The Crippled Corner

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Nadam se da će novi Boukhrief brže leakovati...

Dir: Nicolas Boukhrief. France. 2009. 105 mins

This brutally glossy cop thriller (released in France as Gardiens de l'ordre) features a standout performance by the ever-impressive Cécile de France as a cop who joins her partner for some after-hours sleuthing to try and bring down a deadly drug cartel.

    Cécile de France is especially impressive as the stony faced cop willing to take some serious risks.

Sold internationally by Gaumont as Sphinx (which relates to a new line in drugs rather than any Egyptian theme), the film could find a home in markets fond of a tasty French 'policier', or keen to exploit Belgian actress Cécile de France's growing profile – she gave strong performances in Mesrine and Orchestra Seats, and has a lead role in Clint Eastwood's upcoming supernatural drama Hereafter.

Cop Julie (de France) is teamed with newly transferred officer Simon (Fred Testot), but when a fellow cop is killed during a seemingly ordinary raid they unearth a new and dangerous line of designer amphetamines – luminous tablets known on the street as sphinx.

They arrest the drugged-up businessman who killed their colleague, but corruption within the police force sees the man released and Julie and Simon accused of blundering the arrest. They decide to prove their innocence by posing as drug dealers by night, and working their way into the drug cartel's hierarchy.

Simon becomes increasingly unhinged as they work their way deeper into the cartel, and the pair take over a plush flat that is officially part of a police investigation as part of their cover. But the cartel suspect them, leading to an explosive climax in the ringleader's mansion.

In truth there is little original about Sphinx, but it is a nicely paced cop thriller that delivers in terms of action, with Cécile de France especially impressive as the stony faced cop willing to take some serious risks. She and Fred Testot make a good-looking team, with their chemistry the real driving-force of the film.

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Pogledao sam Jean-Pierre Jeunetov MICMACS. U izvesnom smislu, Jeunet je parafrazirao Kusturični ZAVET, samo dve-tri godine kasnije i pokazao da je Profa u svom naizgled najvećem promašaju bio zapravo trendeseter. Meni je lično ZAVET jedan vrlo drag film, verovatno lično najdraži u Kustinom opusu i drago mi je da je neko Jeunetovog profila pokazao da to zapravo nije dead end. Doduše, nije to vrsta filma u koju se ja previše investiram, niti me naročito zanima šta će biti trend, ali, u plimi ORDINARY PEOPLEova, ovo je lep protiv-otrov.

Ono gde je Jeunet superiorniji od Profe u ovoj fazi, dakle post-filačevskoj jeste tehnička realizacija. MICMACS je glossy i fetištistički urađen, što Kusta od razlaza sa Vilkom i Krekom nije uspevao da postigne. Međutim, tatijevski humor u spoju sa postavkama savremenog repertoarskog filma je nepogrešivo sličan, s tim što je ZAVET divlji, pun bizarnog nasilja i nekontrolisane seksualnosti, dok je Jeunetov film više fetišizacija francuskog pogleda na svet.

Ono gde je Emir superiorniji storytller od Jeuneta jeste i to što su kod njega svi junaci konzistetntno nenormalni dok Jeunet ima problem sa tim što pokušava da pravi konflikt između ekscentričnih pozitivaca i relativno normalnih, blago karikiranih negativaca, i tu nastupa disbalans jer da bi ta vrsta ludila egzistirala čitav univerzum dosledno mora biti pomeren.

Obojica dele političku poruku iza osavremenjenog tatijevskog ludila, a kod Jeuneta se kao jedna od zavera internacionalnih trgovaca oružjem pominje i "eksplozija na sarajevskoj pijaci" u inače dosta konvencionalnoj poruci o štetnosti vojnoindustrijskog kompleksa.

U svakom slučaju, Jeunet je snimio film sa snažnim autorskim pečatom, sa dosta oslanjanja na tradiciju i uopšte pretenzija na bioskopski rezulatatom sa ovakvim filmom je dostojna poštovanja. Ljubitelji art-house komedije i te vrste quirkinessa sigurno će ceniti ovaj film više od mene.

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Pogledao sam GONE BABY GONE Bena Afflecka, po romanu Dennis Lehanea. Ovaj film sam pogledao sa zakašnjenjem. Ipak, nikada nije kasno za jedan vrlo solidan krimić i vrlo interesantan, neočekivano zreo rediteljski debi Bena Afflecka koji me je moram priznati izuzetno prijatno iznenadio ovim filmom. Naime, još od vremena kada je bio ko-scenarista GOOD WILL HUNTINGa, Affleck je pokazivao afinitet prema filmmakingu, tako da u tom smislu nije potpuno iznenađenje da je snimio dobar film. Ipak, zrelost ovog debija je nesvakidašnja.

DP na filmu bio je John Toll, čovek koji ima iskustva u radu sa debitantima i rediteljima koji dolaze iz nekog drugog miljea, tako da je sigurno i on pomogao Afflecku da se lakše snađe. Međutim, u ovom filmu, gluma je izvanredna a Affleck uspeva da na nivou celog filma održi visok nivo psihološke ozbiljnosti i ubedljivosti.

Roman kao misterija sa dva glavna junaka, parom privatnih detektiva, ima određene uslovnosti sa kojima Affleck nije uspeo da se do kraja izbori. Pre svega u filmu junakinja deluje kao višak, kao nepotreban dodatak glavnom junaku. Iako on uspeva da na nivou scenarija iskoristi ženski lik kako bi se promene unutar slučaja odražavale na njihov ljubavni odnos, i to radi dosta dobro, a žena služi i kao katalizator dilema za glavnog junaka, uprkos vrlo veštom prikrivanju ona deluje kao višak.

Ipak Casey Affleck i Michelle Monaghan su odlični u glavnim ulogama tako da se disfuncionalnost ovih likova zaista svodi na dramaturški detalj.

Affleck tretira Lehaneovu priču kao dramu, konkretnu priču o konkretnim likovima, bez prevelikog oslanjanja na žanr i žanrovske konvencije, ali ne i potpuno bez njih, i u tom postupku je konsekventan čak i na samom kraju kada integritet priče ozbiljno uzdrma bizaran obrt koji bi savršeno pasovao južnokorejskom filmu ali ne i američkom.

Završni obrt je svakako jedna od ključnih tačaka za diskusiju o GONE BABY GONE. On se u izvesnom smislu može braniti, ali je potpuno neuverljiv u kontekstu ove same misterije i uzevši o obzir milje iz koga junaci dolaze. Međutim, pored onih koji smatraju da je obrt neuverljiv ima i onih koji doživljavaju da je taj preokret u stvari ključno osvežavanje žanra koje nudi ovaj film. Dakle, ta neuralgična tačka nekome može biti primer autentičnosti, nažalost meni nije.

Ipak, posle niza filmova koji gledaoca ostavljaju ravnodušnim, lepo je naići na film u kome se nalazi nešto što otvara polemiku.

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[lilit]

Završni obrt je svakako jedna od ključnih tačaka za diskusiju o GONE BABY GONE. On se u izvesnom smislu može braniti, ali je potpuno neuverljiv u kontekstu ove same misterije i uzevši o obzir milje iz koga junaci dolaze. Međutim, pored onih koji smatraju da je obrt neuverljiv ima i onih koji doživljavaju da je taj preokret u stvari ključno osvežavanje žanra koje nudi ovaj film. Dakle, ta neuralgična tačka nekome može biti primer autentičnosti, nažalost meni nije.

Ja sam taj film gledala odavno i cini mi se da je kasnio zbog otmice one engleske devojcice u Portugaliji na letovanju. Cak je bilo spekulacija u novinama da je zbog tog dogadjaja i sam kraj filma izmenjen.

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Da, distribucija je bila izmenjena zbog otmice devojčice. Ne znam da li je kraj izmenjen zbog nje, ali znam da je u Britaniji izašao sa zakašnjenjem. Otkud to da je uopšte prikazan u Austriji. Ipak, austrijski track record sa otetom decom je besprekoran?

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Pogledao sam Ole Bornedalov FRI OS FRA DET ONDE i reč je o priličnom promašaju posle vrlo intresantnog i vešto realizovanog KAERLIGHED PA FILM. Iako se ni za FRI OS FRA DET ONDE ne može reći da je slabo realizovan, niti sasvim lišen zanimljivosti, čini se da se kroz ceo film Bornedal bori sa pokušajima da oneobiči jednu vrlo jednostavnu gotovo rudimentarnu priču i to pokušava da uradi na svim nivoima, od uvođenja naratora koji ruši "četvrti zid" pa sve do formalnih detalja vezanih za prikazivanje protoka vremena i sl. pa sve do fotografije sa izrazito stilizovanim kolorom koji ne funkcioniše, sličnu u VIKARENu, i interesantnim stylish pokretima kamere koji su najbolji deo filma. Uprkos tome što je preterao na polju osvetljenja, Dan Laustsen je u ostalim domenima isporućio jako kvalitetnu fotografiju i to je  jedan od aduta filma.

Ono što je najneobičnije u ovom inače dosta konvencionalnom filmu ispod flashy površine jeste to što je mentalitetski ovaj film bliži balkanskim filmskim tradicijama nego danskim. FRI OS FRA DET ONDE liči na nezvanični rimejk LISICA Krste Papića i ima nekih upadljivih sličnosti naročito u završnici, a scena destruktivnog seoskog veselja po svojoj frenetičnosti podseća dosta na Kusturicu ili Paskaljevića. U izvesnom smislu balkanizacija Danske je prisutna u filmovima njihovih autora još od Refnovih PUSHERa, naročito trećeg dela, ali ovo je po prvi put da se ne samo balkanska sudbina i mentalitet, već i kinematografska tradicija javljaju kao agens u danskom filmu.

Balkanski kredibilitet daje i činjenica da se film vrti oko junaka iz Bosne, Alena, kog igra Bojan Navojec, inače hrvatski glumac, nedavno smo ga gledali u filmu NEKA OSTANE MEĐU NAMA Rajka Grlića. On je naravno tretiran kao uljez, plemeniti divljak, nesposoban da prevaziđe svoju ratnu traumu i snađe se u danskim okolnostima.

