What Movie Are You Watching?

[Thomas Veil]

This is why I think it has promise, but it also has the potential to be edgelordy. I'll keep an eye on it, but I'm gonna wait for the reviews before I commit.

I’m fine with the occasional movie where Gotham City/the world/the entire space-time continuum hangs in the balance...but not every movie for crying out loud.

I’m just as happy to see a movie where Batman is simply stalking a killer and we get to see his detective skills.

And that goes for all superhero movies. Not everything has to be cataclysmic.

 

[Huntn]

Average ticket price is over $9, and in many places way more (some of that average is low cost 5th - 8th week matinee tickets, senior discounts, etc.). Plus some gas, pay parking in large cities, and if you want to score even a couple of sodas, and a mid-sized popcorn, you've got a $30-35 evening for two people.

Sure, if you bring your own snacks, only do the 5:30p discount showing it might seem a little pricey, but it scales nicely too, i.e., 3 people watching? Now it's a decent deal. 4? Now it's a bargain!

Also, even at that price, you get a period of rental, so 24 or 48 hours, so you can even watch it again, for free.

So will the studios be sharing their windfall with the theaters?

 

[DT]

So will the studios be sharing their windfall with the theaters?

Heck no

However, one interesting thing that occured semi-recently, is the old agreements that prevented movie companies from owning theaters ended. So we may see some studio chains, or more likely (if it happens at all ...), studios acquiring existing theater chains. So your local Regal Cinema could become a Universal Cinema, that shows only Universal owned properties.

The reason they did this back when, was actually to prevent the latter, i.e., having exclusives to a studio theater vs. the open bidding system that's currently used.

 

[Huntn]

Heck no

However, one interesting thing that occured semi-recently, is the old agreements that prevented movie companies from owning theaters ended. So we may see some studio chains, or more likely (if it happens at all ...), studios acquiring existing theater chains. So your local Regal Cinema could become a Universal Cinema, that shows only Universal owned properties.

The reason they did this back when, was actually to prevent the latter, i.e., having exclusives to a studio theater vs. the open bidding system that's currently used.

Sounds like a terrible move for customers. We have or had a discount theater nearby, I’d unlikely drive farther to view a movie I want to see. And it does not seem to make sense from a business perspective to limit the studios whose Movies can appear at your theater.

 

[DT]

And it does not seem to make sense from a business perspective to limit the studios whose Movies can appear at your theater.

It makes sense to the studios, if they also own enough theaters where they can get a wide release, that's also exclusive to their chain. I mean, if Universal suddenly owned AMC theaters, and they released Fast and Furious XX (hahaha, I have no idea what number their on ...) then they'd make huge bank, and it's not like they're going to make money from the next Marvel release.

Yeah, it maybe be a bad end result for consumers, but it's just a lot of speculation at this point. What we do know, is theaters are in a dire financial situation.

 

[DT]

This is a terrific podcast:

The Big Picture - The Ringer

The Big Picture on The Ringer

www.theringer.com

I listen to a few from The Ringer, but the [usual] hosts Sean/Amanda, I really like, and in the absence of new movies to discuss, there's been quite a bit of talk about "the state of the industry", which includes theatrical releases (how and when), what theaters are doing, how studios are handling it, etc.

They've also been doing some Top N lists, still doing interviews and whatnot.

It's a really good one if you're into film, including the business of movies as well.

This EP from Aug 4th was very focused on the state of theaters:

Are Movie Theaters Screwed?

Amanda and Sean break down AMC Theaters’ deal with Universal and its impact on the future of the theater industry

www.theringer.com

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Is that what they expect to get for home viewing of new movies? I think the price is unreasonably high and with the theaters out of the picture, represents a windfall.
Maybe they will get a shock and adjust prices down accordingly. Before the crisis, we typically paid $14 to see a movie at the theater. At home I’m willing to spend about $7 to rent a movie, and $20 to buy it.

The big name straight to VOD movies average about $20, rental only. You can’t buy until later. Their thought process probably is you could gather a bunch of people to watch it which after about 1.3 people you’d be paying a lot more total at the theater.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Checked this out.

