Box Office Blather: Spectacles, Star Vehicles, Subtitles and Easy $

Year in Review Pt 1 of Many
It's time to wrap up 2010. You'll have to have patience since The Film Experience likes to do this piecemeal... and often! Let's do it every day at 10 AM or 10 PM or both when we magically have free time. How about that? We'll start with the US box office.

Box office hits get much coverage in the media so let's just dispense that basic "smash hit" list quick-like and move on to more interesting less covered seat-filler topics. All figures on all lists are up until the December 18th. And please go easy on any errors as I am unskilled at math is not my strong suit.

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"Different Places" (Critics Awards & Dragon Tattoos)

Please read the title in your best exasperated Nomi Malone voice. Plz and thx. I can't read the words "different places" without hearing Showgirls in my head.

The big critics prizes (Los Angeles and New York) have come and gone but more cities are following suit declaring their bests. Now, by the magic of the expandable post, we can share them all without appearing to be as dull obsessive and monotonous about what we do here at the film experience as those investigations into unsolved cold cases are in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

I've lept from Nomi to Noomi so I pray you're still with me.

I just watched the first film in the Millenium trilogy months after the hoopla and and I'm sorry that I have to ask it: WHAT is the big deal? It's so inelegantly structured as a film and so TV like in its choices. It's also a shade too enamored of the misogyny it condemns. I'd been vaguely curious to see it because audience identification with this violent barely verbal girlwoman fascinates me; what does it say about us that it's been such a great year for aspergers anti-heroes (see also: Social Network)? 

The best moments in the film were rare tossed off funny bits, usually courtesy of Michael Nykvist (who you'll recognize from the great Swedish picture Together or the Oscar nominee As It Is In Heaven)  and a few fine details within Noomi Rapace's leading work as the very popular Lisbeth Salander. You can sometimes catch Lisbeth trying to decipher her own impenetrable emotions as if they're as myterious to her as they are to us, which was a very nice actorly touch. Noomi was recently nominated for the "Critics Choice" and though she's good in the role, I can't say it was the revelation I'd hoped for given the acclaim and the sudden explosion of job offers that followed the trilogy (I'm actually totally weirded out that anyone -- in this case the film's director -- thinks she's been mistreated or cold shouldered by Hollywood).

In other words, I'm interested to see what Rooney Mara does for David Fincher in the same role; every once in a blue moon cover versions are better than originals. We'll see.

Mostly I was disappointed in the writing and filmmaking and that it felt like a television show. Just about the only visual thrill in the long film was the scene where black and white photos are made to move as continuous negatives chase each other. That image is smartly repeated. They must have known that it really worked. The scene haunts like the girl's a living ghost, which is a neat trick given the narrative. We wonder, along with Mikael Blomkvist, what spooked this dead girl and redirected her blurry gaze away from the camera.

In short... Noomi: B/B+ Movie: C Opportunity to See David Fincher Take a Crack At This Material: B- On this last. Fincher is one of my favorite filmmakers but I'd rather he do something else since this film already exists but he's very talented and he'll surely improve on it... though I'll miss the Swedish authenticity given that they're not changing the locale and given that I'm never very excited about people remaking foreign films for America. But my main question is: Why does he want to do yet another unsolved mystery/serial killer story? It's too early in that career to start repeating himself, isn't it?


What were we talking about? 

Oh, yes, critics prizes. If you'd like to discuss Toronto, San Diego, San Francisco and who dared to plant a flag that didn't say "Social Network!" on it >GASP!<, read on.

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Pandora's Link and JGL's Bad Romance

Due to the long holiday weekend which put me behind and a busy screening week, I've decided to postpone this week's HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT. The series will be back next Wednesday the 15th with Pandora's Box (1929) so you have another week to watch this awesome silent classic whether on DVD or Netflix Instant Watch. Thanks for understanding and please join in the celebration of the immortal Louise Brooks next Wednesday. On Wednesday the 22nd we'll do David Fincher's Se7en (1995) for its 15th anniversary. Honestly, it's the movie I was thinking of picking -- it'd been on my mind and I had an itch to scratch with it -- and then I looked up the release date and couldn't believe my eyes. Obvs, It was meant to be.

