When the product is no longer the product. đ
But mind you, there IS still a product.
THE QUOTE đŹ đŹ
âAll these years you've looked back at that moment, drunk on its perfection.â
hint: is anyone real in this movie?
THINK THOUGHTS đ
Remember when October was just⌠âOctober?â
Now itâs âspooky season.â
I guess December has been like this for a long time, but even that feels like thereâs a shift (see: Mariah Carey âunthawingâ every year). In that itâs no longer that companies are trying to release a relevant product that stands out a holiday period, but that the holiday period is the product. Go with me here.
For example, streamers buy content to program and curate for these time periods where it almost doesnât matter what they program with, as long as itâs relevant to when theyâre presenting it. Build a package of thematic âstuffâ and push that based off the season. Hallmark during Xmas is a great example of this.
Now itâs a bit of an exaggeration of course to say companies donât care about the âwhatâ at all, but also, not totally?! Because once people are in the mood for whatever defined âseason,â itâs almost as if theyâre down to consume anything that touches that vibe. It just has to support the narrative around the real product, aka time period.
I canât say I have the strongest opinion on all this, as I understand the desire to have a hook as a marketer. But if eventually everyoneâs selling the same thing, it starts to lose its effectiveness, no?
Thereâs not much to do with this random thought of course (though you could leave a comment below đ ) except to pay attention and stay aware of how things are being sold in the leadup to Halloween. Are they pushed on their own merits or are they tied to the larger âproductâ that is the time period.
NEWSY BITS đž
Daniel Day-Lewis Sets Acting Return for âAnemoneâ With Son Ronan Directing - Day-Lewis retired from acting seven years ago after starring in Phantom Thread, but like any human person, heâs allowed to change his damn mind. Fwiw Daniel and Ronan co-wrote the script about a âfather-son dynamics.â Natch. - Deadline
âMagazine Dreamsâ Lives: Jonathan Majors Film Lands 2025 Theatrical Release - the movie was dropped by Searchlight Pictures (owned by Disney, who also cut Majors from Marvel movies) after he was convicted of assault. Got picked up by small label Briarcliff. While films are projects made up of many parts outside of just their stars, but with Majors likely in nearly every frame, it may create a conundrum for some viewers in whether theyâre able to (or want to) dissociate the acting from the actor. - Indiewire
OpenAI raises $6.6B and is now valued at $157B - no, I didnât put this in the wrong newsletter, thank you very much. I just think itâs pertinent to keep an eye on AI as it continues its march to reshape, well, everything. Including, inevitably, movies. - TechCrunch
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) đ
White Bird - a semi-sequel to the movie Wonder (little boy with a facial disfigurement braves going to school for the first time). âSemiâ in that itâs more thematically linked than direct in story as this time the events take place during the Holocaust. The reviews are actually much better than you might think for a movie delayed multiple times. Playing in Theaters Friday
The Outrun - movies about addiction are generally not going to be easy viewings, but the reviews here say Saoirse Ronan makes the experience, if not exactly enjoyable, something to appreciate as she shows the struggles of trying to stay sober. Playing in Limited Theaters Friday
Salemâs Lot - Stephen King does vampires. The reviews say itâs not a total throwaway, but itâs more distraction than something youâd want to watch over the course of your hundreds of years alive if you turned into a bloodsucker. Streaming on Max Friday
Itâs What Inside - a high concept, low budget body-swap movie focused on a group of college friends reuniting at wedding festivities. The reviews say itâs fresh, fun and frantic. Streaming on Netflix Friday
NOTABLE NEW RELEASE(S) đ & đş
Joker: Folie Ă Deux
Ruh roh, lock your doors, because here comes the sequel to the movie that inspired a million incels1 to riot and create mass chaos around the world.
Correction: âthat some people feared might inspire a million incels to riot and create mass chaos in the world.â
You see, for a movie that plenty of people called âdangerous,â 2018âs Joker actually seemed to create very little danger, although it did create a billion dollars at the box office for Warner Bros. And no matter what you think director Todd Phillipsâ intentions were with the movie, it clearly hit on something - something for people to love and hate.
But it likely only got the level of attention it did because of its comic book movie veneer. Its influences were actually Scorseseâs Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy - meaning it was always mean to be more of a character study than a chance to introduce the next iteration of Batman.
But it created the hullabaloo that it did, so weâre talking part deux. Or rather, part Folie Ă Deux - âa shared psychosis or shared delusional disorder.â Which means Joker, aka Arthur Fleck, has a compatriot for his madness. A certain Ms. Harleen Quinzel, as portrayed by Lady Gaga. And if thereâs Gaga, you know there must be singing. And indeed, this is a musical, even if - like all the other recent musicals outside of Cats - youâd have a fairly hard time gathering that from the trailers.
So weâve discussed all the elements: an incendiary first movie, a potentially misunderstood filmmaker, a very large installed audience base, a new (mega) co-star, a whole new genre. Things must be poppinâ off⌠right?
Weeelll, the end product might calm the nerves of those alarmed by the first movie, because reviews are saying not only is this one not inflammatory, itâs even⌠kinda boring?!
I mean, up to subjective opinion of course, but the overarching theme from critics is that Phillips kinda ran out of things to say. And even Gagaâs presence canât make the movie pop, in part because sheâs sidelined a lot as Joker is either stuck in the courtroom or the asylum.
Itâs quite the dramatic shift if you ask me (no, seriously, ask me), and itâll probably shrink the the box office haul. So if youâre one of the people that that effects, guess thereâs only one thing to doâŚ
âŚjust, keep, smiling. đ
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
Details: 2 hrs 18 mins | R | đ : 51%
THE WEEKLY TRAILER PLAYLIST âŻ
Babygirl - total prude? This ainât going to be your jam. But even if youâre slightly curious (you know you are) to see Nicole Kidman as CEO taking sexual direction from a dominate intern, you should probably watch. Expect to see Kidman get nominated for many awards. So say the excellent reviews.
Better Man - a Robbie Williams biopic (for all us sheltered Americans out there, heâs a very famous British pop star), where heâs portrayed as a monkey. As in literally a monkey. When everyone else is a normal human. Itâs allegorical. Kinda. And itâs also apparently⌠great?
Nosferatu - Robert Eggersâ keepinâ on with his indie-hipster version of Tim Burton vibes.
Woman of the Hour - Anna Kendrickâs directorial is looking pretty great (so are the reviews), even if the situation for her character - being hooked up with a serial killer on a dating show - is not. (Not that) Fun fact: based on a true story.
Ballerina - the John Wick spin-off starring Ana DeArmis (aka the only person allowed to play Kelly Kapowski other than Tiffani Thiesen).
Emily PĂŠrez - a bonkers looking musical apparently about a drug lord looking to fake her own death so she can live a normal life, and some other stuff too?? Pretty great reviews though.
The Line - frat bros, bro.
Companion - ummmm, dunnah. Looks kinda cool though.
(involuntary celibates)