Odgovor danskog društva na njega je predvidljiva. Neki među njima reaguju rasistički, i to su oni sa margine. Obrazovaniji reaguju naravno sofistikovano i u duhu ljudskih prava a pred kraj se Bornedal dosta eksplicitno opredeljuje da publici kaže kako a) istini nije jednostavna b) ceo sukob proističe iz klasnih tenzija i libidinalne ekonomije. U tom smislu, ideologija filma FRI OS FRA DET ONDE je jasna ali i mehanički izložena.

FRI OS FRA DET ONDE je film čiji se šavovi vide. Bornedal nije uspeo da spoji elemente kojima se služio u ubedljivu celinu. Otud je film stilski nekonzistentan, sa velikim padovima u ritmu i mnogim lutanjima na planu vođenja priča. Ipak, reč je o zanimljivom naslovu za one koje zanimaju tokovi evropskog filma i pozicije Balkana u svemu tome.

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[lilit]

da, da, u proseku, posle 10 godina se sazna u kom podrumu zavrse. Bas proslog meseca je neki desetogodisnji decak uspeo da se otrgne iz ruku tipa koji je pokusao da ga uvuce u kola koja su bila u pokretu. policija naravno nije nasla napadace iako u zvanicnom izvestaju kazu da je auto sa rumunskim tablicama vec 5 puta bio u slicnim akcijama, ali ne mogu da ga pronadju jer niko nije zapisao broj tablica. da ne verujes.

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Za ovo nisam znao ranije...


02/28/2006: BMW brings you the next chapter in Branded Entertainment with www.bmw-audiobooks.com.

Inspired by the success of bmwfilms.com and "The Hire" Internet series of short films, bmw-audiobooks.com showcases some of the finest contemporary writing talent today, including Karin Slaughter (Kisscut, Faithless, Indelible), Don Winslow (The Power of the Dog, California Fire and Life), James Flint (The Book of Ash, 52 Ways to Magic America), and Simon Kernick (The Crime Trade, The Murder Exchange). The four debut short stories mix the best in BMW product with contemporary original literature.

Each story is about an hour in length and was written exclusively for bmw-audiobooks.com. The stories can only be found in audio format, and can only be downloaded from the Internet. The website also provides background information about the authors and allows users the opportunity to submit reviews.

The audio books can be downloaded for playback in any digital format. Of course, the best place to hear the stories is behind the wheel of a BMW as the visualization of the characters and the action come alive creating 'theater of the mind.'

BMW Audio Books launch schedule:

    * February 2: Don Winslow "Beautiful Ride"
    * February 16: James Flint "Master of the Storm"
    * March 2: Simon Kernick "The Debt"
    * March 16: Karin Slaughter "Cold Cold Hear

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Obraćanje naciji povodom KATANCA ZA BOL i drugih prevoda...

http://www.b92.net/kultura/moj_ugao.php?nav_id=425298

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Sphinx
Gardiens de l'ordre (France)
By JORDAN MINTZER

   
A Gaumont release of a Les Films du Worso, Gaumont, Entre Chien et Loup production, with participation of Canal Plus, CineCinema, TPS Star. (International sales: Gaumont, Paris.) Produced by Sylvie Pialat. Directed by Nicolas Boukhrief. Screenplay, Boukhrief, Dan Sasson.

With: Cecile de France, Fred Testot, Julien Boisselier, Nicolas Marie, Stephan Wojtowicz, Nanou Garcia, Stephane Jobert, Jean-Michel Noirey, Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus, Foued Nassah, Vincent Rottiers.

Perhaps the greatest riddle of Gallic policier "Sphinx" is that it was made in 2009 and not 1989. This very old-school suspenser -- about two rogue cops infiltrating a faux-seedy underworld of kvetching criminals, neon decor and thumping techno music -- is occasionally rescued by scribe-helmer Nicolas Boukhrief's taut direction and hearty perfs by Cecile de France and Fred Testot. Otherwise, with a message that amounts to "drugs mess with your brain" and a taxing running time, pic will need more than two, three or four legs to carry it beyond France and Belgium.

In a city that looks nothing like Paris and a lot like downtown Hartford, night-patrol officers Julie (de France) and Simon (Testot) stumble upon a rabidly high rich kid (Vincent Rottiers), who shoots down their partner (Stephane Jobert) and blames the mishap on them. Since the kid is the son of a local politician and was found with a pack of fluorescent pills known as "Sphinx," the only way the cops can clear their names is to track down the drug's dealers.

As Julie goes undercover -- cue the vulgar leather dresses and caked-on makeup -- to convince a greasy club owner (Julien Boisselier) she can sell his stash, Simon is forced to test a tad too much of their product, and does some stupid things like killing a middleman or brandishing a handgun in broad daylight. Despite such snafus, their relationship grows ever more intimate and they begin to find their way toward redemption.

Beyond taking place in the kinds of discos, parking garages, basement labs and modernist villas found in throwaway cop thrillers of the '80s and '90s, pic bears a superficial resemblance to Gaspar Noe's latest exercise in cinematic freebasing, "Enter the Void." But while Noe's work does an impressive (to the point of suspicious) job of depicting the dangers of pill-popping and the back-alley lifestyles of druggies and dealers, Boukhrief's film never feels real or menacing enough.

That's too bad, because certain action scenes -- especially a well-paced break-in at the police precinct -- are handled with impressive fluidity, though they're not at the level of the helmer's best work, 2004's "Cash Truck." If anything, it seems as if Boukhrief had tried to steer away from the muddled experimentation of his last pic, "Cortex," toward something more commercial, but wound up with too-generic results.

De France ("A Secret") and former TV comic Testot ("You'll Miss Me") manage to generate strong chemistry as two working-class victims of bureaucratic corruption, but their characters never have the smarts one would hope for, mostly functioning on pure energy and questionable instincts.

Pro tech package is backed by Nicolas Baby's electro score, which, beyond a catchy opening melody a la Ennio Morricone, feels as standardized as everything else.

Camera (color), Dominique Colin; editor, Lydia Decobert; music, Nicolas Baby; production designer, Maamar Ech-Cheikh; costume designer, Annie Thiellement; sound (Dolby), Lucien Balibar, Aymeric Devoldere, Nicolas Becker, Philippe Amouroux; special effects supervisor; Georges Demetrau; assistant director, James Canal; casting, Boukhrief, David Bertrand. Reviewed at UGC Cine Cite Les Halles 7, Paris, April 17, 2010. (In City of Lights, City of Angels Film Festival.) Running time: 104 MIN.

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PARIS -- Olivier Assayas' "Carlos," an $18 million three-part series about the Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, has nabbed an out-of-competition slot at the Cannes Film Festival.

Co-produced and co-financed by Canal Plus, the five-and-a-half hour biopic toplines Venezuelan thesp Edgar Ramirez ("Che: Part One") in the lead role, along with Julia Hummer and Alexander Beyer.

Assayas, whose films "Clean," "Demonlover" and "Les Destinees Sentimentales" have competed for the Palme d'Or, had never worked in TV before.

The French helmer said he was seduced by the idea of making a compelling and artistically ambitious film dealing with recent history and real people.

"Not long ago, the idea of making a film about Carlos would have scared French producers," Assayas said. "But nowadays I sense that we're being encouraged to make films that have a contemporary dimension."

Series will air on primetime Canal Plus in late May and Sundance Channel will air it in the fall. StudioCanal is handling international sales on the series and a two-hour-and-half feature-length version.

Another addition to the Cannes Film Festival's official selection is "5 X Favela," a remake of Carlos Diegues' 1962 film "Cinco Vezes Favela."

Pic will unspool in the special screening section.

"Favela" is an omnibus directed by five film students from Rio, which were mentored by some of Brazil's top directors, including Fernando Meirelles, Walter Salles and Daniel Filho.

Modestly budgeted at around $2 million, the film is produced by Luz Magica and co-produced by Globo Filmes and the Rio Mayor's office. "Favela" is also partly funded by Brazil's richest man, Eike Batista, through his company OGX.

John Hopewell contributed to this report.

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Komisija Macavity, Žika i Cripple pogledali omnibus VRTLOG koji su radili Hajrudin Krvavac i Gojko Šipovac. Po jednu priču je radio svaki reditelj a jednu su radili i zajedno.

VRTLOG je prilično početnički film u kome se tek u trećoj priči nagoveštava Krvavčev dar, dok su prve dve dosta slične nekom tvrđem realizmu iz partizanskog miljea, gde se možda kao paradigmatičan naslov za poređenje može uzeti TRI Saše Petrovića. Naravno, TRI je izašao godinu dana kasnije, tako da sigurno nije mogao biti uzor ali rekao bih da je taj film dobar primer koji su krajnji dometi ovog pristupa.

Krvavac i Šipovac nažalost nisu dobacili do tog dometa, ali svakako da postoje neke zanimljivo postavljene situacije u kojima su se lepo snašli.

Najslabije funkcioniše priča koja je bazirana na psihološkom dvoboju koji je sav u pogledima na početku, a ni druga priča gde je psihološki sukob eksternalizovaniji kroz priču o dva partizana koji lutaju kroz močvaru i žele da se probiju kroz obruč (neke od situacija u močvari podsećaju na Bambinovu pogibiju u MOSTu). Film stane na noge kada je postavljen konvencionalnije, sa zaokruženijim karakterima, jasnom dramskom situacijom i melodramskim odnosom i tu se jasno vidi da je Krvavac punokrvini reditelj komunikativnog repertoarskog filma kome nije mesto u umetničkim eksperimentima.

Naprosto, kada se bavi suptilnim, eteričnim, neopipljivim kinestetičkim zahvatima, VRTLOG je samo simulacija umetničkog filma, dočim kada se sve konkretizuje postaje pravi film.

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"The Messenger" writer/director Oren Moverman will pen and direct "Rampart" for Lightstream Pictures reports Variety.

