Weekend Box Office and Your Monday Must-Read.

Posted on September 5, 2011 by jlmicek

Happy Labor Day, Everyone.
“The Help” continues to rule at the box office. There was a respectable bow by the Holocaust drama “The Debt,” while horror newbies “Apollo 18” and “Shark Night” underperformed.

Courtesy of BoxOffice Mojo, here’s the weekend, by the numbers:

Title: Weekend: Total:
1. The Help $14.2m $118m
2. The Debt $9.7m $11.6m
3. Apollo 18 $8.7m $8.7m

4. Shark Night $8.6m $8.6m

5. Planet of the Apes $7.8m $160m

6. Colombiana $7.4m $22m
7. Our Idiot Brother $5.1m $15.4m
8. Don’t Be Afraid $4.9m $16.3m

9. Spy Kids $4.6m $29m

10. The Smurfs $4m $132m

With the numbers out of the way, perhaps it’s only fitting to take a look at the summer movie season that was — and it wasn’t pretty.

Hollywood suffered its fourth, consecutive summer of declines this season. High ticket prices and the slumping economy conspired to keep audiences out of the theaters. Though I can’t help but think that a summer full of endless retreads, remakes and reboots might also have had something to do with it.

Here’s the nut graf from Sunday’s New York Times:

“The bad news: higher ticket prices, especially for the 18 films released in 3-D (up from seven last summer), drove the increase. Attendance for the period is projected to total about 543 million, the lowest tally since the summer of 1997, when 540 million people turned up.
<p
Hollywood has now experienced four consecutive summers of eroding attendance, a cause for alarm for both studios and the publicly traded theater chains. One or two soft years can be dismissed as an aberration; four signal real trouble."

The Times piece notes that there were some bright spots in the form of the final installment of the “Harry Potter” saga, the third ‘Transformers” flick and superhero flims “Captain America” and “Thor.” That mitigated the damage of some of the winter flops such as “Mars Needs Moms.”

But “after the first quarter, ticket sales were down a staggering 20 percent compared with the same period in 2010. Sales lag 4 percent for the year,” The Times reported.

Read the full story here.

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The Story Behind “The Empire Strikes Back.”

Posted on September 4, 2011 by jlmicek

Via FlickeringMyth, here’s an inside look at the best film in the original “Star Wars” trilogy.

The report, from TotalFilm, sheds some fascinating light on the film, including the reasonable fear that director George Lucas might not be able to twice capture lightning in a bottle:

“Everybody knows about the ‘curse’ of the sequel,” [Mark Hamill [said] in 1978. “But I think that Star Wars is a little bit different. It was not, for instance, the intention of the people who made Jaws to make a sequel.

“The intention with Star Wars was to make it a series right from the beginning. It all started with three films in mind. [George Lucas] set the stage… he set up a galaxy far, far away. Now he can go in many different directions.”

The piece is well worth your time.

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New Avengers Set Photos, NYC.

Posted on September 4, 2011 by jlmicek

Here’s some of the best shots I’ve seen so far of Scarlett Johannssonn as “Black Widow,” Chris Evans as “Captain America” and Jeremy Renner as “Hawkeye.”

According to Comic Book Movie, these scenes were shot yesterday in New York.

Here’s the trio of heroes in action:

Here’s Black Widow and Hawkeye on the run.

A ScarJo solo shot.

And who’s the old dude behind Chris Evans?

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Movie Review – Jonah Hex (2010) (via The Galactic Pillow)

Posted on September 4, 2011 by jlmicek

Agreed. This movie was an ill-conceived mess. And not even the presence of Megan Fox in a corset could save it.

While he’s known to the fanboys, Jonah Hex has never been a household name to casual comics readers. Makes you wonder what DC and the filmmakers were thinking when they bought into the notion that a solidly backbench character would resonate at the multiplex.

