I have exercised the demons. š¹
Well, most of them.
THE QUOTE š¬ š¬
āA lot of people enjoy being dead.
But they are not dead, really.
They're just backing away from life.ā
hint: the largest age difference in a love story every shot on film?
THINK THOUGHTS š
Sooo, that was a thing last week, huh? Iām sure youāre sick of me, even if it wasnāt really me me1. But Deadpool me. Which isnāt me at all2. Anyway, point is, gonna try and keep this edition tight.
But not before I talk a bit more about Deadpool and Wolverine and the fact its $211 million opening was not just the biggest R rated opening of all time, but the 6th biggest domestic opening of all time, period (not accounting for inflation, natch). Thatās pretty damn good for a dude whose first movie poster was a literal dick joke.
From Variety, āonly āAvengers: Endgameā ($357 million), āSpider-Man: No Way Homeā ($260 million), āAvengers: Infinity Warā ($257 million), āStar Wars: The Force Awakensā ($247 million) and āStar Wars: The Last Jediā ($220 million) have enjoyed bigger starts at the domestic box office.ā
These types of massive openings may feel de rigueur, in part because theyāve all happened relatively recently, but theyāre still very much a big deal. And it is a huge deal that a movie which has scenes of characters being stabbed - repeatedly - in their groin area by a dead corpse (aka an R rated picture), thus excluding a healthy portion of the population, achieved this kind of opening.
These things āarenāt supposed to be possible.ā Again, easy for people to say its possible now, but ask them 10 years ago and it wouldāve been a ludicrous thought. Like a potentially job ostracizing prediction.
Story time! About ten years ago, the Vice Chairman of Paramount, Rob Moore (aka my bossā boss at the time), was asked in an interview with other studio heads what he thought about the idea of Star Wars: The Force Awakens opening to between $200 -$300 million. In short, he said the idea was absolutely ridiculous. Never gonna happen (go to the 15 mins mark in in the video). Not because the movie itself was bad, but because of itās opening date - the weekend before Christmas. No movie up to that point had opened over $100 million on that date (The Hobbit had the record at $86 million). Precedent dictated the outcome in his mind. (never mind the fact he had employees3 who built a prediction tool that said otherwise, buuut thatās not the point here).
As you already read above and promptly forgot, The Force Awakens opened to $247 million.
š¬
Moore had the belief that the weekend dictated the movieās outcome and not the other way around.
This is a point I belabor here, because I think itās important. When you have people who run the places (studios) which make the products (movies), and thus play a big part in dictating future industry outcomes, abiding by a certain set of beliefs, it can mean ideas that go against those beliefs will rarely, if ever, happen. Until someone proves them wrong and challenges those believes of course.
It makes what Ryan Reynolds has done even more impressive. And Iām not taking away from the fact that the Deadpool & Wolverine pairing is super desirable to audiences, but itās this version that people wanted to see enough to create that opening.
And it was Reynolds (with help of course) who guided this version into existence. The same guy who had to leak film footage just to get the first movie made.
So I guess the lesson here is, be super witty, handsome, have business savvy and you too, can prove people wrong.
Or maybe itās, focus less on whatās been done before as your guide for what will happen in the future.
Hmmm, that wasnāt very tight. Allons-y!
Note: The Instigators, the Matt Damon / Casey Affleck Apple TV + comedic version of The Town (very much my words) is releasing in a few limited theaters Friday, but Iām waiting until next to give a full feature when itās streaming, since thatās essentially itās āwideā release.
NEWSY BITS š¾
Barry Diller Says IAC Bid for Paramount Is Over - we already āknewā this, but now we know it, for sure. Reason the former head of Paramount no longer is trying to buy even though thereās still a āopen to better offerā period active? Well, money of course, āāIt is unwise to get in an auction with someone who has a pretty much unlimited balance sheet,ā the executive says of the Ellison familyā - The Wrap
āLonglegsā Passing āParasiteā To Become Neonās Highest-Grossing Movie Ever - Iām not making equivalencies, but if you remember, Parasite did win Best Picture at the Oscars. Also, good for Neon and A24 to continue pumping out great original movies to combat the āthereās nothing new out thereā narrative. And to make legit money. - Deadline
Robert Downey Jr. Sets Marvel Return as Doctor Doom in āAvengers: DoomsdayāĀ - um, spoiler alert bro. But also, literally how?! And holy shit is that dude rich. - Variety
With āDeadpool & Wolverine,ā the Marvel Cinematic Universe Becomes First Film Franchise to Cross $30 Billion at Global Box Office - datās alotta dimp - Variety
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) š
Kneecap - a movie about Irish rappers. Sounds silly, is apparently pretty poignant and effective, so say reviews who credit the real rapping life trio for bringing heartfelt authenticity to their story about fighting for freedom to speak their native language. Playing in Limited Theaters Friday
Hard and the Purple Crayon - based on a childrenās book about a five year old who can draw anything he imagines, so naturally you castā¦ *checks notes* Zachary Levi? I mean, yeah sure, he played a kid in Shazam! Except reviews are mostly saying not sure and no sir. Playing in Theaters Friday
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie - a Spongebob movie, but Spongebob isnāt the star. The reviews sayā¦ nothing, because there arenāt any. Streaming on Netflix Friday
NOTABLE NEW RELEASE(S) š & šŗ
Trap
Every movie technically has a premise, but not every movie has a premise. As in a tight little line that makes you go oooh, well now Iām curious.
And very few filmmakers toss original premises (premisies?) in front of our faces quite like M. Night Shyamalan.
Lots of people call him āthe twist guy,ā which is obviously not in reference to his dance moves (though I donāt technically know this, he could be an excellent twerker š¤·āāļø), but instead his penchant for revealing crucial information late in a movie. Though, when described like that, lots of movies are twists.
While I canāt say if this is the umpteenth Shyamalan comeback movie that will finally make you believe again, like you did after The Sixth Sense and Signs (since there are no reviews), I can say the premise got my attention when the trailer first came out. And yet, the logline is so basic...
āA father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and sinister event.ā
Well yeah, because the dad (Josh Hartnett in a super fun turn) is the dark and sinister event on account of him being the serial killer the police are looking for.
Or is he?
Side note: the singer in the movie, for they created a legit concert environment, is M. Nightās eldest daughter, Saleka Shyaman.
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
Details: 1 hr 35 mins | PG-13 | š : TBD
THE WEEKLY TRAILER PLAYLIST āÆ
Spellbound - Netflix really laying the John Lasseter (former head of Pixar who left due to āsexual misconductā) association on thiiiiiick. And the dude didnāt even direct, yeesh.
His Three Daughters - one (apparently quite good) version of a story most of us will unfortunately go through, the death of a parent. In this case itās from the POV of three sisters as they each deal with their fatherās exit separately and together.
The 4:30 Movie - Mallrats director Kevin Smith makes a movie about his love for movies.
me me š¶
cop out!
my team!