Based on a story by James Ellroy, the action follows a single cop against the backdrop of the corruption scandal surrounding anti-gang unit of the LAPD's Rampart Division in the late 1990s.

Over 70 officers were implicated in misconduct which included unprovoked shootings, beatings, planting of evidence, framing of suspects, stealing and dealing narcotics, bank robbery, perjury and covering up evidence.

Production Weekly hints that 'Messenger' co-stars Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster could join the project. Lawrence Inglee and Paul Currie will produce.

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Pogledao sam BUICK RIVIERU Gorana Rušinovića. Rušinović se sa ovim filmom potpuno reinventovao posle "dokoskastog" MONDO BOBOA i "kroječaevatajnastog" SVJETSKOG ČUDOVIŠTA kao ozbiljan indie reditelj euroamerikanskog profila. Film je snimljen u Americi a fotografiju je radio Igor Martinović, jedan od talentovanijih ex-jugoloscvenskih DPjeva na radu u inostranstvu, tako da BUICK RIVIERA zaista izgleda kao inostrani art-house film. Rušinović na nivou ritma, kadriranja i generalnog pripovedačkog koncepta prati reditelje poput Wendersa koji su sa izvesnim evropskim senzibilitetom prišli Americi, a na nivou odnosa prema priči, na početku filma pravi jedan od onih art-house naslova koji su više pravljeni da se uz njih razmišlja nego da se prate kao priča u koju se gledalac uživljava u konvencionalnom smislu.

Film ulazi u pšrobleme onda kada započne odnos Srbina i Muslimana u Americi koji celu priču počinju kao Bosanci, međusobno se identifikujući i pomažući a završavaju je u konfliktu koji je nažalost potpuno nemotivisan i nije u samoj osnovi nacionalno obojen. U svom bežanju od konvencionalnog filma, u neku vrstu vizuelno ekspresije, artizma, suptilnosti, višeznačnosti i sl. Rušinović je izbegao i da definiše svoje junake a naročito njihove motivacije tako da na kraju njihov sukob koji je nažalost izuzetno konvencionalan i gotovo banalan u dramatarškom smislu zahteva itekako dobro motivisanje, a toga nema. Očigledno je da sam scenario nastao po Jergovićevoj prozi nije onoliko iznad konvencije koliko je Rušinović priželjkivao.

Slavko Štimac je prilično slab u glavnoj ulozi. Iako je i on sam imao emigrantsko iskustvo, a reklo bi se da spada među one koji su traumatizovani raspadom Jugoslavije, on se u toj ulozi nije našao, i uprkos Rušinovićevom generalnom tone-downovanju filma, Štimac je sav u spoljnjim gestovima, bez ikakve vere u lik, iako bi njegov Hasan trebalo da čini centar cele teskobe. Leon Lučev s druge strane ima drugačiji lik mnogo više oslonjen na klišee o vatrenim Bosancima tako da on bolje prikriva svoje odsusutvo odnosa prema karakteru o kome na posnpvu filma saznajemo još manje nego o Hasanu.

U suštini, BUICK RIVIERA je u svojim najboljim delovima, hermetična, atmosferična studija o čoveku izgubljenom u stranoj zemlji a u najslabijim pokušaj da se snimi film o karakterima po scenariju u kome ti karakteri ne postoje.

U krajnjem zbiru, Rušinović je ipak snimio jedan film koji se pre svega po svojoj vizuelnoj artikulaciji i američkim lokacijama i izdvaja od ostatka ponude u regionu. Šteta je samo što je ipak dosta slab za neke internacionalne okvire u koje je po svom hardveru mogao da zakorači.

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"The Lift" Robert Zemeckis' First Student Film (1972)

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Exclusive: Todd Phillips Talks PROJECT X
by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted:April 20th, 2010 at 5:49 pm

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For the last week we've been reporting on director Todd Phillip's (The Hangover, Old School) mysterious Project X movie.  What we knew already was Phillip's was "godfathering" the $12 million dollar project at Warner Bros.  He is producing the film with Joel Silver and Nima Nourizadeh making his feature debut after a career directing commercials and music videos.  The film reportedly centers on an "outrageous high concept". Since that time, the concept has been rumored to be "a party movie."

But the big news about the project was how they want to cast the film.  Unlike most movies that cast actors with resume's and agents, for Project X,  Phillips and WB want to open it up to people that normally never have a chance to get in a movie.  To do this, they launched ProjectXOpenCall with the goal of finding  "unknown actors/real people of all ethnicities," and who "Must be legal 18 & able to play 18 years old, U.S. residents only."  If you submit, you need to tell your most embarrassing story, your craziest party story, if you wanted to impress someone at a club show us how you would dance, and the one thing you do that makes your friends laugh.

Since news of the project hit the net, many rumors have been circulating about Project X.  Rather than post them here, I decided to try and get Todd Phillips on the phone to try and give me some updates.  While he wouldn't talk about all the online rumors, I did find out a lot.  Hit the jump for more:

Todd_Phillips_image (2).jpgBefore going any further, one of the reasons I got to speak with Phillips today is FirstShowing's article on the project.  They had some new info today:

    At the time of our initial report, I jested about the secrecy surrounding this being similar to the shrouded development of Cloverfield, but it turns out that reference may be more accurate than we initially thought. The film is described as a party movie, but unlike films like Can't Hardly Wait and other such one-night-of-chaos films before it, this will be shot in cinema-vérité style, where the audience will experience the party only through the first-person observer view of the camera, so essentially, we will be at the party too. Much like the Hud character in Cloverfield, the role of the observer through which we experience the party will be voice-over only. And to seal the deal on this party-going experience, the entire film will be presented in 3D (there's a chance it could be shot in 3D, but with a $15 million budget, I don't think that's the case).  The project is high concept in using cinema-vérité simply for a raunchy comedy, but the core of the "story" isn't anything more than a standard party movie. We've been told there is a script as well, so it won't be all mumblecore style improv. What should make it more realistic, intimate and genuine is their desire to use only unknown actors for the film combined with this shooting style.


When Phillips and I first started talking, the first thing he wanted to address were the voice over and 3D rumors.  He said it's not going to be in 3D and the voice over is absolutely not true.  He also told me calling Project X a "party movie" is like calling The Hangover a "bachelor party film."  He said rather what they are hoping with the film is "a new and interesting approach" to storytelling with this genre of film.

He then wanted to address the rumors that the website they set up for casting the movie was some sort of hoax or that it's some sort of set up. He 100% denied that.

Todd_Phillips_image (4).jpg

Instead simply stating that they are just trying to find some new faces and thought that might be an interesting way to find some people who otherwise may not have had a chance to 'audition' for a film. He then told me in addition to the website they are also using traditional methods of casting.  Meaning, if you have an agent and a resume, you can still get cast.  But the hope is to find a lot of new faces.

After some time talking about casting, he told me the goal is to try and film the movie this July/August but it's "contingent on getting an interesting cast together."  He said if they can't get a cast they're happy with, they'll put the movie on hold until they do.

Finally, we started talking about the title Project X and how everything about the project is mysterious.  He told me the movie was never meant to be a "top secret" film. The fact is, they currently don't have a title and they threw Project X on as a title page on the scripts just for inside the office.  Someone assumed it was a big top secret thing and word started to spread.

As far as not sending out scripts to people, he said he tries to never send out scripts because if you do you'll often see some of your jokes on TV 8 months before your movie comes out.

We talked for awhile, and the vibe I got was they're trying to put together a cool little comedy with new actors and maybe a new way of telling the story.  If they can cast it and everyone's happy, it's getting shot this summer and Warner Bros. will release it sometime next year.

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao sam SIXTY SIX Paula Weilanda, jedan od vrlo dobrih, iako manje poznatih Working Title naslova u kojima se obrađuje jedna od opsesivnih tema head honchoa Working Titlea a to je odrastanje i život u jevrejskoj zajednici. Doduše, za Working Title, tim tipom istraživanja mahom se bave Braća Coen, ali je eto i Weiland dao svoj doprinos.

Ako imamo u vidu da se SIXTY SIX bavi jednom od opsesivnih tema komedija iz jevrejskog miljea a to je Bar Mitzvah, i da je producent filma Tim Bevan možda jedini put bio u tabloidima upravo zbog raskalašnog Bar Mitzvaha svoga sina, onda je ovo svakako bio passion project za sve koji su ga radili.

Za Paula Weilanda, inače vrlo pristojnog rutinera koji je režirao sve i svašta, svakako - jer reč je o njegovoj autobiografskoj priči koju su za film napisali Peter Straughan i Bridget O'Connor a jedan od producenata je Richard Curtis pa ne čudi da film u nekoliko navrata ima curtisovske formalne toucheve.

Film je perfrektno realizovan, u Working Title maniru, sa zaokruženim likovima, obiljen finih detalja i fetišističkom rekonstrukcijom epohe. Ono gde se pojavljuju izvesni problemi jeste gorči deo ove bittersweet priče koji sporadično deluje preozbiljno u odnosu na sveukupni ton, a pojedini detalji o likovima su zapravo mnogo simptomatičniji za njihove tragične sudbine nego što ih autori tretiraju.

Međutim, uprkos tim sitnim nedostacima, SIXTY SIX poseduju klasu koju garantuju Working Title produkcije i uprkos tome što se često koristi jeftinim trikovima uspeva jako dobro da ih plasira i sa njima izvuče željeni efekat kod publike.

* * * / * * * *

[crippled_avenger]

Hitler reacts to the Hitler parodies being removed from YouTube

[Meho Krljic]

Ne mogu ovo sad da gledam jer sam na poslu i pravim se da vredno radim, ali... uklanjaju ove videe sa JuTjuba??? WTF??? Ko je toliko lud da to čini i zbog čega??? Copyright?? Ali, ovo su jasna satirično/ parodična dela, što ih stavlja unutar fair use teritorije...

[crippled_avenger]

To pokušava da objasni i ovaj video.

[Meho Krljic]

To je, što bi rekao Jebašfini, "Bogata Fegetacija".

