Fan Fare

Hollywood’s summer movies. Hot or Not?

As Hollywood’s summer movie season draws to a close — only two weekends to go — box office watchers are expecting slightly more than $4 billion in total revenue largely because of superhero blockbusters “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man” and “Hancock”       A final number around last year’s record $4.18 billion would approximate last summer’s record box office, but it’s important to note that while revenues are up, attendance — the number of people actually going to movies — is down about 3 percent from last summer. What accounted for the difference? Higher average ticket prices.

The decline in attendance leads us to think that maybe, despite the success of “Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” and even “Sex and the City,” maybe audiences weren’t too thrilled with Hollywood’s summer. Can anyone say “Speed Racer”?

Or, how about Indy’s fourth movie? Was it worth it for director Steven Spielberg and actor Harrison Ford to team up again for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”? 

Maybe the moviegoing experience just wasn’t worth the price of admission, which is $10 or more depending on the theater and location. Or, maybe the Olympics were just too much late night competition for late-summer movies such as “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” slowing momentum from June and July.

In any case, we’re curious as to what moviegoers thought about Hollywood’s summer movies. Let us know.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)      

Enough with lame movie sequels – Entertainment Weekly

Hollywood always seems to have another sequel up its sleeve. But the magazine Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday said enough already, calling for Hollywood producers to pull the plug on 14 movie franchises  it says have run out of gas.      First on the list was “The Mummy.” The third and latest installment in the franchise, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” which stars Brendan Fraser, had an opening weekend about $10 million below pundits’ forecasts more than a week ago when it made $40.5 million. On its second weekend, it dropped a whopping 60 percent to $16.5 million, and only 11 percent of critics on the Web site RottenTomatoes.com gave “Tomb” a favorable rating as of Tuesday.      Entertainment Weekly said the latest movie comes “eight long years” after the last installment and that the franchise “should have stayed in its tomb.”       The latest Indiana Jones movie, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” has made a whopping $776 million worldwide since it opened in May. But that’s not enough to stave off the Entertainment Weekly pundits. They called the movie “humdrum” and said they would only be interested if Indy’s dad, played by Sean Connery, makes a comeback.       Also on the list was the Austin Powers franchise. The magazine said comedian Mike Myers’ style “became all too predictable with its two sequels,” before the third movie “Austin Powers in Goldmember” came out in 2002. Myers also had out “The Love Guru” this summer, which bombed at box offices.      Other film franchises on the Entertainment Weekly list were “American Pie,” “Bring It On,” “Saw,” “Friday the 13th,” and spoofs in the style of 2000′s “Scary Movie.”

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)   

Pick a favorite Indiana Jones scene.

As whip-wielding adventurer Indiana Jones  storms back into movie theaters after a 19-year hiatus in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, fans of the intrepid archaeologist played by Harrison Ford were asked in a survey by Blockbuster video to name their favorite scenes from his previous three movies. These came out tops:

1. Running from the Boulder (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”) — 75%.  An overwhelming three out of four surveyed chose this scene with Indiana Jones running from a boulder in a booby-trapped temple as essential Indy material.

2. ”Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?” (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”) — 61%.  This is Indiana’s first on-screen encounter with the snakes he dreads as he descends into the snake-infested Well of Souls.

3.  Shooting the Swordsman (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”) — 40%.  Indy surprises a sword-wielding enemy with his gun in this comic scene.

4. Mine Cart Chase Scene (“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”) — 30%.  Indy and friends speed through a mine shaft to escape the Thugee cult  members.

5.  Monkey Brains and Eye Soup (“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”) — 20%.  Willie and Short Round choose from a menu of floating eyeballs,   crunchy bugs, snake surprise and monkey brains at the Pankot Palace.

Reckon these are the best? Which would you nominate?

Zombies invade Cannes!

What exactly makes a Cannes film? If you scroll down the Fan Fare blog, you may see a comment on our “‘Indiana Jones’ avoids critical mauling, but…” posting that ponders why such a big event Hollywood movie would play at a festival like Cannes that is known for more art-oriented cinema.

