tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post79106432052590759..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: The Warner Brothers announcement that shocked Hollywood... but not meBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74243176532929995092021-01-18T05:42:46.549-08:002021-01-18T05:42:46.549-08:00I used to love going to the movies. You could get ...I used to love going to the movies. You could get a nice price on the twlight feature and have a nice time. Then you had the rest of the evening free. But the sound got so loud, I had to take kleenex and stuff them in my ears. Or in quieter movies, I had to listen to the crashes/explosions/way-too-loud stuff coming in from other movies and interrupting mine. Buying tickets got to be a big hassle--online or phone or something. I just want to walk up and buy a ticket, you know? Not invest an hour online trying to pick seats, times, etc. It's a movie, not a flight. The prices got crazy--I could literally buy the dvd for the price of a ticket. That is ridiculous.<br /><br />What finally made me quit the movies entirely was seeing three stinkers in a row. I hated the new Star Wars with Rey and I don't remember the other characters or the actual name of the movie. That entire movie was just parts of old Star Wars movies sewn together. I could tell what was about to happen throughout the whole thing because I had seen it before. Many times over the years on vhs then dvd! And I am not a person that really ever figues out whodunnit...I am just there to watch and enjoy. Then there was Fantastic Beasts or something like that which was sooooo boring. And I like Harry Potter stories for the most part. But the absolute worst was Downsizing with Matt Damon. He is a good actor and it seemed like an amusing idea of shrinking people. Kristen Wiig was his wife, so cute and funny is what I exoected. It was awful. I have never been in a movie where people thought it was finally mercifully ending and we started to get up to leave, but the movie was not over! There were very loud audible sighs! Some folks just left. I paid good money for that garbage, so I sat through the next 30 minutes to an hour (I think I've blocked out how long it was, but it was a LONG time). It was so horrible, I refused to go back to the movies even before the pestilence because of these cumulative experiences, but especially that stupid Downsizing movie. Not funny. Not Interesting. Just a meandering pile of pig guano mixed with owl shat.<br /><br />What I do now is borrow dvds from the library. Even use interlibrary loan. Costs me nothing. If I don't like it, I eject it and move on. If I do, it's nice. I can watch as much or as little as I have time to or care to. I control the volume and can rewind if I miss someting and turn on the subtitles beacause the balance between music/background noise and people talking is often off. And some people just mumble. And I do not have to deal with other people in the audience irritating me. I am never paying for another terrible movie again.Saminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52409254022056486452021-01-07T13:58:32.362-08:002021-01-07T13:58:32.362-08:00AMC was ahead of the curve. It wasn't Warner ...AMC was ahead of the curve. It wasn't Warner Bros. They got mad at Universal for suggesting they would break the exclusive window for theater releases and preemptively banned Universal films from their theaters. They then struck a deal that gave AMC a cut in all Universal films including on-demand releases.MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58513753273417669072021-01-06T23:31:29.737-08:002021-01-06T23:31:29.737-08:00That’s a great idea for a ... The near future: ga...That’s a great idea for a ... The near future: garbage disposal breaks so boy has to go outside for the first time in years where he meets girl ditto. But meanwhile... :)Mr Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16464359180237381863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69863193273673898362021-01-05T04:41:57.691-08:002021-01-05T04:41:57.691-08:00I've become a little weary of reading message ...I've become a little weary of reading message boards where people claim that theaters only show superhero movies these days. In 2019 (the last normal year for the movie business), a total of <b>786 movies</b> were released to theaters in the United States. Exactly <b>11</b> of these were superhero films. That means only <b>1.4%</b> of films were superhero movies. Yes, they do big box office and get a lot of publicity, but so what. If you don't like superheroes you have hundreds of other options to choose from when going to the movies. I don't like horror movies but I don't complain that theaters run them. Superhero movies also help theaters to survive, giving them the opportunity to show the other 99.6% of films not based on comic books. <br /><br />Like anyone who sees a lot of movies in theaters I've had to deal with people who talk too much won't turn off their cell phones but this has only happened to me a small number of times over the years. The movie theaters where I live (Portland, Maine) have mostly been converted