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao BBCjevu TV dramu BREAKING THE CODE koju je po dramskom tekstu Hugh Whitemorea režirao veteran Herbert Wise. Reč je o TV drami iz 1996. godine i u principu to nije reprezent onoga što danas BBC radi, i ne pripada novom televizijskom izrazu koji nas očarava poslednjih godina. Međutim, ništa manje, reč je o delu čija solidnost naročito u domenu glume impresionira. Scenario proistekao iz biografske drame o Alanu Turingu razvija se dosta mehanički, međutim Derek Jacobi u ulozi starog homoseksualca, koju je ona kao stari homoseksualaca doveo do savršenstva, uspeva da plasira čak i najdelikatnije i najopširnije deonice bez greške. Otud pored njega i neko ko nije glumac ali jeste personality kao što je Harold Pinter može da se nametne kroz vrlo solidno glumačko ostvarenje.

Ovaj televizijski film ima jednu liberalnu ali u svojoj suštini zapravo suptilnu homofobnu poruku krou priču o čuvenom naučniku Alana Turingu koji je uprkos svojoj naučničkoj genijalnosti (on je jedan od očeva računarskih tehnologija) imao probleme zbog svoje homoseksualnosti. Ovaj film upada u klopku legitimisanja nečijeg seksualnog opredeljenja kroz njegovo dostignuće na drugim poljima što je danas u ovoj vrsti filma mahom prevaziđeno.

Ipak, ništa manje ova drama dosta dobro kanališe sve tegobe sa kojima su se suočavali oni koji su imali tu priliku da budu uhvaćeni u svojim nestašlucima u Britaniji pedesetih kada homosekusalnost nije bila dekriminalizovana.

Pored onih koje zanima Turingova privatna sudbina, ova TV drama nudi i dosta zanimljivih uvida u Turingov naučni rad i pristup uz pomoć koga je i uspeo da napravi mašinu za dešifrovanje nemačkog ENIGMA koda.

[crippled_avenger]

Za zakašnjenjem sam pogledao GONE Ringana Ledwidgea. Reč je o naizgled atipičnom filmu za Working Title iako je to zapravo njihov povratak korenima u Australiji odakle dolazi Tim Bevan (koji je preciznije ečeno sa Novog Zelanda). U svakom slučaju WT ima svoju kuću Down Under a na ovoj produkciji se pored njih pojavila i Nira Park, producentkinja zaslužna za filmove Edgara Wrighta. Otud je GONE u produkcionom i tehničkom smislu znatno ambicioniji od tipičnog trilera o ljudima koji sreću psihopatu u australijskoj pustari.

Film je pre svega atipičan na nivou scenarija pošto se u žanrovskom smislu pre može definisati kao bizarna melodrama sa krvavim ishodom nego tipičan triler. Odnosi među junacima su dati vrlo suptilno sa uverljivošću koja je više psihološka nego dramaturška i sve do završne deonice film je slowburning melodrama na tragu NOZ W WODZIE pre nego što se pšretvori u odličan i vrlo efektan suspense triler.

Iako deo kritike zamera filmu taj shift u tonu, meni je to sasvim u redu jer kada krene suspense i kada počnu ripper sekvence, sve i dalje ostaje u dokmenu fizički uverljivog, niko se ne pretvara u superheroja i suspense je građen na najortodoksniji hičkokovski način pa bi se na kraju zbog spoja psihološki čitljivih međuljudskih odnosa koji eskaliraju u triler, ovaj film mogao smatrati aproprijacijom Hitchovih paradigmi.

Film je izvanredno slikan, vrlo moderan rad DPa Bena Seresina kako u klaustrofobičćnim enterijerima tako i u provincijskim eskterijerima bio je evidentan još u odličnom filmu BEST LAID PLANS Mike Barkera te ne čudi što danas Seresin radi i velike akcione blokbastere poput novog filma Tony Scotta.

Glumci su odlični. Scott Mechlowitz kog smo već upoznali kao backpackera u EUROTRIPu sa dosta underplaya igra psihopatu a Shaun Evans (kog znaju fanovi serije TEACHERS) i Amelia Warner su solidni kao britanski par koji on pokušava da razdvoji i uništi.

Ono što sporadično opstruira film jeste izbegavanje egzaktnije postavljenih motivacija i insistiranje na tome da se ključne promene u likovima dešavaju u nekom drugom planu što čini da film u pojedinim deonicama postane hermetičan. Međutim, sam pripovedački koncepta je hrabar i zaslužuje svaku pohvalu.

* * * / * * * *

[crippled_avenger]

Reprizirao sam MAD MAX George Millera. To je jedan od granddaddy naslova ozploitationa i jedan od ključnih filmova za razvoj savremenog repertoarskog filma uopšte. Ipak, realno, značaj prvog MAD MAXa je pre svega u tome što je omogućio da bude snimljen ROAD WARRIOR koji je zapravo ostavio trag i uticaj.

Prvi MAD MAX je u tom smislu više poštovan iz pijeteta nego zbog nekog realnog značajna a njegov uspeh je u svakom smislu bio poguran uspehom nastavka/rimejka. I zaista, ROAD WARRIOR koji je već pretendovao da bude ozbiljan bioskopski film sa internacionalnom ambicijom nudi mnogo više žanrovske ortodoksije od originala. I što je još paradoksalnije nudi mnogo više Mad Maxa iako se tako ne zove od MAD MAXa samog.

Čitajući recimo Pajkićevu kritiku a on je ponudio jednu od dosta artikulisanih među rezervisanim kritikama ovog filma, sasvim je jasno da je jedan od sistemsnkih problema u recepciji ovog filma zapravo njegovo odstupanje od tipične žanrovske strukture.

Pre svega, glavnog, naslovnog, junaka, praktično nema u gotovo celom prvom činu, da bi on zapravo tek negde oko polovine počeo da dominira pričom a tek u trećem činu preuzeo stvar u svoje ruke. Iako je Mel Gibson i u ovom filmu, na vrlo malom prostoru uspeo da se nametne kao ikona, naročnito u završnici kada izvršava prvu od svojih brojnih kasnijih osveta na velikom ekranu, i iako je ova uloga izuzetna naročito u toj završnici kada igra praktično bez dijaloga, i koristi telo kao vrlo bitno, gotovo ballardovsko izražajno sredstvo, tek će u ROAD WARRIORu, on postati svojevrsni naslednik Clint Eastwooda, uključujući i njegovu Man With No Name personu,

Zatim, film obiluje digresijama, satiričnim pasažima, raznim vidovima genrebendovanja kojima nisu bili neskloni čaj ni najoštriji eksploatatori poput Italijana, ali rekao bih da to kod Millera najbolje funkcioniše jer je uspeo da stvori stripovski stilizovan svet koji truli na svim nivoima.

U tom smislu, MAD MAX je znatno bliži naslovima kao što je CLOCKWORK ORANGE nego što su Leoneovi vesterni, ali u filmskom izrazu ima i jednog drugog, i što je još važnije film funkcioniše na oba plana.

Ono gde je Miller svakako ubedljiviji jeste leoneovski segment. MAD MAX i danas impresionira svojom surovošću i rediteljevim instinktivnim umećem da prikaže nasilje na najživopisiniji način, čak i onda kada ga daje u elipsi. MAD MAX je i za današnje standarde zapanjujuće surov film. Mnogi filmovi su pomerili granice što se tiče krvoprolića i raznih tipova stvari koje se dešavaju u ljudima ali retko ko je uspeo da postigne taj gotovo opipljivi osećaj nasilja, povređivanja, sakaćenja kao Miller u ovom filmu.

Učinivši film vrlo ozbiljnim, kako na polju surovosti, tako i na polju satire, MAD MAX zapravo nije previše zabavan film u nekom striktno repertoarskom smislu jer ima i određene pretenziju a i vidove surovosti koji nisu baš zabavni. Ipak, teško mu se mogu osporiti dinamičnost i senzacionalne akcione sekvence koje svojim low-budget stuntovima koje je Miller snimio u saradnji sa DPjem David Eggbyjem i kaskaderom Grant Pageom daje filmu dodatnu dimenziju surovosti.

Kada se uzmu u obzir svi elementi kojima je baratao Miller u ovom filmu, zaista je jako kritikovati ovaj naslov iz pozicije žanrovske ortodoksije jer sam narativ nudi više dokaza koji dokazuju da ovo nije bio film koji isključivo pretenduje na exploitation status. Štaviše, Millerov film je dosta cronenbergovski (opsesija automobilima na stranu) upravo zbog tog spoja exploitationa kao puta do filma i pokušaja da se preko toga iskaže još nešto - s tim što je kod Cronenberga to "nešto" mnogo zanimljivije.

* * * 1/2 / * * * *

[Meho Krljic]

Pa, da, baš tako. Na prvo gledanje, Road Warrior mi je bio draži od MM, ali sam docnije shvatio da je to jer je RW pravoverni žanrovski film dok MM zapravo iskače iz žanra i zapravo ima dublje stvari da kaže o hjumen kondišnu, da satiriše itd. Veliki filmovi oba, ali prvi mi je danas važniji.

[Le Samourai]

MM je film koji iskreno obozhavam, dok mi je RW bio zabavan film, ali nishta previshe znachajno.

Mada, ja sam ovaj serijal otkrio tek pod stare dane, posle svoje 18te, tako da mi je razumljivo zashto bi nekome ko ih je gledao kao klinac RW bio bolji od MM.

[crippled_avenger]

Ja sam gledao oba kao klinac. RW mi je na VHSu poklonio Robert Nemeček i to mi je bila jedna od prvih kaseta u mojoj, ličnoj kolekciji jer su dotle filmove sakupljali moji roditelji. I mogu reći da je RW jedan od onih filmova koji su me raspametili a da mi je MM bio dosta hevi i nekako nedovoljno zabavan tada a suviše uznemirujući. To jest, i RW mi je bio uznemirujući ali na zabavniji način. Trebalo mi je vremena da prepoznam kvalitet MAD MAXa.