Links!
The Big Picture George Clooney's box office pull and the fate of The American.
/Film interviews Aron Ralston. James Franco plays him in 127 Hours.
Cinematical strange stories surfacing from 127 Hours screenings. Medics called in.
MTV Movies Mulan is getting a live action version with Zhang Ziyi returning to action heroine mode. Jan De Bont (Speed) will direct. This message has been brought to you by the year 2000.
Lazy Eye Theater an important message from Machete.
Movie|Line The Verge: Keir Gilchrist. I like this regular feature at Movie|Line.
Mind of a Suspicious Kind would like you to reconsider Megan Fox... as a silent film star.


CHUD Natalie Portman offered the Gravity lead. So much for our casting suggestions last week. I like Portman quite a lot but every actor has their weaknesses and so far she hasn't shown any skill at acting with green screens. Can Cuarón take her to where she needs to go?
Movie City News a cool press kit for Never Let Me Go. Uhhhh, I didn't get this. Boo.
Rooney Mara Network They're already filming The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? David Fincher is breaking speed records he is. Perhaps he's hurrying to complete filming before the awards season long haul for The Social Network.

And finally here's another Joseph Gordon-Levitt performance. He does love singing the girl songs. This time it's "Bad Romance"



This is my favorite part OF COURSE

For those still doubting the artistic integrity of Lady Gaga, this next verse has three Hitchcock references and the use of the word "shtick"

Heh.
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Double Oh! (Casting News)

By now you've heard that the great casting search of 2010 (distaff division) has ended. Rooney Mara has landed the role of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Rooney & Noomi

That's the role that Noomi Rapace played in the Swedish trilogy based on the best selling book franchise about men who really hate women. David Fincher rejected most of the famous names who wanted the coveted role of this short little sociopath. Little known fact: in addition to height and age requirements only actresses with double O in their name were considered for the famed Tattoo part.

Soleil Moon Frye was deemed too old, despite having come to fame playing short little sociopath Punky Brewster.

Speaking of double Os, it'll be nice to see 007 Daniel Craig again, won't it? Especially with Fincher's camera on him. Think of the multiple wonders Fincher's camera pulled from Brad Pitt over the years, give or take Benjamin Button.

In other strange double lettered casting news Marilyn Monroe ("MM") was supposed to be a character in two upcoming features with major actresses like Naomi Watts (Blonde) and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) playing her.


Now, supposedly there's a third Marilyn picture in the works. The author of the book "The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog", which is about the last two years of Marilyn's life as seen by the pet terrier that Frank Sinatra gave her, thinks that Angelina Jolie will play her in the film adaptation. But that sounds like an author delusion. What a strange movie that would make. Not that there's anything wrong with strange movies. We like them.

New Rule: In the future all movies must contain at least one scene involving a character named Marilyn Monroe so that every actress gets a chance to play her. Apparently they all want to.

Halfway Mark 2010: Foreign Films

More halfway mark articles comin at'cha. Just about anywhere you look online you'll see reports about this or that blockbuster and the top ten of the year and how superheroes, franchise/brands and animated films are still all the rage blah blah. You'll hear about the same movies over and over again. Why not look a little deeper? How about the foreign language films? Here's how they've done so far Stateside (box office figures as of July 1st).

Foreign (Box Office) Top Ten

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sweden) $8.8
   Scandinavia doesn't often claim the biggest hit, so good on them. Skål! In our modern marketplace, where more and more people wait for DVDs for anything other than films with 8 figure ad campaigns, 8 million is now a huge gross for a foreign film. The "hits" rarely make the kind of bank that they used to. Amélie's $33 back in 2001 seems like another era altogether. Even Pan's Labyrinth's $37 as recently as 2006 is a miracle. Especially when you stop to consider that Let The Right One In only managed $2 million in 2008 just two years later despite crazy passionate word of mouth.
   