Movie Review - Jonah Hex (2010) Jonah Hex has got to be one of the most ill-constructed movies I have had the misfortune of seeing and will probably go down in history as a great example to film students of how not to construct a movie.  While that might sound damning there are so many issues here that it would take me more than 81 pages to describe just how dreadful the experience is which, if you probably have guessed by now, is also longer than the actual screenplay length. … Read More

via The Galactic Pillow

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The Living Ghost (USA, 1942)

Posted on September 4, 2011 by jlmicek

Name: The Living Ghost
Release Date: 1942
Writers: Howard Dimsdale (story); Joseph Hoffman (screenplay)
Director: William Beaudine

Cast:
James Dunn: Nick Trayne
Joan Woodbury: Billie Hilton
Paul McVey: Ed Moline
Vera Gordon: Sister Lapidus
Norman Willis: Cedric, the Butler
J. Farrell MacDonald: Police Lt. ‘Pete’ Peterson
Minerva Urecal: Delia Phillips
George Eldredge: Tony Weldon
Jan Wiley: Tina Craig
Edna Johnson: Helen Craig
Danny Beck: Doubletalker
Gus Glassmire: Walter Craig
Lawrence Grant: Dr. Bruhling
Howard Banks: Arthur Wallace
J. Arthur Young: George Phillips

Run-Time: 61 mins.
Studio: Monogram Pictures

Watching “The Living Ghost,” modern audiences will find themselves in for a rare treat: a film where the cast seeme to be genuinely enjoying themselves and badly want the audience along for the ride.

That’s not to say that there’s anything shockingly original about “The Living Ghost.” The production values are strictly Poverty Row. And you could fit the plot onto the back of a ticket stub: Wise-cracking PI Nick Trayne (Dunn) gets to called in to solve the disappearance of a millionaire banker.

Along the way, he finds himself trying to crack a murder, forcing him to rely on his wits and Gal Friday-turned-love interest Billie Hilton (Woodbury).

Dunn, a journeyman actor who later went on to win a Best Supporting Oscar for 1945’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” makes the best of the material he’s handed, frequently breaking the fourth wall to bring the audience in on the joke.

One such moment involves an interaction with a cadaverous butler and Dunn/Trayne’s wryly musing: “Why are there always butlers in murder mysteries?”

There’s genuine chemistry between Dunn and Woodbury, whose romance percolates along in a junior grade Hepburn/Tracy kind of way. Still, you can’t help but root for them through a series of increasingly implausible plot twists that includes a shoehorned visit to a haunted house.

Clocking in at an efficient 61 minutes — most likely because that’s all the story and budget that the filmmakers had available to them — there’s nonetheless an object lesson here for modern directors who seem to think that their gigantic budgets have to mean films that roll on past their logical conclusions.

And that’s this: Sometimes all it takes for a movie to succeed is a well-paced story with actors who genuinely seem to care about the job they’re doing.

“The Living Ghost” will never make anyone’s “Best Of” list, but it does embody a brand of entertainment that’s mostly MIA at the multiplex.

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Criminal Investigator (USA, 1942)

Posted on September 3, 2011 by jlmicek

Name: Criminal Investigator
Release Date: 1942
Writers: George Jeske, Edmond Kelso
Director: Jean Yarbrough

Cast:
Robert Lowery: Bob Martin
Edith Fellows: Ellen
John Miljan: Edward Judson
Jan Wiley: Miss Drake
Charles Jordan: Charlie Brannigan
Gloria Faye: Belle
Paul Bryar: Stuart
George O’Hanlon: Powers
Vivian Wilcox: Joyce Greeley
Charlie Hall: Soapy

John Maxwell: Brandt
Lawrence Creighton: Black
Mauritz Hugo: Henchman

Run-Time: 61 mins.
Studio: Monogram Pictures

Despite some boasting some laughably wooden acting and a bushel basket’s worth of newspaper business cliches, this surprisingly taut featurette is still consistently entertainning.

Barely a day into his first newspaper job, cub reporter Bob Martin (Lowery) finds himself trying to solve the murder of an ex-showgirl-turned-millionaire’s widow.

The movie’s production values rarely rise above Poverty Row standards. In general, the cinematography is flat and it’s possible in some scenes the see the joints in the theatrical flats that comprise the backgrounds on interior sets.

Still there are some standout performances, including John Miljan as sleazeball lawyer Edward Judson, who’s intent on getting his hands on the showgirl’s inheritance.

Making her last screen appearance before embarking in a long career in television, Edith Fellows turns in a respectable performance as Ellen, the younger sister of the murdered showgirl, who must turn to Andrews for help.

In fact, it’s Lowery, in the lead role, who is the movie’s weakest link. He spends much of his allotted time on screen sounding like he’s reading his lines from cue-cards just out of camera range. And if Lowery’s name sounds familiar to some of you, it may be because he went on to play one of the first screen incarnations of Batman in the 1949 movie serial “Batman and Robin.”

As a guy who makes his living in the news business, I was mostly amused by the fact that, after 70 years, Hollywood’s stock portrayals of reporters remain remarkably consistent.