[Le Samourai]

MM je svakako mnogo vishe slow-burning od RW. Ima tu duzhih perioda u potpunosti bez dijaloga, chesto i skoro bez zvuka, duzhih kadrova, uostalom ima tu i mnogo vishe shirine u kadrovima, gotovo da istinskih krupnjaka i nema, dok RW odmah na pochetku ima chak i onaj famozni voiceover i generalno je dosta vishe zasnovan na dijalozima, glumachkoj igri i nekoj klasichnijem rezhijskom pristupu.

Naravno, oba filma su sjajna, ali MM ima taj neki kvalitet vishe.

[crippled_avenger]

Po nahu bi se reklo da je MAD MAX radi bržeg snimanja rađen bez snimanja tona u hongkonškom stilu.

[crippled_avenger]

Fri Apr 23, 2010 3:05 pm EDT
Smith: 'In three years, Durant will be the best player in basketball'

By Dan Devine

Emotions ran high last night after the Oklahoma City Thunder's 101-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round Western Conference Playoffs series -- the organization's first-ever playoff win, provided you forget (as many associated with the league seem wont to) that the franchise once won an NBA championship (and employed Michael Cage's Jheri curl) as the ever-soulful Seattle SuperSonics before the NBA saw fit to take a Kathy Bates sledgehammer to the Emerald née Queen City's heart.

And it's not hard to understand why. Both OKC newcomers and old-salt pure-hearts who've long evangelized about coach Scott Brooks' young Thunder found themselves equal parts geeked up about the Broingtons' first taste of postseason success, amped about how great the Loud City crowd was, and generally just high on basketball coming off of another fantastic installment in the opening round's best series. It was, without question, the kind of moment in which otherwise rational people can get caught up.

Enter TNT commentator Kenny Smith, who said during the network's post-game show that he believes "in three years, Kevin Durant(notes) will be the best player in basketball." He said it three times, so we know he didn't misspeak. The video above proves it. This happened.

The statement, of course, drew strong responses from colleagues Charles Barkley (who quipped, "LeBron James is rolling over in his grave") and Chris Webber(notes), who predicted that in three years, Bron-Bron's going to be trying to average a triple-double for a full season, toying with contemporary basketball constructs and post-pace-adjustment-era statistical models in the way that Dr. Manhattan just sort of thought it'd be interesting to create life on Mars. (OK, I added that last part.)

With apologies to those who continue to argue that Kobe Bryant(notes) is the best player alive until James wins a ring or four, the point made by Barkley and Webber is one on which most of the basketball-watching public has come to agree -- that LeBron's showing us the athletic equivalent of Mozart putting ink to staff paper, while everybody else, even the great ones, are still merely playing basketball.

Smith aims to defend his point by reintroducing a distinction that he used earlier in the evening to make a situational pro-Kobe argument -- that while James is clearly the league's preeminent physical specimen, he is not clearly the most skilled practitioner of basketball-playing; at least, not in all facets of the game or in all possible game scenarios. Employing this tactic, also known as the "If you needed to make one shot to win the game, you'd take Kobe over everybody" line of reasoning, Smith claimed that "in three years, [Durant's] improvement with surpass [James'] because he will do other things in the game to help his team win."

(Also, I kid you not, when Kenny first made this point last night, he set up the following apples-to-oranges/LBJ-to-Kobe analogy: "You can argue over apples and oranges all day, but sometimes an orange ... it cures certain scurvy." To be fair, that's indisputable, and the primary reason that Kobe needs to be your number 1 option if you're playing pickup ball on the deck of a pirate ship out on the Sargasso Sea in the mid-18th century. You simply cannot overestimate his salvific citrus qualities.)

Listen, the prospect of how good Kevin Durant can be should excite anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that beats. He just averaged 30.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for a full season, shooting 47.6 percent from the floor, 36.5 percent from three-point land and 90 percent from the line, at the age of 21. He's a 6-foot-9-inch match-up nightmare with in-the-gym range, go-go Gadget arms that afford him clean looks over just about any defender and, as we saw last night, the ability and propensity to crash the boards (a career-high 19 rebounds, more than half of them coming in the first half while he was still struggling with his shot) and cause problems for elite players on the defensive end (putting him on Kobe late in the fourth completely changed the Lakers' fortunes). He's a beast, he's a dog, he's a micky-ficky problem.

Thing is, LeBron James is, too. While he and Durant rebound (their respective Total Rebound Rates are 11.1 and 11.0, according to Hoopdata) and block shots (both average 0.9 swats per 36 minutes, according to Basketball-Reference) at roughly the same rate, the King assists on teammates' buckets two-and-a-half times more frequently as Durant, ending 23.4 percent of possessions with a dime to KD's 9.09 percent (thanks again, Hoopdata). Plus, while it was great to see Durant check Kobe late in last night's affair, LeBron's been pulling "I got this" duty for a couple of years now. And at 25 years old himself, it ain't like James is in danger of becoming Wise LeBron anytime soon.

I don't know, dude. I can understand what Smith's saying, but to me, it seems like a tough, tough sell. But what do you think?

Does Kenny have a point? Could Kevin Durant become the best basketball player in the NBA, even while LeBron James(notes) still calls the league home? Does anybody else even enter the "in three years" picture? Weigh in down below, all the while keeping in mind just how fortunate we are that we've got futures this bright to banter

[Le Samourai]

Po nahu bi se reklo da je MAD MAX radi bržeg snimanja rađen bez snimanja tona u hongkonškom stilu.

Nisam siguran, ali znam da na dvdjevima postoje dva tona, jedan na "australijskom," a drugi na nekom umerenijem, "americkom" akcentu engleskog. Naravno, izvorni je "australijski" ali je zanimljivo da su ga dabovali za americhko trzhishte iako je u startu bio na engleskom. Ne znam da li su isti proces proshli i drugi ozsploitation naslovi.

[crippled_avenger]

Moguće da sam onda uvek imao posla sa umerenijom verzijom. Danas se filmovi mahom i rade sa dosta ADR. Zapanjujuće malo tona sa seta dospeva u filmove jer tehnika je sada razvijenija, ali onomad se to baš videlo. Šta ima od bonusa na DVDu?

[crippled_avenger]

Nowadays, clients are more likely to tell their reps: "What I really want to do is polish scripts."

For Hollywood's dozen or so top-tier script doctors, that means commanding $250,000-$300,000 a week, being booked months in advance and keeping their efforts largely cloaked in anonymity.

Script rewrites have been part of the filmmaking process since the days when Irving Thalberg kept a stable of scribes competing for his affections at MGM. But in recent years, the trend of tapping the industry's most expensive writers to polish studio pictures has become a high-end cottage industry as the majors increasingly bank on tentpoles and seek the extra bit of insurance that comes from getting the second (or third, or fourth) opinion of writers they trust.

And it's not just studio execs. Stars such as Will Smith, Matt Damon and Vince Vaughn have their go-to writers who are brought in, at some point, on virtually all of their projects.

The current crop of in-demand rewriters is mostly male and differ in their levels of experience. Some have Oscars, which usually brings a salary bump. All are paid handsomely for polishes. David Koepp, Hollywood's reigning top-paid scribe for penning such scripts as "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "War of the Worlds," also leads a pack of script surgeons that includes John August, Jamie Vanderbilt, Aline Brosh McKenna, Steve Zaillian, Scott Frank, Akiva Goldsman, Brian Helgeland, Simon Kinberg, Dana Fox, Eric Roth, Gary Ross, John Logan, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Paul Attanasio, Allan Loeb, Aaron Sorkin, Susannah Grant and Ron Bass.

The downside, of course, is that so many hands on a screenplay can leave the voice of a picture disjointed at best and schizophrenic at worst. The results of test screenings and focus groups play a big part in driving the urgency for last-minute rewrites on pics that have already reached the post-production stage. And while even A-list screenwriters have had to endure rewrites, there's a hush-hush aspect to these jobs that makes the whole issue something that few in the creative community want to address. (A number of writers contacted for this story declined to speak for the record, as did numerous studio execs and talent reps.)

"This current system is broken," says one lit manager. "You have your midlevel writer responsible for most of the screenplay, and then the studio pays a ton of money for someone else to come in and own it, and it doesn't make for a cohesive thing."

For top-shelf scribes, however, the rewrite market is a welcome growth area at a time when film and TV salaries are getting slashed and studios are cutting back on their development spending and release slates. For the lucky few, it's steady work that's outrageously lucrative.

During the past year, studio fave Scott Frank came in to punch up dialogue on everything from Sony's "The Bounty Hunter" to Fox's upcoming Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz starrer "Knight and Day."

Dana Fox, another scribe high on the script polishing food chain, also did work on "Knight and Day" and has become the favored script doctor for thesp Vaughn. Will Smith relies on Goldsman, and Damon counts on George Nolfi for 11th-hour dialogue tweaks.

Like talent, studios keep their favorite writers on speed dial. For instance, Sony frequently works with Zaillian, who was brought in during post-production for less than a week of uncredited emergency work on the upcoming Angelina Jolie starrer "Salt." Though Helgeland and Terry George had previously contributed to the Kurt Wimmer-penned screenplay before lensing began, Zaillian "did the Hail Mary at the end," as one insider described it, by writing material for reshoots.

20th Century Fox is partial to McKenna and Kinberg, who are known for their respective specialties: romantic comedy dialogue and action sequences. The two scribes did uncredited rewrite work on the Steve Carell-Tina Fey starrer "Date Night."

Some of the most frequently tapped polishers haven't had official onscreen credits in years. Jim Uhls, who has only one screenplay credit since penning "Fight Club" more than a decade ago, works regularly as an uncredited gun-for-hire. Shane Black, who once earned the distinction as Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriter, also is high on many studio wish-lists for being a closer.

But as rewriting becomes the norm, some biz veterans wonder if it is worth the extra time and expense.

In the view of one production prexy, the answer is "sometimes." But the exec cautions "sometimes you have to spend even more money to fix the problem created by the script doctor you just hired. It's a crapshoot."

Another production topper explains that spending big on late-stage revisions is a necessity.

