay $20 to go to the theater? James Cameron has the answer - offer something that I can't get at home.

James Cameron is a meticulous filmmaker, notoriously. And this meticulous filmmaker has decided to use 3D in a way that it's never been used before... to immerse you in the film. 3D has always been a circus act, a side show - "Put your glasses on now". Things poke out at you, jump in your lap or frighten you. Sure, "Coraline" did it, Imax does those nature films, but nothing like this. Cameron uses the technology to help you, the viewer, feel like you're in the film. To make viewing the film theatrically an experience... something you can't get anywhere else. THIS is revolutionary, THIS takes the idea of the theatrical experience to a new level, THIS is game-changing. I think people have tried before, but Cameron has now done it successfully. In the end, "Avatar" is going to pull in something close to $1Billion Worldwide... I mean, it hasn't even had its second weekend and it's already grossed over $275Million Worldwide. Seeing that, studios will try to replicate that. On top of that, eventually, all theaters will be digital and that's going to open up opportunities to immerse people further. Once that happens, you can go beyond 3D... we'll be delving into interactive film - text your own adventure. In 20 years, when we look back, I think "Avatar" will be looked on as the film that pushed the theatrical experience over the edge, much like how people look at "T2" as the film that really introduced CG effects. Oh yeah, and I also think this is good for indie film.

So, how could the film that purportedly cost half a billion dollars to make be good for indie film? Here's how - it's going to drive open the gap between theatrical and traditional film... and that's good for us indie guys. I think that if the theatrical experience gets driven further and further into being an immersive crowd experience, conventional film will become a whole other market. The theater will become a place where you can see concerts, live sporting events, big blockbuster films, all in a high-tech, 3D environment with THX True HD sound... and then there will be traditional film and traditional film's big market will be home entertainment. Sure, they'll get limited theatrical releases, but their bread and butter will be getting people to watch at home. As that happens, the existing gap between traditional studio films and independent films will shrink. They'll all be lumped together... which will change the way that the studios market and distribute those traditional films. They'll really start to look at how cable networks, video on demand and the internet can act as gateways to the living room. As they open up these new pipelines, they're essentially doing indie film a service... as those are the pipelines that we've been fantasizing about for quite some time. The studios WILL help us... but only after they help themselves.

Anyhow, that's all I've got for this week... as Friday's Christmas. Have a great Christmas everyone, we'll see you next week!

2009's Slate of Horror Films - What To Look Forward To and What To Look Forward To Not Looking Forward To.

I haven't actually done any looking back at 2008 yet, but I am willing to look forward to 2009 at this point... I thought it might be interesting to look at what's slated to hit the theaters, horror-wise, this year. Obviously, there's a few big, notable releases, such as the remake of "Friday the 13th" and Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell". The poster for "Friday the 13th" could be the high point on that flick... my hopes are a lot higher for Raimi's return to his low-budget horror roots with "Drag Me to Hell". Now, keep in mind, this is just what's slated at this time and it can change at any time. Also, there's bound to be plenty added and some taken away.

January has a couple of notable films coming out, the first being "Slaughter", which is the first film to be developed from the Slamdance Screenplay competition... "Slaughter" is about a young actress who discovers that her and her co-stars have been cast in a Japanese snuff film. On a similar note, "Perkins' 14", which also comes out in January, was the result of the online film colloboration, Massify.com. The latter is going to be part of the After Dark Films Horrorfest lineup, which also includes "Autopsy", "The Broken", "Dying Breed", "Butterfly Effect: Revelation" and "From Within". As for Hollywood released films, you'll get "The Unborn" with Gary Oldman... a PG-13 horror from Platinum Dunes (sweet!). The remake of "My Bloody Valentine" (even better!) also comes out and so does "The Uninvited", which is a British film, based on a Korean film, which is also going to be remade in the U.S. in 2010 (I'm speechless).

February, of course, holds the date for the new "Friday the 13th", which is scheduled to come out on, of course, Friday, February 13th. "Jason was my son... and today is his birthday."

March holds the date for "Knowing", directed by Alex Proyas ("Dark City", "The Crow") and starring Nic Cage. This has been in talks for a while and is finally coming out... it's about a professor that unearths a time capsule depicting the dates of the assassinations of historical figures, the hotel fire death of his wife and the imminent world apocalypse... he then attempts to stop these incidents from occuring.

A bit of a break for anything scheduled until May, when Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" finally comes out, which is about an L.A. loan officer who has a powerful curse unleased on her by a mysterious woman... after she denies her an extension on her home loan. How fitting for these times...

Then, July has "Orphan" and a remake of "Piranha" from "High Tension", "Hills Have Eyes" director Alexandre Aja.

August has "Final Destination 4"... 'nough said.

September brings you "The Crazies", directed by Michael Eisner's kid, Breck Eisner, and it's the remake of the 1972 Romero film that... well, never really caught on. The original is actually pretty good, though. If you haven't checked it out, you should.

October brings you "Sorority Row", a remake of "The Stepfather", "Saw VI" and "Zombieland", which stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg and is about the most frightened guy on Earth, who leads a motley crew of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.

Finally, November will bring you "The Box" and the much anticipated "The Wolfman", starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.

So, to me, it looks like a lot of the same old PG-13 horror stuff that Hollywood's been pumping out for a while now, plus a few established sequels and franchise movies, then one or two to look forward to. The best stuff could definitely be going straight to DVD and, in that case, you'll just have to keep reading Dead Harvey every Monday, so we can tell you about the new movies of the week!