On the other hand, “Criminal Investigator” also reminds me that some cliches endure mostly because there is a grain of truth behind them.

Eager, idealistic young reporter, who, despite having absolutely no experience, still somehow manages to solve an amazingly complicated crime? Check.

Blustery managing editor, who threatens young reporter if he fails to come back with the story? Check. We’ve all known someone like that.

Down-at-the-heels bar where reporters gather after-hours to share stories and drinks? Check. And I’ve even hung out in a few places like that in my 20 years in the news business.

Gruff older colleagues who try to prank the new guy? Check. And we still do that.

In sum, “Criminal Investigator” is hardly deathless art. But you could find worse ways to pass a spare hour.

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Lucas: People Who Destroy Works Of Art Are “Barbarians.”

Posted on September 2, 2011 by jlmicek

Thanks to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, who discovered this gem. It adds a new wrinkle to the roiling debate over the changes incorporated into the pending Blu-ray reissues of all six “Star Wars” films.

In 1988, “Star Wars” creator George Lucas appeared before Congress to testify against the dangers of altering old works of art. Apparently, that only applies to other people.

Here’s what he said:

“People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society.

In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.

Attention should be paid to this question of our soul, and not simply to accounting procedures. Attention should be paid to the interest of those who are yet unborn, who should be able to see this generation as it saw itself, and the past generation as it saw itself.”

Take particular note of that middle bit:

“In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.

And now consider the sad reality that, as I recently noted in this space, the only people who will remember what the original, unaltered “Star Wars” films looked like will be those of us who saw them in the theaters the first time or were lucky enough to own them on VHS before they were altered forever in 1997.

As one fan tells Finke, the debate over the changes included in the new Blu-ray reissues is “.. about film preservation and our cultural heritage. Lucas has every right to make as many new versions of his films as he wants – fine, go crazy, George – but he has no right to replace the original versions of his films.”

Click through to read the full text of Lucas’ testimony on a site called “Saving Star Wars.”

Want to send a message to Lucas about how irked you are? Don’t buy the reissues.

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Does Batman Get A Robin In “Dark Knight Rises”?

Posted on September 2, 2011 by jlmicek

Take this one with a pound of salt, but ComicBookMovie reports that Robin may well be introduced in the final installment of director Christopher Nolan’s Bat-trilogy.

A tipster, without official confirmation, tells the site that actor Joseph Gordon Levitt, who will portray Gotham cop John Blake in the flick, takes up the Robin mantle. There’s no word on whether the actual red jerkin and green tights will be involved. Knowing Nolan’s penchant for darkness, that seems unlikely. But you can never tell about these things.

Anyway, here’s the word from the anonymous tipster, who was in Pittsburgh for recent filming:

“Hi all. PLEASE take this as rumor. I’m simply going to relay the story as it was told to me.

So I started a new job in downtown Pittsburgh on Monday near Smithfield St. For those that know Pittsburgh, they filmed here and on Cherry Way, which I have a view of from my office window. At the corner of Smithfield & the Blvd of the Allies, there is a small comic shop.

I went in for the first time yesterday and started talking to the guy who runs it, and he was telling me about some of the crew who came into the shop. This is what he told me:

He said that a weapons prop crew member was in the shop talking about the filming, and said that ROBIN WAS BEING INTRODUCED IN THIS FILM.

I repeat, he said that ROBIN WAS BEING INTRODUCED IN THIS FILM.

I asked him who he said would be playing him, and he said, “The dark-haired guy from 3rd Rock From the Sun.”

That, of course, is Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I pressed him for more details and he said that Bruce Wayne will “retire” as Batman, and that JGL will take up his cause as Robin. He did not say if this was mid-film (meaning Batman would return, making sense so far from what we know) or if this is how the film would end.

Now, this comic shop manager didn’t seem to know much about the filming…he didn’t even know who JGL was. I asked him if Robin would be in full costume, and he said that he would be in full costume “in the next film”. We know that Nolan doing another Bat-film is pretty much not going to happen. So PLEASE take this with a grain of salt, as he could’ve easily been confused or mislead (perhaps intentionally). Don’t shoot the messenger.”

Speculation has been flying fast and furious about the movie. I’ll believe it if, and when, I see it.

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Film Bits: Movie Talk Around The Blogosphere.

Posted on September 2, 2011 by jlmicek

Hello and welcome to Film Bits. This feature proved so popular when I did it last week that I’ve decided to give it another whirl.