"Once a movie is greenlit, you're no longer spending development dollars, so it's not speculative spending," the exec says. "You're now making an investment on making this the best movie it can be. And at that point in the process, that last 10% of the script is the most important."

Though the job seems ideal -- big bucks and no fingerprints if a film flops at the B.O. -- experienced rewriters note that they face unique pressure to perform, which makes them earn every penny.

"You have a director, a studio head and an actor who are all freaked out when you come on to a project for a couple of weeks of work," said one busy rewriter. "Their careers are on the line, and they're looking to you to save this f---ing thing."

Furthermore, the writer said that a two-week $500,000 gig can often turn into six weeks or even two months.

"I've never turned it in and said, 'Good luck with that. Bye," the scribe explains. "It's not like it's two weeks and you can go to Europe for rest of the year. I'm on call. And they will call you constantly. And I'll always do the extra work because you never want to burn out a studio."

Manager-producer JC Spink likened it to a high-wire act. "For that kind of money, you have to be able to close consistently," he explains. "You don't get many strikes for that kind of money."

Some writers, particularly those who are successful in selling original screenplays, might look down on these assignments. But one agent bristles at that attitude.

"I tell my writers, 'Alexander Payne did rewrites on 'Jurassic Park 3.' You're not above it,' " the agent quips.

In fact, Payne and partner Jim Taylor became two of U's favorite comedy script doctors. The pair came in on a polish assignment for the Adam Sandler vehicle "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," wound up overhauling the script and eventually shared screenplay credit with the pic's original scribe, Barry Fanaro.

Beyond the pool of established screenwriters, there are plenty of TV scribes who put in uncredited time on features. As studios become more budget-conscious, TV writers have become an inexpensive (by comparison) alternative. One "baby" TV scribe recently signed up for a three-week rewrite gig with a studio that couldn't afford to throw big rewrite money at a particular project. The writer earned a mere $1,500 a day but delivered a fresh perspective.

"TV workers know how to work under extreme pressure, and they are totally collaborative," said one production prexy.

Sitcom writers have long picked up extra coin during summer hiatus periods doing polishes and punch-ups on scripts. For years, the "Friends" writers room was famously the go-to place for any studio with a comedy script in need of more yuks. Nowadays, scribes on "The Office" and "30 Rock," among other hit series, have no shortage of offers.

But not all TV writers come cheap. "Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz is among the notable showrunners who has pulled down big bucks for his uncredited labor on feature scripts.

Despite earning up to $60,000 a day, the gig isn't right for everyone.

As another lit manager notes, "You don't see Diablo Cody doing polishes. Her voice is too original, and if she came in and punched up dialogue on someone else's script, it would probably sound out of place

[Le Samourai]

Moguće da sam onda uvek imao posla sa umerenijom verzijom. Danas se filmovi mahom i rade sa dosta ADR. Zapanjujuće malo tona sa seta dospeva u filmove jer tehnika je sada razvijenija, ali onomad se to baš videlo. Šta ima od bonusa na DVDu?

Mda, sada je chesto sve u eksterijeru ADR, da ne spominjem akcije poput one kada je dobar deo LotR sniman pored aerodroma, te im je originalan zvuk prosharan poletanjima aviona. Sada su mogucnosti i znanja takve da to vishe nikoga ne brine. Chak i u domacim produkcijama zvuk postaje sve respektabilniji.

Taj Dvd koji sam ja gledao pre desetak godina bio je sirot, i nije imao neke dodatke posebno vredne pazhnje (ili, ochigledno, secanja), ali izashao je u medjuvremenu Special Edition koji deluje dosta bogatije.

[Tex Murphy]

Čudi me da se do sada nije pojavilo kvalitetno DVD izdanje ovog klasika.
Ovde je boxset koji sadrži sva tri filma, ali bez dodataka i sa otvorenim pitanjem da li je Road Warrior u punoj ili cenzurisanoj verziji

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mad-Max-Trilogy-Beyond-Thunderdome/dp/B000WBZZ2A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1272229723&sr=8-1

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YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

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Pogledao sam TV film Johna Schlesingera AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD koji je po ispovesti australijske glumice Coral Browne napisao Alan Bennet. Ovo je BBC produkcija iz 1983. godine koja se na dosta bizaran način odnosi prema izvornom materijalu pošto Browne igra samu sebe iako je priča smeštena u 1958. godinu.

Reč je o njenoj istinitoj priči o susretu sa Guy Burgessom u Moskvi 1958. godine, dakle posle njegovog bekstva sa Zapada u SSSR. Burgess je izuzetno zanimljiv lik i o kembridžskoj petorci sam pogledao praktično sve što je snimljeno izuzev TV filma u kome Burgessa igra Derek Jacobi.

U ovom filmu, Burgessa igra Alan Bates koji uspeva da dosta dobro zarobi njegovu melanholiju posle bekstva. Naime, Burgess je od cele ekipe najteže podneo bekstvo. Još u seriji CAMBRIDGE SPIES vidi se njegova nostalgija dok se brodom udaljavao od Britanije, a istoričari kažu da je njegovo bekstvo sa Donaldom MacLeanom navodno sporno i zbog toga što Burgess nije bio obavešten da ga prebacuju u SSSR. U svakom slučaju u SSSRu, on se za razliku od MacLeana nije dobro snašao, nije naučio ruski, nedostajale su mu razne stvari iz Britanije, naročito odeća, a smetao mu je i sovjetski dosta tvrd odnos prema homoseksualnosti iako mu je KGB dodelio ljubavnika. U filmu HUMAN FACTOR Otto Premingera aludira se da je taj ljubavnik bio KGBovac pošto se u tom filmu pojavljuje burgessolik junak na kraju. U AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD, taj ljubavnik je neki električar iz pozorišta za koga Burgess kaže da je verovatno kažnjen time što mu je dodeljen da bude ljubavnik, ali da iako je KGB umešan sam tip nije KGB-agent.

U svakom slučaju, Bates je dobro dočarao Burgessovo sporo alkoholno samoubistvo koje je, ruku na srce, počelo još u Americi, i koje je od svih glumaca koji su igrali Burgessa najbolje dočarao Tony Hopkins u BLUNTu. Ipak, Bates uspeva da generalno pokaže Burgessa na kraju životnog puta, lišenog onoga što mu je ipak bilo najvažnije u životu a to su sitna zadovoljstva, iako je uspeo da dope do onoga što mu je bilo bitno a to je sistem koji je priželjkivao.

Bennett to dosta otvoreno i artikuliše, pokazujući kako Burgess suočen sa ekscesnim ostvarenjem ideje za koju se borio shvata koliko su mu detalji zapravo bitni.

Od kembridžske ekipe, u SSSRu najbolje se snašao MacLean, a 1958. godine svi oni su realno bili na putu da budu gurnuti pod tepih, te prilično bedan Burgessov lifestyle u Moskvi deluje sasvim ubedljivo a Schlesinger dobro dočarava teskobu ranog poststaljinizma.

Ono što je generalni problem ovog projekta je Coral Browne koja je u svojoj ispovesti čini mi se jedna od onih ličnosti koja je u svom prepričavanju priče najpametnija, najiskrenija i sl. To se moglo malo umeriti a bilo bi dobro da i ona nije igrala pošto ipak ne deluje kao da ima 45 godina koliko je imala 1958. no to je verovatno neki Schlesingerov rediteljski koncept koji nije do kraja profunkcionisao.

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Dir: Kim Chapiron. Canada-France. 2009. 88mins

Dog Pound doesn't hide its despair about the juvenile prison where its grim story takes place.  From a young French director, Kim Chapiron (who made 2006 film Sheitan), this drama is a chilling walk through a training ground for violence and aggression.

    Although the film conforms to prison-movie formulas, Chapiron creates a look that's unusually stark.

The critics are likely to rally around Dog Pound, which can stand up on its own bare-boned terms to comparisons with Jacques Audiard's A Prophet.  Without stars, the English-language prison drama is likely to remain in the art house circuit, though home entertainment demand will rise if any of its young actors leverages the well-crafted film as a calling card to higher-profile roles.

Dog Pound follows three young offenders with a camera that couldn't be closer to the skin. Cinematographer Andre Chemetoff sustains that tactility throughout the film, so the cramped spaces are felt as much as seen.

The script by Jeremie Delon and Chapiron is spare. Much of the action is silent, and almost all that's known of the characters is revealed in a prologue that shows them committing their crimes. There are no gestural speeches, and Dog Pound isn't sentimental about their innocence. One highjacks a car. Another blinds an abusive prison guard.

Although the film conforms to prison-movie formulas, as green prisoners enter a vicious culture of aggression inside the walls, Chapiron creates a look that's unusually stark. Props are as minimal as the dialogue, ensuring that the drama plays on the actor's faces, and on the young bodies that inevitably collide.

Alan Clarke's films of the 1980s seem a strong inspiration for the look of Dog Pound, and the "white trash" photographs of American youths by Larry Clark are reflected in the casting. Adam Butcher, who plays the wildly explosive Banks, has the gaunt fiery look of a Larry Clark subject. The fleshy prison bullies ooze with sadism.

For a film directed and written (in English) by Frenchmen, clichés about the US are generally absent. There's no cheap anti-Americanism, nor is there noble-savage exoticism of wild children behind bars, no knee-jerk depiction of prison guards as predators. Insiders are still likely to find the prison in Dog Pound (shot in New Brunswick, Canada), however brutal, to be far too humane for a US institution.   

As Davis, a cocky comfortable high school drug dealer who gets caught and jailed, Shane Kippel (of the popular Canadian television series DeGrassi) shows the vulnerable incredulity of the kid who never thought the everyday abuses of prison life could happen to him.

Mateo Morales plays Angel (a rare case in Dog Pound of a name telegraphing assumptions about a character) as a gentle naïf, albeit one who steals cars and clubs their owners.

Chapiron's instinct for realism is strong, despite the obligatory prison rape and hunger strike that trigger the film's crescendo. There's genuine assurance in this second film by a director who's only 28, and reason to expect even better. 