into deluxe seating with comfy recliners. You can buy your seats in advance so you can pick where you want to sit in the theater. I buy seats in the row behind the handicapped row so I have a completely unobstructed view. It's very rare for someone in these nicer theaters to talk through the movie or use their mobile phone. The cost is only a couple of dollars higher than what it costs to attend a theater with traditional seating. Rick Hirschnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3323342433218236002021-01-05T03:54:30.929-08:002021-01-05T03:54:30.929-08:00My problem - and maybe it's not other people&#...My problem - and maybe it's not other people's problems - is that when I watch movies on TV, people in my house treat it like TV, talking during it. That's OK for a movie I've already seen. They also want to pause it for bathroom breaks, et al.<br /><br />For a movie that's brand new to me, I've ended up watching in my office, alone, on my computer screen. Better than nothing, but not like going to the movies, which I haven't done since March and won't until I get the vaccine.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20556288473843488572021-01-05T01:48:22.094-08:002021-01-05T01:48:22.094-08:00The accounting trick you describe is similar to ho...The accounting trick you describe is similar to how major league baseball teams now own their cable networks and the "rights" get sold for peanuts so the teams can plead revenue problems to the cities to get new stadiums and hide the real profits from the players. Breadbakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7206827318819977882021-01-04T23:03:20.430-08:002021-01-04T23:03:20.430-08:001. “Production values are great and Nicholas Hoult...1. “Production values are great and Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning have great chemistry. It's a light hearted look at the son of Peter the Great and his new bride, the soon to be Catherine the Great.”<br /><br />If only Allan "Rocky" Lane were alive to voice her horse.<br /><br />2. USA-filmed Superhero/action movies are like those from the silent era - in that the visuals are everything, and thus they’re more likely to earn larger sums in foreign lands than those that are English-dialogue driven. Every studio head has one eye on the China market and the other on the stock market.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77275437209630296762021-01-04T20:11:22.969-08:002021-01-04T20:11:22.969-08:00The product has become garbage. At the end of the ...The product has become garbage. At the end of the naked cash grab, Captain Marvel, my preadolescent daughter turned to me as the house lights came up and said, "That was boring." Superhero movies offer nothing substantive or interesting.<br /><br />The action movies are shot and edited for video games instead of the big screen.<br /><br />We have been at this juncture before. Once upon a time, Hollywood filled its release dates with westerns, westerns, and more westerns. The superhero movies of today are the westerns of yore.<br /><br />The western gave way to a golden age of movies that many of us remember. I doubt though we will see another golden age of movies.<br /><br />The screenwriters on here can debate the merits of writing a 90-minute movie for adults compared to developing the same story for an eight-episode series on Netflix. Put another way: Would Russian Doll been as or more effective as a 90-minute movie? I seriously doubt it.<br /><br />In a post Covid 19 world, DC movies, Marvel movies, Bond movies, Mission Impossible movies, Pixar movies will all return to the theaters. There is too much money to be made. The Russian Dolls will only head to whatever streaming service offers the best deal.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49204128146314210812021-01-04T19:02:22.605-08:002021-01-04T19:02:22.605-08:00While it is sad to see the movie theater experienc...While it is sad to see the movie theater experience on the decline, I agree with Bertha’s post at the top. Common courtesy and good manners are also unfortunately on the decline. With that said, I would much prefer to view films in the comfort and silence of my living room than a theater of noisy people on mobile phones. Chakkurinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48210805531456711722021-01-04T18:05:44.977-08:002021-01-04T18:05:44.977-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Clint Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14796797389841406792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5930326192779753822021-01-04T15:42:13.742-08:002021-01-04T15:42:13.742-08:00It does depend on where you live as to the cost of...It does depend on where you live as to the cost of the movie. The average ticket price in 1969 was $1.42. Adjusted for inflation, that ticket would cost $10.14 in 2019 dollars. While you dollar went farther back then. People were not making as much money. When I started going to the movies the average price was 49 cents. For that you got a double feature and a cartoon. That was just over 4 dollars in today's money that was 4.75. By 1954 standard movies are over price but not 1969. Don't forget people were making less in 1954 and most women were not working. As for the old movie moguls loving film. That is possible but if there was internet and streaming service were available that love of movies would go out the window. The rich have never changed.sanfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580867647162091670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82586038103483442342021-01-04T15:27:23.473-08:002021-01-04T15:27:23.473-08:00Hi Ken,
