Is a friend of a friend a friend?
I guess it all depends on which "friend" you are in this scenario.
THE QUOTE đŹ đŹ
âBig things have small beginnings.â
hint: âmilk,â the hint is âmilk.â ok fine, itâs a prequel too
THINK THOUGHTS đ
Man, talk about contrasts.
A24 - the only seemingly legit contender (outside of maybe Lionsgate, but that seems to have passed) to build itself to resemble some modern version of what the major Hollywood studios were since the movie industry solidified into said majors (see: Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros, Universal, and formerly Fox) - just received investment that values the company at $3.5 billion.
Which is half of the nearly $7 billion valuation of Paramount Global - which includes not just Paramount Pictures but CBS, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central as well as Paramount + - whose Office of the CEO trio just announced theyâve âhired bankers to evaluate asset sales.â Including the potential sale of the famed studio lot. All this after the potential sales they were involved in fell through.
Now, wouldnât it be âfunnyâ if A24 bought Paramount and in the process acquired the backlot?
Itâd actually be quite fitting in some senses, because I remember when I worked at Paramount, there was always this discussion hovering around about what Paramount meant to people (ânothingâ Iâd always say, at least in the ways it mattered). But people would sill believe it did in some form and itâs ultimately why they changed the entire company to become âParamount,â because they thought just because people knew what it was, that maybe it had some meaning to them.
But Paramount doesnât really have meaning to people, outside of a being a notable place you might visit for an afternoon while in LA. As in, it doesnât mean anything in relation to the content they put out - i.e. no one goes to a movie because itâs a âParamount movie.â
But people do go see movies solely based on the fact theyâre an A24 production. Itâs a level of trust. Even if they may not like it, they still might find it interesting.
Whereas Paramount has made both The Wolf of Wall Street as well as Monster Trucks, a movie where literal monsters hide in literal trucks, because the head of production at the time listened to his 4 year old for movie ideas.
Itâs kind of natural in business for older shops to die while newer ones take their place, but even if itâs normal, it can still sometimes be shocking to see such a downfall. And who knows! Maybe Paramount has some big resurgence and A24 is the one that gets bought.
But at this point, I just wanna see the whole Paramount sale / no sale saga through until the end.
Although, I really have no idea that âendâ is.
NEWSY BITS đž
Eddie Murphy Says Heâs Already Recorded Some of âShrek 5â and âI Think Itâs Coming Out in 2025,â Plus a Donkey Spinoff Movie Is Next - thatâd make it 15(!) years between installments - Variety
Now Narrating the Olympics: A.I.-Al Michaels - not movie related directly, but the implications are there - New York Times
Toys âRâ Us Debuts First Video Ad Using Sora, OpenAIâs Text-to-Video Tool: also not movie related, but again, implications be hoverinâ. btw, it is not a good ad - The Hollywood Reporter
Comedy Centralâs Website Purges 25 Years of Video Clips and Other Content - clearly related to all the going ons, but man, kinda sucky. They did the same with MTV News archives - Variety
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) đ
A Family Affair - Nicole Kidman starts banging Zac Efron and her daughter, Joey King, doesnât like it. Hilarity ensues? Of course they play characters doing all of this. And Iâd tell you what the reviews say, buuuut this is gonna be on Netflix and they donât âdoâ reviews. Streaming on Netflix Friday
Daddio - Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn go back and forth in a NYC taxi set two-hander (as in only two actors are in it) and while it might seem like it has the opportunity to be less enjoyable than rolling yourself out of a speeding cab, there are far more good reviews that bad, saying the actorsâ rapport is genuine and the story grows to match the emotions it reveals. Playing in Limited Theaters Friday
Fancy Dance - Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) plays a caretaking aunt after her sister disappears before a big powwow. The two abscond before Gladstoneâs niece can be taken from her as they try and find her missing sibling. The reviews say that even if itâs a âsmallâ movie in scope, the authenticity and performances make for a strong experience. Streaming on Apple TV+ Friday
NOTABLE NEW RELEASE(S) đ & đş
A Quiet Place: Day One
Prequels are kind of like friends of friends (FoF). You obviously enjoy your friendâs company, so youâre thinking âI mean, I like my friend, so I should probably like their friend too.â Plus, this FoF can tell you stories about your friend that you never even knew about. Embarrassing ones Ideally.