Production  Companies: Partizan Films, Grana Productions

International Sales: Wild Bunch www.wildbunch.biz

Producer: Georges Berman

Co-Producer: Sam Grana

Screenwriters: Kim Chapiron. Jeremie Delon

Cinematography: Andre Chemetoff

Editor: Benjamin Weill

Music: K'naan, Nikkfurie (La Caution)

Main Cast : Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Mateo Morales, Slim Twig, Taylor Poulin, Dewshane Williams, Lawrence Bayne

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Pogledao sam CHANEL COCO & IGOR STRAVINSKY Jana Kounena. Reč je o filmu koji se potpuno razlikuje od Kounenovog stila na koji smo do sada navikli. Ovog puta snimio je jedan krajnje klasicistički postavljen film kome je po Kounenovim rečima uzor bio Scorsese iz svoje AGE OF INNOCENCE faze mnogo više nego Lucile Hadžihalilović iz INNOCENCE faze, u svakom slučaju.

U tom smislu, Kounen pokušava da napravi ono što bismo očekivali od ovakvog naslova, suptilan francuski mentalno-erotski dvoboj između kreatorke i kompozitora, koji su umeli da kreiraju i iskomponuju sve osim svojih sudbina.

Scenario je postavljen gotovo rohmerovski, dakle bez tipičnog postavljanja spolja vođenog narativa već se priča uglavnom izlaže kroz situacije i likove i taj sistem uglavnom funkcioniše.

Knjigu Chrisa Greenhalgha je prvobitno trebalo da ekranizuje Billy Friedkin, međutim sa njim film nikako nije uspevao da se spakuje, i onda je Kounen praktično došao na gotovo pripremljen projekat.

Pored uvodnog set-piecea na Igorovoj premijeri, Kounen koristi još nekoliko prilika da ubaci nešto svog vizuelnog stila a ljubak detalj je i to što svi govore na jezicima koje su zaista koristili.

Mads Mikkelsen je standardan, sa tim dodatkom da glumi na ruskom a Anna Mouglalis je odlična i dominantnija od njega u glumačkoj podeli. Fin curio je da ruskog grofa igra Raša Bukvić koji zaista glumi u sve prestižnijim projektima.

Ne mogu reći da me je tema ovog Kounenovog filma zaintrigirala, ali filmu se ne može osporiti visok zanatski nivo i teško da se ovakva priča može bolje interpretirati.

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Omnilab Media has released details of Irish director Gary McKendry's The Killer Elite, the next chapter in the company's plan to produce studio-style movies in Australia.

Omnilab Media has released details of Irish director Gary McKendry's The Killer Elite, the next chapter in the company's plan to produce studio-style movies in Australia.

Cameras roll on May 13 on the action thriller starring Clive Owen (Children Of Men) and Jason Statham (The Bank Job); after two months of filming in Melbourne and surrounds the team moves to Wales.

Based on Sir Ranulph Fiennes' 1993 novel The Feather Man, the script tells of a team of assassins headed by Danny Bryce (Statham), hunting down former members of the Special Air Service. Resistance comes in the shape of Spike (Owen), one of those protecting the ex soldiers.

Inferno Entertainment are handling sales and the producers are Australians Tony Winley, who co-produced Charlotte's Web and The Great Raid, and Michael Boughen, executive producer of Omnilab production arm Ambience Entertainment.

It is understood that Omnilab has put up a significant slice of the financing, most of which will be spent in Australia; Film Victoria is providing a grant designed to secure the picture for that state.

Omnilab managing director Christopher Mapp and two of his most senior film executives, Matthew Street and David Whealy, are executive producers.

Steve Chasman, who will also get an executive producer credit, was originally listed as a producer when Inferno was first touting the film, before it was taken over by Omnilab. At that time the budget was $40m.

Screen Australia has given The Killer Elite a provisional certificate. This is the closest producers can get to a guarantee that a film will get a final certificate and thus be eligible to claim back 40% of its Australian expenditure under the producer offset in place for Australian films and international co-productions. Claims can only be made after completion of a film.

Privately owned by the Mapp family, Omnilab joined with Kennedy Miller Mitchell to set up Dr D Studios, which is currently busy on George Miller's Happy Feet 2, and is in post-production on Stuart Beattie's directorial debut Tomorrow When The War Began.

Omnilab is one of the biggest service providers to Australia's film and television industry, and Christopher Mapp is driving the expansion into production.

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Pogledao sam 9:06 Igora Šterka i mogu reći da je ovaj film za mene bio priličan letdown, pre svega jer sam jako mnogo očekivao. Ove godine sam bio u Portorožu kada je bukvalno uzeo sve nagrade i potukao Kozolea do nogu, ali u odnosu na Kozoleovu SLOVENKU, meni je 9:06 možda potencijalno zanimljiviji ali na nivou krajnjeg rezultata neuporedivo slabiji film.

Šterk i scenrista Siniša Dragin opredelili su se za pravljenje jednog egzistencijalističkog para-krimića, sa većim akcentom na egzistencijalizam nego na krimić, što je meni potpuno u redu, i negde na tom putu su umetničku ambiciju počeli da ispoljavaju kroz pre svega nejasan narativ u kome se umetnički postupak najviše ispoljava time što su načini izlaganja priče konfuzni. U redu, ovo nije vrsta filma u kojoj se priča izlaže gledaocu pitko i u redu je ako gledalac treba da se pomuči, ali u određenom trenutku kada se pomuči shvati da je slagalica koju (intelektualno) slaže zapravo dosta banalna a u pojedinim psihološkim nijansama čak i detinjasta.

DP Simon Tanšek u pojedinim trenucima isporučuje zaista sjajne kadrove, ali pošto ne verujem u mastering ex-yu DVDova ni inače, a ovo je gledano na DVDu, imao bih neke primedbe na osvetljenje, pošto u određenim deonicama gloss ovog filma podseti na televiziju. Međutim, hajde da zbog DVDa i mogućnosti da je loše masterovan, ostavimo pitanja osvetljenja po strani.

Film koji je u 9_06 najviše parfraziran je TENANT i rekao bih da je to vrlo očigledna referenca, međutim, ovde naprosto nema te harizme, ni u rediteljskom, a ni u glumačkom smislu. Film ima ne samo upadljivo antipatičnu podelu, već je u nekim ulogama podela čak i takva da se likovi nedovoljno razlikuju (primer su ljubavnice glavnog junaka).

Za razliku od POKRAJINE ŠT. 2 u kome poigravanje žanrom daje lep pay off, ovde se pokreću neki jako rafinirani mehanizmi svojstveni filmskim klasicima ali malo koji funkcioniše.

Film je navodno dobio smisao u montaži, i kažu, napor našeg čuvenog montažera Petra Markovića ga je spasao. Postupak koji je svojstven za Peru je skraćivanje filma (setimo se njegove operacije sklapanja filma DIŠI DUBOKO) ali ovog puta 9:06 odaje utisak predugog filma čak i sa trajanjem od 71 minut.

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Smrt Roberta Culpa učinila je da na Internetu masovnije postane dostupan HANNIE CAULDER, vestern Burta Kennedyja snimljen u britanskoj produkciji. Kennedy je jedna od najznačajnijih figura u istoriji vesterna, i kao scenarista koji je radio sa takvim velikanima kao što je Budd Boetticher i samostalno kao reditelj koji je uneo specifičnu vrstu humora u američki star-vestern.

HANNIE CAULDER je snimljen u britanskoj produkciji 1971. godine i u tom smislu, ima u sebi dosta stilema svojstvenih špageti-vesternu, odnosno interpretacijama vesterna koje su snimane van Amerike, uprkos tome što je reč o radu američkog reditelja. To se pre svega odnosi na samu primenu formula vestern filma koje bivaju potpuno geografski dislocirane i smeštene u jedan potpuno proizvoljan milje, oličen u specifičnom Tex-Mex spoju prirodno proizašlom iz činjenica da je film sniman u Španiji.

U tom smislu, uprkos Burtovoj umešanosti, HANNIE CAULDER se najpre može smatrati špageti-vesternom.

Ono što je najtransgresivnije u samoj postavci jeste sam koncept po kom su postavljeni likovi. Naime, Kennedy kombinuje komediju, romansu i vrlo tvrd vigilante zaplet baziran na vrlo neprijatnim događajima. Film uporedo prati tri desperadosa koje igraju vestern ikone Strother Martin, Jack Elam i Ernest Borgnine koji su istovremeno surovi i malo goofy, žrtvu kojoj su njih trojica ubili muža i brutalno je silovali - koju igra Raquel Welch i u većem delu filma nosi pončo na golo telo (jedinstven slučaj neprekidno objektifikovane žrtve silovanja na filmu) i Man With No Name figure lovca na ucene koji joj pomaže da se osveti a igra ga Robert Culp stilizovan kao revolveraš-intelektualac-Clint Eastwood egzistencijalista.

Priča se razvija vrlo pitko uprkos neobičnom paralelnom toku, i odnos koji razvijaju Culp i Welch u pojedinim momentima podseti na TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA.

Međutim, kada nasilje krene da se dešava, izuzetno je krvavo, surovo i što je najvažnije Kennedy po uzoru na Peckinpaha intenzivno koristi slow-motion i nalazi mu vrlo konkretnu svrhu unutar akcionih scena. Očigledno je da Kennedy kao jedna old school rediteljska figura nije do kraja prihvatio slow-motion kao vid estetizacije nasilja, i otud ga je koristio kao vid narativnog oplemenjivanja akcionih situacija.

HANNIE CAULDER je neobičan i vrlo kvalitetan vestern koji je nažalost ostao zanemaren kao prrimer poznog Kenedyjevog exploitation naslova. Izveštaji sa snimanja govorili su o malodušnosti ekipe - recimo Culp je snimao ovaj film u nadi da će mu Trigon omogućiti da dobije three picture deal kao reditelj. Ipak, u samom filmu se ne vidi da je reč o naslovu koji su članovi ekipe radili čekajući nešto bolje.