Can't recall reading anything from you...Hi Ken,<br />Can't recall reading anything from you mentioning the show "The Great". It's one show that I think actually fits the dramedy tag with more of a lean towards the comedy side and apparently it was nominated for an Emmy in that category. Production values are great and Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning have great chemistry. It's a light hearted look at the son of Peter the Great and his new bride, the soon to be Catherine the Great. I just think you'll get a laugh as my wife and I certainly did. Huzzah!(which will make more sense if you watch it)<br />cheers<br />Dave.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16211336386416443273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55313507028623513482021-01-04T14:40:27.003-08:002021-01-04T14:40:27.003-08:00You left out Pureflix, the hilariously shit faith ...You left out Pureflix, the hilariously shit faith based streaming service. Judging by the clips on YouTube of their sitcoms, Pureflix is aimed at witless, Trump voting creationists. Some of the big stars on their shows are...Antonio Sabato Jr, ummm, Victoria Jackson, and...errr...Clint Howard.Troy McClurenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7351690133504586622021-01-04T14:28:50.343-08:002021-01-04T14:28:50.343-08:00I've been to a few movies with audience issues...I've been to a few movies with audience issues. It was often just a handful of jerks or less, but that was more than enough, like a single flatulent passenger on an airplane. What bothers me is that going to movies is increasingly less like going to a show than going to a pre-TSA airport for a commuter run. Start with the ticket agents behind a wide counter, go through a concession stand configured like a supermarket, then report to departure gate 7 for the 6:45 showing. With the constant flow of arrivals and departures there was no longer the sense of attending an Event, unless you lucked into a crowd that was genuinely excited (and were not disappointed by the movie).<br /><br />Some theaters are trying for an upscale experience, serving meals and attaching bars and lounges. The concept of a one-stop night out has its points, and there's something to be said for reserved seats ("Scuse me ... Scuse me ... Scuse me ... Could you move your coat, please? ... Oh ... Scuse me ... Scuse me ..."). But it's a different animal and I'm not used to it.<br /><br />I grouchily miss theaters that were theaters. The big first-run places, the neighborhood houses showing two or three different programs each week, the early plexes with four screens max. Lining up in front of local storefronts closed for the day (real estate, haberdasher, travel agent ...), walking under a big marquee with only a few big names on it, and into a lobby that, no matter how humble, had a pre-show buzz. And a curtain that opened to reveal the screen just as the projector went on. And a decent cartoon! Cost-inefficient and less convenient than showtimes every ten minutes, but that was entertainment!DBensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01144515471557731622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20032536342780895332021-01-04T13:03:13.390-08:002021-01-04T13:03:13.390-08:00I think the movie theater experience began to die ...I think the movie theater experience began to die with the multiplex where there were a few big theaters for big hits but most movies were in small rooms that were actually worse than my living room set up.<br />Plus since the rooms were more living room sized, more people talked and were jerks.<br />Lord of the Rings trilogy was the last big screen movie I enjoyed with a crowd.blinkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04284135060900752329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35657709710185424662021-01-04T12:38:48.640-08:002021-01-04T12:38:48.640-08:00Here's what may happen. Eventually WB [or othe...Here's what may happen. Eventually WB [or other movie studios] are going to have a turd on their hands OR too many movies to put on HBO Max [or Disney+, etc.] then they're going to come crawling to theaters that are left asking them to play them. Guess what? They may get a big "Fuck You!" from the theaters. If they want to release it to their online platforms and theaters on the same day....they'll get an even bigger "Fuck off & Fuck you!" from us. I'm now a GM for a small chain of drive-ins and right now NO Warner Brother's movies will be shown on our screens, even if they're second run. And if they come in demanding we play it for 6 weeks and they want 60-70% of the box they're going to be told to stick it where the sun don't