   Incidentally I tried to read The Girl... recently and just couldn't get into it but even just reading a small portion of the bestseller made this Nora Ephron spoof laugh out loud funny to me.
   
2. The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina) $5.4 Oscar winner
   
3. My Name is Khan (India) $4.0
4. A Prophet (France) $2.0 Oscar nominee
   
5. Kites (India) $1.6
   Interesting that this internationally-minded effort with American setting, Mexican and Indian stars, and even an American "remix" didn't do any better than more traditional Bollywood entries did.
   
   
   
6. Raajneeti (India) $1.4
   
7. Mic-Macs (France) $.7
   The latest from the visually gifted Jean Pierre-Jeunet (Amélie). Fun movie but also a bit exhausting. I suspect audiences will take to it in greater numbers on DVD where you can watch it in (set)pieces.
8. Vincere (Italy) $.6
   A decent gross I suppose but IFC waited way too long after this film's first explosion of buzz to open it. Especially since Italy didn't even submit it for Oscar consideration. There was no use waiting since it couldn't use Oscar as platform anyway. And some films with passionate fans do better if people know that they're not eligible for the foreign film Oscar. People like to be outraged. Why not September or October back in 2009 hot off its Cannes buzz with an attempt to generate faux 'look what Oscar's missing' outrage?
   
9. Ajami (Israel) $.6 Oscar nominee
   
10. Raavan (India) $.5
    Starring the married superstars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai
    

South Korea's Mother just missed this top ten. Arthouse audiences and critics talked it up but Oscar passed. It waited and opened up shortly after the Oscar ceremony.

You'll notice that the top grossers are from Bollywood -- have they usurped France's spot as most reliable in the US market? -- or are Oscar holdovers. A few of these used the Oscars as a platform rather than risking regular release. Secret only showed itself in theaters once it could use the Oscar win as advertisement but that's a risky strategy since you can't guarantee a win. The two rather robust contenders it beat on Oscar night, France's A Prophet and Germany's The White Ribbon, had twin buzz trajectories: hot ticket Cannes debut, Cannes trophies, well regarded auteur at the helm, rave reviews. Ribbon opened with only those things to guide it last December. A Prophet, like Secret, banked on Oscar love for ticket sales, only opening after the expected but not guaranteed nomination. Box office result: Slightly smaller box office for Prophet than Ribbon.

What does it mean? Interpret as you will. I prefer to interpret things as "open when the film is ready" and stop making audiences wait! This is the age of gimme it now and film distribution is lagging compared to tv and music, which both seem to be (slowly) adapting to the instant gratification / 'on my terms' culture.

But then numbers are highly interpretable. It might simply indicate that Oscar means nothing unless you win.


FWIW: The Milk of Sorrow, Peru's first Oscar nominee, is the only 2009 Foreign Film nominee that never opened in the US. Such a shame. Sorrow's director Claudia Llosa was just invited to join AMPAS's directors branch.

My favorite foreign release of 2010?
Italy's I AM LOVE improved remarkably on second viewing and I was fond enough of it the first time. It's just ravishing and my only real concern about it the first time through was what seemed like a sexphobic denouement. On second viewing, I believe I misread the film initially, taking the narrative happenings too literally when the images were the key. Most of the film is shot, designed, scored and acted with a more symbolic, sensual, operatic mindset in mind. I suddenly have a lot of things to say about it but it feels like the kind of movie you only discuss once people have seen it. So I'll wait a bit more.


[box office note: It's currently grossed just under over half a million in limited release but it should end up as one of the top foreign grossers of the year when the year wraps.]