Here’s a quick summary of movie talk on other WordPress blogs. As ever, link backs to your humble blogger are appreciated, but not required.

1. Musings of a Trini Girl in London went to the annual Caribbean Film Festival and here’s her report. I’m guessing, but can’t be sure that this is part of the annual Notting Hill Carnival celebration? Someone please set me straight on this.

2.  ScreenPhiles says the next installment of the James Bond series will be called “Carte Blanche,” which is the title of an actual Bond novel — but not by the late Ian Fleming.

3. Linked in Hollywood looks at the weekend ahead for filmgoers. I’m actually going to try to get out this weekend myself.

4. The Droid You’re Looking For lists the fictional robots they’d like to hire. It will not surprise you to learn that the Fembots from Austin Powers are included among them.

5. Evertime Realms would like you to support a new comics documentary that’s currently in production.

6. What Eye Thought has a pic of comely pop star Rihanna on the set of the utterly ill-conceived “Battleship” movie.

7. There’s A Reason for the World goes back and looks at 1999’s “Cruel Intentions.” Wow … has it really been that long?

8. Reading is Delicious reviews the year in movies so far.

9. CBS Philly reviews “The Debt,” which is opening this weekend.

10. And, finally,  B+ Movie Blog rightfully sings the praises of character actors.

There’s some reading here for everyone. I’ll be back with some fresh content a little later this morning.

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Fallen Angel (USA, 1945)

Posted on September 2, 2011 by jlmicek

Name: Fallen Angel

Release Date: 1945

Writers: Harry Kleiner (screenplay), Marty Holland (novel)

Director: Otto Preminger

Cast:

Alice Faye: June Mills

Dana Andrews: Eric Stanton

Linda Darnell: Stella

Charles Bickford: Mark Judd

Anne Revere: Clara Mills

Bruce Cabot: Dave Atkins

John Carradine: Professor Madley

Percy Kilbride: Pop

Run-Time: 98 minutes

Studio: 20th Century Fox

This classic noir from director Otto Preminger made a star out of Linda Darnell and so frustrated Alice Faye that she didn’t make another film until an appearance in “State Fair” in 1962.

Faye stars here as June Mills, the wealthy, plain-Jane spinster targeted by a ruthless con-man, Eric Stanton (Andrews).

Stanton has conspired with Stella, a darkly beautiful waitress who’s won his heart, to steal all of June’s money so the two of them can run off together.

But in short order, June discovers the truth about the grift and Stella turns up dead. Nonetheless, she stays by Stanton’s side as he goes about learning the truth about her murder.

Taut and sharply plotted, “Fallen Angel” is an example par excellence of the pulp mysteries that Hollywood turned out with astonishing regularity — and without diminished quality — in the middle to late 1940s.

Cinematographer Joseph LaShelle makes masterful use of light and shadow to bring to life the one-horse northern California town where most of the film’s action takes place.

In fact, it’s hard to imagine these films being in anything other than black and white.

The absence of color highlights the emotions that flicker across the characters’ faces. And the murky lines between dark and light suggest the blurred moral lines that each of them — particularly Dana Andrews’ Stanton — walk.

Forgotten by most, “Fallen Angel” is one of Preminger’s strongest films. And though she’s hardly a household name today, the vampish Linda Darnell was one of the emerging starlets of her day. There’s never mistaking what her Stella values most or the primary weapon she has to get it.

Dana Andrews plays Eric Stanton with a kind of feral minimalism. It’s not tamed until Alice Faye’s June brings it to heel, causing him to realize that he can’t go through with his plan. By then, it’s too late for Stella, who’s left a trail of suitors in a town too small to carry many secrets for long.

And now a word about why it took Alice Faye more than 15 years to make another movie after “Fallen Angel.”

According to commentary that ran after a recent airing on Turner Classic Movies, “Angel” was intended as a starring vehicle for Faye, who’d already made a name for herself as a formidable pop vocalist.

But it soon became apparent to the filmmakers that Darnell’s wanton waitress was the more interesting of the film’s two leading ladies. Preminger began adding scenes for Linda Darnell. But for every scene he added for Darnell, he had to take one away from Alice Faye. This greatly diminished her screen-time.

Faye didn’t learn of the cuts until after a screening at the studio. When the screening ended, the story goes, she drove off the studio lot and out of the movies until “State Fair.”

“Fallen Angel” ended up being a great opportunity for Darnell, who went on to star in such films as “No Way Out” and “The Lady Pays Off.”

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