shine. Surprisingly, the 20-40 year old features we ran did anywhere from two to four times the business of the few current films from independent smaller studios that we were playing. We just may play them for as long as we can and even though the film companies tried screwing ALL theaters on the percentages [The Greedy Bastards eventually settled for half]. Oh...if they 30-40 year old movie is from WB....it won't be showing on our screens. They may be trying to drive theaters out of business but I'll be damned if I'm going to help them do it.YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33408634532574920722021-01-04T12:19:20.185-08:002021-01-04T12:19:20.185-08:00I THINK Chuck Jones sued Warner Bros. over who rea...I THINK Chuck Jones sued Warner Bros. over who really owned those cartoon characters, and of course, and of course he didn't have the copyright. But it's not as if Hollywood studios ever cared about quality or decency except when it could make money for them.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05266475919252239220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70695936727049740522021-01-04T12:09:13.627-08:002021-01-04T12:09:13.627-08:00I disagree about movie theatres going away, I stil...I disagree about movie theatres going away, I still enjoy seeing things on the 'BIG' screen. I think I would have enjoyed WW84 a little big more if I saw that costume being 10 feet tall.<br /><br />I think to make money they lost, we will see more ads before the show which REALLY sucks. Saw Tenet during the lock down reprieve, 30 minutes of ads NOT about movies before it started. I too don't enjoy the talking/phone stuff during movies, but I also don't like watching a movie at home, having to take a break to let the dog out, answer the phone, my wife using the phone during the movie, my wife asking questions during the movie, none of which happens when I drop $30 for movie and popcorn.(Which I hate paying so much)<br />Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16880646894752760905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46698544097119674352021-01-04T11:05:52.295-08:002021-01-04T11:05:52.295-08:00I, too, used to love the 'going to the movies&...I, too, used to love the 'going to the movies' experience - but between the pricing, the unbelivable amount of ads, and the severe annoyance of haivng to deal with other patrons who don't seem to realize that they are having a communal experience - I lost interest in going to a theater long before Covid. I feel sorry for anyone who has lost their business, but if the movie theater experience were better, we, as customers, would be fighting tooth and nail to return to that experience. Since it's not, I'm happy to sack out on the couch and watch stuff on TV/cable/apps. And yes, most of the stuff we were paying $16 a person (in NYC) was not worth it. When we saw WW84 the other night, I couldn't help but think how it was 'fine' for what we paid for one month of HBOMax, but I would have been super angry if I'd had to pay $32 for two tickets and then another $20 or whatever for snacks. <br />Someone mentioned that the last time they had a good movie theater experience was the 70s... I've had terrific experiences when seeing films in recent years at single screen theaters here in NYC, i.e. the Paris. Doesn't matter what the film was, people who went to that theater knew how to act in a public setting. Granted, the patrons at the Paris were mostly north of 60/65/70 but there was something in the way this age group behaves in public that is condusive for a positive movie theater experience. That closed in 2019 and re-opened as a showcase for Netflix films. I'm glad they rescued it but I wonder if the temperament of the audience will stay the same (unlikely since it'll draw from a different demo). <br /><br />In the end, this may be the death knell for the big budget super hero flick - I'm a fan of the genre but I think with like three dozen movies in the last decade, we've done it and it can take a rest now.... or it can change itself into shows like The Mandalorian which stick to their genre roots but due to good writing, acting and very good special effects has become, for me, must see tv. memocartoonisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05672145569684761948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82814241039211236042021-01-04T10:27:21.130-08:002021-01-04T10:27:21.130-08:00I agree with some of these other comments. Going t...I agree with some of these other comments. Going to a movie theater has not been an enjoyable experience for me in years. The absolute lack of respect from the other patrons is astounding. People pay a ridiculous price (in LA anyway) to take a chance on a movie, and then have to be bombarded with ads, glowing phones, constant chit chat throughout, and often unruly kids that have been dragged there seemingly against their will. It's miserable. Additionally, 75% of the time the movie is a turd anyway.KBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8972505668122773102021-01-04T10:07:46.610-08:002021-01-04T10:07:46.610-08:00That does bring back the memories: watching Spinal...That does bring back the memories: watching Spinal Tap in a theater and being the only people in the room who understood it was a comedy, watching Platoon in a theater and being the only people in the room who didn't need repeated bathroom and popcorn breaks from the cliches and scenery chewing, or maybe watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit and being the only people not having children to shush. The last time I watched movies with a sympatico crowd was back in the early 1970s at the college film series, and we all came to enjoy the heckling.