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Pogledao sam POUR ELLE Fred Cavayea, francuski triler koji je došao sa velikim preporukama i već snimljenim holivudskim rimejkom. Ovo je jedan od onih filmova kojima bi uprkos hypeu, holivudski rimejk zapravo pomogao, ali ako imamo u vidu da ga režira Paul Haggis, ko zna šta će biti krajnji rezultat.

Ono što je osnovni problem Cavayeovog filma je sama postavka o belcu iz francuske srednje klase čija supruga nevino biva osuđena na drakonsku kaznu zatvora zbog ubistva koje nije počinila. Do sada smo se previše puta uverili da Zapad osim u pop kulturnim delima koja pokušavaju da na takvom primeru iskažu neku vrstu vlastite anksioznosti zbog drugih stvari, u principu tako ne funkcioniše.

Dakle, POUR ELLE ne pije vodu na nivou premise a junak je suviše white collar da bi privukao bilo kakvu simpatiju. Isto tako, njega cela situacija sa suprugom urne u kontakt sa podzemljem ali na kraju on izb tog kontakta izlazi nepromenjen, neokrznut praktično i što je najvažnije bez razumevanja za problem. U tom smislu POUR ELLE je na emotivnom nivou jedna potpuno ravna linija o pseudo-dramatičnom nerazumevanju pojedinca sa birokratijom, a podzemlje u koje čovek biva gurnut, i Treći svet u koji na kraju beži dati su kao totalni kliše, istovremenog izvorišta delinkvencije odnosno raja za begunce.

Sama Cavayeova egzekucija pokušava da spoji u sebi smrtnu ozbiljnost francuskog filma i hardver američkog trilera ali ni u jednom ni u drugom ne uspeva tako da je film čak i onda kad je pristojan krajnje neuverljiv na nivou fakture miljea u kome se dešava a u pojedinim situacijama, naročito kad je reč o suspenseu, dosta nevešt.

Na kraju, POUR ELLE me je u stvari samo podsetio da repriziram superioran primer sličnog filma, mnogo realističniji film LA FILLE DE L'AIR Marouna Bagdadija, jedan od zaboravljenih klasika iz bioskopa pod sankcijama.

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Domestic box office hit a record $10.6 billion in 2009 according to the MPAA and is on track to soar even higher this year. Worldwide box office hit $29.9 billion in 2009, up 7.6% over 2008.

The Blu-ray disc biz also boomed in the first quarter of 2010 vs. the same period last year, with sell-through up 74% and rentals up 36%, per trade org Digital Entertainment Group. Digital distribution, including download purchases and VOD, rose 27% to $617 million.

So why are the studios capping star salaries, laying off workers and squeezing suppliers?

Because none of the gains on the theatrical side, in Blu-ray or via new distribution channels is enough to compensate for the ongoing decline in overall home entertainment, the area from which the studios have drawn their biggest revenues since 1986.

Domestic consumer spending on pre-recorded home-entertainment content -- including DVD and Blu-ray purchases and rentals, plus digital distribution -- dropped 8% to $4.8 billion in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same period last year, according to stats the DEG released April 15.

Rentals (which had been a relatively bright spot in 2009) declined 14% in the quarter, while sell-through numbers fell by 11% to about $2.5 billion, and while 3D is boosting theatrical revenues now and offers some enticing prospects for enhancing home-video revenues when the technology ramps up for consumer use down the road, the studios are continuing to see erosion to their bottom line.

The health of Hollywood is often gauged by the mainstream media in terms of B.O. numbers, and weekend box office reports are a staple of TV newscasts. But those aren't the numbers that drive the studio divisions: Home entertainment brings in 2 1/2 times greater revenue than theatrical does (nearly $26 billion last year, vs. close to $10.6 billion for domestic B.O.), per research outfit Strategy Analytics.

This means box office would have to grow by 2.5% to offset each 1% decline in home entertainment revenue. And that's not gonna happen.

Given the first-quarter home-entertainment drops, box office would have to jump at least 20% to compensate -- and that doesn't even take into account the fact that film coin is often shared with third parties.

Richard Greenfield, analyst at BTIG, reminds that revenues at the box office are split roughly 50-50 with exhibitors, "so a box office dollar isn't worth as much as a home entertainment dollar."

Adds Tom Adams of Adams Media Research, "The studios get up to 75%-80% of the dollars spent at retail, vs. half of the dollars spent at the box office."

Per Adams, for the past several years, coin from theatrical exhibition has contributed a mere 20%-25% to domestic studio revenues, with most of the rest coming from at-home markets, including rentals and sales, VOD, pay TV and free TV.

Licensing to broadcast, basic cable and pay TV is "easy money" and a steady $2 billion-a-year business for the studios domestically, says Adams, though revenues have been creeping lower. The downside, however, is that some of the deals the studios sign with feevee purveyors like HBO, Showtime and Starz restrict what they can do on the Internet.

"(The studios) realize a bird in the hand is better than accepting less of a fee on the pay TV front to pursue a technology that is not yet setting the world on fire," says Adams.

For many, a transition to on-demand services represents home entertainment's best hope.

Steve Beeks, prexy and co-chief operating officer of Lions-gate, points out that while the overall home-entertainment business remains vibrant, the future lies in the growth of on-demand revenue, which he defines broadly to include content delivered via cable, satellite and broadband.

"Not only is on-demand revenue growing dramatically but studios stand to benefit from the significantly higher margins in an on-demand transaction," he says, "This inherent increase ... is enough to lift studio margins for home entertainment overall."

How they handle that growth prospect remains to be seen. When negotiations with the guilds gear up, as they will again this year ahead of contract expirations in 2011, the studios have traditionally cried poverty and fought to avoid giving ground on homevideo residuals. But to shareholders eager for good news in quarterly earnings reports, they routinely tout robust homevideo revenues -- even for titles that didn't do much theatrically.

But, not surprisingly, with lower physical costs and higher potential profit margins, the studios are eager to boost their on-demand revenues. They're just not there yet.

"The problem is, the smaller home-entertainment segments (i.e., Blu-ray and digital) are growing, but right now it's not enough to compensate for the decline in standard DVD," says SNL Kagan analyst Wade Holden.

"The studios need to start figuring out all the different channels to the end users," says Strategy Analytics' Martin Olausson. "It'll be more fragmented. But digital distribution, whether it's online or within managed cable networks, is where they need to focus. We don't envision any new packaged media after Blu-ray."

So while high-profile titles like Fox's "Avatar" sold 6.7 million copies in four days in North America -- 2.7 million of them on Blu-ray -- and Summit's "Twilight: New Moon" sold 4 million units in two days, it would take an awful lot of such collectible titles to reverse the overall trend in home entertainment.

Of course, a key factor in both theatrical and homevideo remains the potential impact of 3D.

DreamWorks Animation topper Jeffrey Katzenberg, in an April 9 interview with Daily Variety, said the additional B.O. revenues generated by premium ticket prices for 3D releases can offset the declines in homevideo.

"The net revenue from a successful 3D release to the studios is greater than the erosion in the DVD market," he said. "It has been for us (at DreamWorks Animation)."

Going forward, Katzenberg said, 75% to 80% of DreamWorks Animation's admissions will come from 3D theaters, which charge a ticket premium of 40% to 50%. "Do the math on it. It's a tremendous opportunity."

The other studios also are reaping the stereoscopic dividends.

"This year, higher ticket prices for 3D have already accounted for 25% of domestic box office revenue," says Paul Dergarabedian, prexy of the box office division at Hollywood.com. "The revenue is from four 3D movies," he added, referring to "Avatar," "Alice in Wonderland," "Clash of the Titans" and "How to Train Your Dragon."

"If you took 3D out of the equation, we'd be in a totally different situation, but that's like saying if you took the moon out of the sky."

If it proves durable for the long haul, 3D could be the rising tide that lifts all boats. But whether it can lift them high enough to overcome the whirlpool afflicting home entertainment remains to be seen.

[crippled_avenger]

Worst Sci Fi book covers

http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/

[Meho Krljic]

Eh, sad, the worst... Za većinu ovih važi so bad it's good.

[crippled_avenger]

Reprizirao sam BRAIN SMASHER... A LOVE STORY Alberta Pyuna, To je jedan od filmova u kojima je Andrew Dice Clay pokušao da postane akciona zvezda sa smislom za humor. Posle odličnog FORD FAIRLANEa koji ipak nije bio hit, Clay je prešao u B-produkciju i pokušao da ponovi formulu. BRAIN SMASHER je u tom smislu nadovezivanje u najbukvalnijem smislu - ponovo je reč o stripovskoj stilizaciji, pokušaju da se Clay profiliše kao nešto što će kasnije recimo biti Rock, a u tom trenutku mogao bi biti opisan kao samoironični Stallone.

Rock je međutim, pre svega počeo kao glumac sa ogromnim potencijalom u fizičkom smislu i smislom za humor koji se nametnuo iz drugog plana, dočim Clay je komičar i njegova fizičke predispozicije se svode na to što je krupan dok u samoj akciji nije baš ubedljiv. Harlin je to umeo da savlada u FORD FAIRLANEu ai Pyun nije taj kalibar.

Ipak, ono što je adut BRAIN SMASHERa jeste da se Pyun ovde rip-offovanjem filma koji nije preskup, kao inače, i produkciono BRAIN SMASHER ne szaotaje previše za vrstom studio B-filma koju imitira, plus Clay i Teri Hatcher su dosta atipičan zanimljiv kast koji uspeva da prevaziđe ozbiljna ograničenja scenarija i Pyuna.

U tom smislu, BRAIN SMASHER je nevažan i tanak, ali prijatan film koji je već 1993. završio direktno na VHSu iako je prethodni Pyunov film NEMESIS bio theatrical. Posle ovoga, Clay je snimio još jedan akcijaš NO CONTEST, rip-off DIE HARDa u kome je igrao negativca i posle toga se nije vraćao akcionom filmu. Šteta.

* * / * * * *

[crippled_avenger]

[Meho Krljic]

 

[crippled_avenger]

To je to. Jugoslovenski MUNICH.