I cannot tell you what Cannes festival programmers think, but I can tell you that in 15 years of writing about movies and 10 years of covering festivals, that type of comment generally has several answers. Festival directors often say big Hollywood movies bring big Hollywood stars, which can draw attention both to the festival and the art films that may not otherwise be seen. Moreover, what’s a festival for, if not to bring a wide variety of movies to the people who are attending.

That brings us to zombies. One of the more fun adventures every year at Cannes is to take an hour or so and stroll around the booths at the film market here, and look at the hundreds of movies that are being bought and sold daily.

Titles range from Maxim Media’s “Zombies Anonymous” and “Fist of the Vampire” to Eros International’s Bollywood title “Dhoom Dadakka.” (I have no idea what that means). Vision Films has ”Natasha,” featuring a sexy blond girl in a leather bikini with the subtitle “Revenge is Sweet” (I’m kind of afraid to think what that means)  and “Private Moments,” which promises ”the humor of ’Sex and the City’ meets the fantasy of ‘Red Shoe Diaries.’”

And there are old stars you rarely see anymore? One can check out Lee Majors, formerly “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and Philip Michael Thomas, once a major U.S. TV star in “Miami Vice,” in a psychological thriller called ”Fate.” Or, there are Bruce Dern, David Carradine, Rip Torn and Mariel Hemingway in “The Goldenboys,” which is promoted as ”Three salty dogs chase one spicy kitten” on its movie poster. Most of the movies like these will never be seen in U.S. theaters. On DVD, yes. Downloads, sure.

To be certain the Cannes film market and the Cannes film festival are two different arenas for movies. But the point is: movies come in many shapes and sizes and are made for all different reasons, worldwide regions and audiences. “Indiana Jones” may not be my favorite type of movie, but it brought me to Cannes. And if not here, I might never have been exposed to ”Waltz with Bashir,” an animated drama about young men fighting in Lebanon in the early 1980s that is truly lighting up the stage here.

24 interviews, 1 morning, 6 movie junkets

Welcome to the world of the movie junket. Ever see “Notting Hill”, where Hugh Grant waits around in a swanky hotel waiting for his few minutes with the stars of a new movie?

It’s a reasonable representation of the “junket”, a rather unflattering but nonetheless apposite term to describe the short TV interviews studios organise to give news channels and agencies access to stars. The reason: news media need soundbites for their stories.

 Today was another “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” day on the junket front, and the blockbuster which had its world premiere in Cannes has taken over the 7th floor of the plush Carlton hotel for the last few days.

Overhearing actor Jim Broadbent asking “how many more?”, I learned that there were seven, four-to-five minute slots left with 17 already done, and that was all by lunchtime.

Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett and crew all did their best to sound fresh and new at the end of a gruelling few days of media over-exposure, and bleary-eyed reporters waiting in crammed rooms and corridors shared the usual grumbles about life in Cannes.

It could have been worse. One early round of interviews here took place before the film was even shown, and despite the size of the operation on Monday morning, I was out of the hotel in under two hours, six “junkets” in hand.

Cannes Fare 5 – There’s no business like…

Highlights from day 5 of the Cannes film festival: “Indiana Jones” reviews and a little about the film market.

Indy movie avoids critical mauling, but…

So, we finally saw the new Indiana Jones movie, which is the biggest show in town at the Cannes film festival this year.

There was a scramble to get into the packed press screening, with reporters waiting up to two hours to ensure a spot, and reviewers were sending out their opinions on the internet within an hour of it finishing.

OK, there was warm applause at the end of the screening, which for Cannes’ fussy reporters and critics is good going for a family blockbuster. But it also has to be said that the cheers at the start of the movie were far louder than those at the end.

This makes me think that once the euphoria and hype in Cannes settles down, and more considered opinions are printed, we are actually going to get a much more mixed reaction that at first seemed the case.

Not that this matters much to the movie’s box office prospects. Even critics who were less than impressed expect that the popularity of the original films and the anticipation that has built among movie goers will ensure a huge commercial return.

Cannes Fare – Indy’s premiere

Highlights from Day 4, and the premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”

Cannes Fare – Woody Allen, Prepping for Indy

Highlights from day 3 of the Cannes film festival.