Oscar buzz for 2010?
Those Oscar nominees we've just discussed are ineligible for further honors -- they already had their Oscar year -- so we look to Cannes buzz to guide us in predicting the Best Foreign Language Film Submissions for 2010. As for I Am Love... I think it's probably not so Oscarable (despite exquisite craftsmanship) but if it catches on in theaters, you never know. Oscar likes an arthouse hit.
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"I Heard of It" The Pull of The Familiar

Year after year I continue to be stunned by the near omnipotence of familiarity when it comes to ticket purchasing. With so much media noise about "what's good" in the form of blogs, reviews, articles, and whatnot, it's still nearly always marketing dollars and pre-established "names" that determine what people spend their money on. Even when people didn't like one movie in a franchise, they'll go again. I've previously referred to this as The Blockbuster Loop.

Actual conversation overheard in an elevator last weekend:

Movieless Woman: What's that?
Bootleg Loving Woman: [Holding a bootleg DVD of Prince of Persia] It's good.
Movieless: [Pointing at Jake Gyllenhaal] Who's that?
Bootleg: The Prince! It's good.
Movieless: You watched it already?
Bootleg: No, we watching it tonight. It's good.
Movieless: How do you know?
Bootleg: [exasperated] I heard of it.
Movieless: [pause] I wanna see that Robin Hood.

The conversation continued briefly after this. "Movieless" had not heard of Prince of Persia (or Jakey apparently). So "Bootleg" turned to me (!), the complete stranger eavesdropping, for backup. "It's good, right???"

Reader, I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders, feigning ignorance. That's what's called a leading question and I don't think she was looking for critical discourse.

What struck me most about the conversation was the equation of "heard of" = "good." Even Movieless, deprived all of these years of Jake Gyllenhaal, confirmed this. Hadn't heard of equalled skeptical. She wanted to see Robin Hood; "Heard of" = "Good". Everyone has heard of Robin Hood. Therefore Good. That's how it works. Honestly, have you ever met anyone who loves that movie? How did it do so well? It wasn't word of mouth. It was the 'I heard of it' [sic] factor.

Top Ten of 2010 Thus Far

1. Alice in Wonderland [heard of it x all living things + Johnny Depp]
2. Iron Man 2 [heard of it x everyone who was conscious during Summer 2008]
3. How to Train Your Dragon
   
4. Shrek Forever After [heard of it x past nine years]
5. Clash of the Titans [remake + 3D fad + hey, it's jakesully]
6. Shutter Island [heard of x Leonardo DiCaprio + hit book]
   
7. Valentine's Day [heard of x at least a few of the cast members]
   
8. Date Night [heard of x two mega small screen stars]
   
9. The Book of Eli [heard of x Denzel Washington]
10. Robin Hood [heard of it x all living things + Russell Crowe]

Just about the only arguable exception here is How To Train Your Dragon but even that is based on a hit children's book. Incidentally, of the top ten of the year so far it's the film that has had the slowest profit decline from week to week. It's now just 2 million away from becoming Dreamworks biggest animated feature outside of the Shrek franchise. So the "heard of it" factor is really about what it's about in a better world which is your classic garden variety Word of Mouth.

Some established brands, sequels, adaptations. B.O. rank for 2010 thus far

Once you fall a little further in the box office race, the familiarity begins to fade... a little, with more titles that aren't completely reliant on instant familiarity. But it's still an important factor. Consider the success of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. (While it's only earned $7 million here in the States, that's a huge fortune in the current climate for subtitled features where films are lucky to hit the million dollar mark. That's three times what Let The Right One In earned in its US run and that film seemed like a Word of Mouth sensation. It would have easily hit 8 figures a decade ago when audiences were so much more willing to see foreign films). The Girl... is of course based on an international best seller. It's hard to go a day on the subway without seeing someone reading it. Heard of it!

If I were a young filmmaker with a truly original voice, I'd be sorely tempted to "reinterpret" some famous story or adapt a minor success book. Perhaps pre-established familiarity with an original spin is the best way to maintain your creativity and get noticed?