And even if youâre coming in with some level of skepticism, itâs more often a bit of a assumed good things by association situation. However, this FoF is still their own person and will need to prove themselves to you in their own right. Right? Right.
Itâs like, if the stories are juicy and they pick up the tab? Hell yeah. Win-win baby. And it can even enhance you opinion of your friend.
But if the FoF is a big fat d-bag? Weeeellll, then things start to get tricky. Because then not only do you not wanna hang out with this person again, you start to question your original friend. You like that guy?!
And so it goes with prequels. You want to like them if you were into the original, but who really knows??
Itâs even more complicated - and hereâs where the metaphor starts to breakdown - when you consider the people responsible for building the thing you liked (i.e. writer / director John Krasinski and star Emily Blunt - theyâre married btw) are no longer in it - itâs been taken over by Pig, the very well liked Nic Cage movie where he tries to save his truffle hunting pig, helmer Michael Sarnoski.
I wish I could tell this FoF not only picked up the tab for you, but bought everyone in the bar drinks (metaphorically). But alas, reviews still seem to be embargoed. But you can imagine it should have at least some âoops, I mightâve just peed myselfâ moments.
âthe first two films very much circle around a family and these people that have established relationships. I wanted to explore a little more of what it would look like for strangers to have to go through the end of the world together.â - director Michael Sarnoski on the differences between this and the previous films
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
Details: 1 hr 40 mins | R | đ : TBD
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
His name, is Kevin Coster. And, respectfully, he doesnât give a god damn what you think. Heâs going to make his 11 hour film saga about the west during the Civil War whether you like it or not.
Except for the fact that he actually he kinda needs you to like it. Because while Part 1 comes out this Friday and Part 2 is also already shot and scheduled for release two months from now, Part 3 and 4 have yet to be made. And heâs already leveraged (one of?) his house(s) to help pay for this sweeping epic about the western migration.
Itâs obviously a subject he knows well on account of his first directing gig, Dances With Wolves. However, it doesnât seem like this movie is going to create the same level of impact with critics or audiences (though the latter is still tbd).
And reviewers seem to want to like it, but nearly all of them mention how the three hour Part 1 is just too damn passive - as in, not enough happens.
Itâs possible this is all setup. But thatâs a lot of preamble for viewers who turn off a new show because âI didnât like how that one guy talked.â
Audiences have options. Far more than they did in 1990. So While Costner looks to be making a similar kind of movie that he did with Wolves, heâs made it in a faaaaaar different time.
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
Details: 3 hrs 1 mins | R | đ : 50%
THE WEEKLY TRAILER PLAYLIST âŻ
Nosferatu - The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman and now, The Nosferatu - Robert Eggersâ take on the vampire tale.
Heretic - I like this new Hugh Grant. Well, maybe not the character he plays in this movie where he locks two Mormon missionaries in his house. He seems like a creep. But the actor himself is doing interesting stuff!
The Union - Mark Wahlberg just so happens to get picked up by his old high school girlfriend (Halley Berry) to help save the world. Good thing heâs been getting up at 3am everyday to lift.
Here - one place, one camera angle, lots of time, lots of stories. Robert Zemeckis pairs back up with his Forrest Gump duo.
Red One - another random citizen picked to help save the day?! And this time to save Santa?! No way!
Skincare - Elizabeth Banks seems to make fun role choices, like this one about an aesthetician who thinks sheâs being sabotaged. Kinda weird, but also in kind of a good way.