<br /><br />Now, we save the theater experience for 3D IMAX presentations of comic book movies. Jack Kirby had an amazing imagination, so it's worth a few annoyances to see his larger than life vision at full scale. (There's also a local stuff-your-face theater with a good wine list and great sliders, and I'm not sure if immersive stuff like Machine Hallucinations even counts as theater though its pretty cool.)<br /><br />Kaleberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283840743310507878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49984063010434751332021-01-04T10:03:46.487-08:002021-01-04T10:03:46.487-08:00Last time I went to the movie theater it was to se...Last time I went to the movie theater it was to see Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” with our grandkids, ages 6 and 4. Our son thought it was a great first ever movie experience for them. The kids had already seen the film several times on TV but we all thought seeing it in a theater would be fun. So, after an endless stream of trailers another film started. We weren’t quite sure if it was another trailer or what, but it seemed inappropriate for the crowd of kids there. Apparently someone had failed to switch the digital projector from the evening film. The film that was playing was, I kid you not, “Hell Fest”. Parents began running out with their screaming kids in tow. Our kids cried and my grandson sat down outside and cried. <br />I recognize there is a comical aspect to this if you weren’t there with your kids. Poor Totoro will never be the same to them. iamr4manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03886388328762709050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55498470086545435552021-01-04T09:41:04.356-08:002021-01-04T09:41:04.356-08:00"The theatre experience is coming to an end.&..."The theatre experience is coming to an end." The end for me came years ago. The last few times I went to the movies with my son, we were bombarded with ads and endless trailers. Whenever a showtime was listed in the newspaper, my son assured me we could get there 20 minutes late and still not miss any of the movie because of all the pre-movie junk. Plus, as someone else mentioned, people are always talking and using their cell phones during the movie. Movie-going is no longer a communal experience. It's a bunch of separate patrons doing their own thing while a movie happens to be playing on the screen.Steve Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07460010481523481647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60722970994743147712021-01-04T09:34:39.983-08:002021-01-04T09:34:39.983-08:00If the way syndication used to work in the 70s and...If the way syndication used to work in the 70s and 80s was basic math, then today's video media is graduate-level advanced calculus. In short, there is no possible way to completely understand it, even if we care to.<br /><br />We're in a post-network society now, and it won't go back to the old system. I think the question, as always, is who controls media content. Maybe it's not a programming director or corporate executive, but perhaps a spambot or randomized meme generator.<br /><br />It's a brave new world whether we like it or not.Ere I Saw Elbanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30996370802974164022021-01-04T09:13:07.776-08:002021-01-04T09:13:07.776-08:00Having had the Covid already, my wife and I go to ...Having had the Covid already, my wife and I go to theaters because we like seeing movies on the big screen and we want to support our local theaters and their employees. Here in the DFW area, most people are pretty polite and don't cause the annoying problems others have mentioned. Problem is, there is absolutely nothing out now that we have any interest in seeing. I know, I really tried over the weekend, but couldn't muster up interest in any new film. We've been to the movies four or five times in the past month, but only to see older movies like "The Blues Brothers," "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," "Spaceballs," and at the end of this month, we're going back to see "Duck Soup." <br /><br />I have all these films on DVD/Blu-Ray, but we just like seeing them in theaters. If the studios want us to pay to see new movies, then make some as good as those. <br /><br />PS - I've also had a copy of "The Wit and Wisdom of Hollywood" for ages. One of my favorite books when I was a kid. All these years later, I still have the book, but Hollywood no longer has wit or wisdom. Pat Reederhttp://www.facebook.com/hollywoodhifibooknoreply@blogger.com