Horror sci-fi in Russian with English subtitles. Pretty good with some plot twists that keep it from being a copy of other movies in the genre.

 

[Thomas Veil]

I saw an old movie that I haven't seen since film class. It was called "The Incident", with Martin Sheen and Tony Musante as a couple of sadistic young punks who terrorize people on a subway train. Good film.

Spoiler: A lot of relevance to the time it was made, and now.

When it was filmed, Kitty Genovese had recently been killed in a New York alley. The story goes that 38 people watched or heard it from adjacent apartments...and did nothing to help her, not even call the police.* The story became synonymous with the attitude "I don't want to get involved." Much the same thing happens in this movie, on a smaller scale.

It's relevant to now because when the police finally arrive, the first thing they do is slam the only black guy on the train against a wall.

* It was revealed later that much of this "indifference" was exaggerated or untrue.

 

[DT]

@Thomas Veil check out The Whimper of Whipped Dogs by Harlan Ellison

 

[Thomas Veil]

Whoa. That title was instantly familiar to me. I looked it up and it’s the name of both a short story in Ellison’s anthology “Deathbird Stories” and a TV script published in a non-fiction book of his, “The Glass Teat”.

It’s been ages since I’ve read either. I know I have the latter and I think I still have the former. I’ll have to check, because that’s probably the one you’re referring to.

 

[Alli]

@Thomas Veil check out The Whimper of Whipped Dogs by Harlan Ellison

Anything by Ellison is good. My favorites of his is A Boy and his Dog. Brilliant.

 

[DT]

Anything by Ellison is good. My favorites of his is A Boy and his Dog. Brilliant.

Funny you mention this, I was clearing out a few things from my closet this week and stumbled on my A Boy and His Dog movie poster, not it great shape, but not bad, and an original print from 1975. I should probably just go ahead and frame it, heck, maybe get some kind of distressed looking frame, kind of go with the apocalyptic theme

I've read quite a bit of Ellison, even still own quite a bit in print, his essays on writing, movie reviews, most of his speculative fiction, followed his various forays into TV, movies, etc.

I remember when Cameron added the additional bit at the end of the [original] Terminator when it went to video acknowledging the works of HSE (he also got a little comp after the fact, it's a pretty fun story), because he lifted two of Ellison's Outer Limits EPs for the concept.

 

[jkcerda]

does not look that bad


This and the post below are merged from another thread because the movie is already under discussion here. --Thomas Veil

 

[Eric]

does not look that bad

If he glitters in the sun I'm walking out.

 

[Thomas Veil]

I doubt there'll be much of anything in the sun. Main complaint so far about the trailer is that it's literally too dark.

 

[Edd]

The new Wonder Woman trailer still looking good. More of Kristen Wigg here.

 

[Thomas Veil]

@Thomas Veil check out The Whimper of Whipped Dogs by Harlan Ellison

I found the book (“Deathbird Stories”) and revisited “Whimper”. TBH it was only after I’d read it all the way through that it felt familiar again. I’m thinking my mind sort of pushed it away. It’s pretty unpleasant.

As are “Bleeding Stones”, “Paingod” and other stories in that collection. The former is particularly sadistic. That Ellison was a real barrel of laughs. At least in this book.

 

[Thomas Veil]

The new Wonder Woman trailer still looking good. More of Kristen Wigg here.

That looks really good. Can’t wait to see it.

I just finished “55 Days at Peking”, about a multinational military effort to put down the Boxer rebellion in China. I almost skipped it because of the B-movie title, but it’s got A-list stars and is a rousing good war story.

For those who’ve seen it, you probably know the little Chinese girl runs away with the movie.

 

[Edd]

That looks really good. Can’t wait to see it.

I just finished “55 Days at Peking”, about a multinational military effort to put down the Boxer rebellion in China. I almost skipped it because of the B-movie title, but it’s got A-list stars and is a rousing good war story.

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For those who’ve seen it, you probably know the little Chinese girl runs away with the movie.

Did you watch this on YouTube?