Predicting the Movie Hits and Bombs of 2018

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Vidiot, Dec 17, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Trilogies are perfectly fine but triple trilogies that are spread over more than three decades!

    Three to six years is plenty of time to contain a trilogy.

    And, each trilogy should be complete within it self.


    Star Trek on TV had different series, but each series was complete and contained within itself.

    AND... NO MORE PREQUEL'S!!! :cop:
     
  2. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    If George had followed his original plan - the one that he denies existed despite ample documentary evidence - then E9 would've rolled onto screens years ago.

    The trilogies got spread out so much because he became fed up with all things "Star Wars" around 1982 and didn't want to spend another decade-plus working on those films.

    I can't say I blame him - the first trilogy was exhausting to make, so it's not a shock that he didn't want to immediately dive into six more films!
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  3. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Haven't seen any of them, so I can't comment much one way or the other. I know the films generally did not do that well and got mixed-to-bad reviews, though I kept meaning to see Venom and the trailers looked interesting. That also made a huge amount of money: $850M (with a $116M budget).

    I dunno about the new Men in Black, either. Too soon to tell. It can't be any worse than the MIB3, could it?

    I think there were three bigger factors for Lucas:

    1) Marcia Lucas divorced him and got over $50M in the settlement
    2) Lucas got primary custody of their adopted children
    3) Lucas didn't want to have investors in the films because then he would have to get them to approve his decisions (particularly casting, story, and budget).

    The Secret History of Star Wars provides a good theory that the only reason Lucas went back to the prequels/sequels ideas is that the toys unexpectedly began selling in huge numbers in the 1990s, and he wound up with enough capital that he could almost completely finance them himself. Once he saw the huge audience for the 1997 revised version of Star Wars, he put together the Phantom Menace prequel plus two more. I think it's fair to say his marriage, his children, and his age were all factors in stepping down in October 2012.

    Kathy Kennedy has implied the next Rian Johnson installment will be an entirely new Star Wars film that will have an entirely new cast. No more Skywalkers. They could call it "Episode 1" of a new story, vs. "Episode 10" of this story. I would point to the Bond films as an example of a long-running film series that vaguely connects some events and characters of the stories, but they still work fine as standalone films.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2018
  4. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Gotcha!
    the cast looks great!
    Men in Black International (2019) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb
     
    Dan C and PaperbackBroadstreet like this.
  5. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Wrong bad "MIB" movie. "MIB3" is actually pretty good - it's "MIB2" that's a turkey...


    The "Star Wars" toy resurgence of the mid-90s came out of nowhere, IMO. The franchise had been moribund for a while, so I don't know why Kenner decided to revive the toys, but they indeed instantly sold well.

    I know because I bought 'em! :D


    Yeah, we already discussed the non-Skywalker aspect.

    I don't think they can call it Episode I - or anything from II-IX - because those numbers are closely associated with other "SW" films.

    Either they gotta leave off episode #s entirely or go with "X"...
     
  6. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    I would agree with this for the most part; with the Rings trilogy, Jackson was forced by necessity to be tight in the editing because of the inherent length of each film's theatrical version (the subsequent extended editions allowed him to use that footage he loved but was forced to initially cut)... but when he got to Kong and the Hobbit movies, he evidently had a bit more 'breathing room' in the edit for all those little character moments, plot elaboration, and gonzo action scenes ramped up to 11 (although the overall somber tone of Rings precluded such an approach) that he loves so much... and is so very, very good at, it has to be said!!!

    I think Jackson/Walsh/Boyens just love to explore every facet of the story, wring every last drop out of it, and probably find it very hard to cut material from it in the initial post-production process... thus we got a three-hour-plus Kong in addition to a Hobbit trilogy rather than a duology as originally planned and shot.

    I've no problem with the length of Kong's theatrical version - not when it's such a gloriously enjoyable film as that - but I do still think The Hobbit would have worked much better as two three-hour-plus films (and shot on 35mm not digital), even whilst I greatly enjoy the trilogy as made overall whilst still recognizing and acknowledging it's inherent, fundamental flaws... one film just wouldn't have done it justice, and even Guillermo del Toro realized that when he initially started work on it, necessitating the need to split that story over two installments.

    Lucas' original plan was indeed for nine films over three separate trilogies, but his outline for VII-IX was basically the Original Trilogy stretched out, it was not the later Sequel Trilogy outlines he wrote prior to the Disney sale... his story outlines back in the 1970's and 1980's never went further than the Rebellion defeating the Empire and Luke helping to redeem Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader by confronting and overcoming the Emperor... so when Lucas says he had no story written for anything after those plot points, he's telling the truth, he never did until that year prior to selling his company to the Mouse House.

    But I agree with the sentiment expressed by others here... no more bloody SW movies, the story is done and dusted and over... has been since 2005.
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2018
  7. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I think they are in trouble after Episode IX. I was in the “did not like” Episode VIII camp and have no excitement left. Sadly, I had some excitement after Force Awakens. I will see IX to finish the story, but then will likely be done. And if they are losing people like me...

    The one side project I was interested in was a Ewan McGregor Obi-Wan movie and they cancelled that.
     
    Matthew Tate, Ghostworld, Jrr and 2 others like this.
  8. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I'm not saying GL lied about having planned the story for the last 3 episodes - he lied when he claimed he never announced plans for a 9-episode arc back in the 80s...
     
    Matthew Tate and The Hermit like this.
  9. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    Honestly, I take everything George says with a pinch of salt... have done for years now... he lost me finally when he did knowingly lie - and through his back teeth too! - that the original theatrical versions of the OT didn't exist anymore in a releasable state and that it would cost too much money and time to restore them, subsequently and quite deliberately releasing sub-standard transfers on DVD just to push an ideological agenda on his part when high-quality interpositives of those very versions existed in the Lucasfilm archives, and in fact were likely used for the 2004 Empire of Dreams DVD documentary, in which pristine and anamorphic footage of said theatrical versions is included throughout.

    And according to Lucasfilm's Pablo Helman, it's still George who's stopping those versions from getting a re-release by impressing upon Kathleen Kennedy not to do so...
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2018
    PaperbackBroadstreet likes this.
  10. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I don't exactly know how long that I have been aware of it, but it seems that I have known practically forever that there were nine films total in the SW saga.

    What was or not already written or at least outlined, I don't know.

    I would plan to watch IX. after that no MORE. It is done. Over and Out!
     
  11. So no prequels like Godfather 2? :tiphat:
     
  12. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I have never been a fan of The Godfather movies.

    I did find it noteworthy, that some years back, one of the networks must have mistaken The Godfather for a family Christmas movie, because they made a decision to air it on Christmas Day.

    This is OK. I gave up watching commercial TV many moons ago. Don't plan on taking it up again.
     
  13. shokhead

    shokhead Head shok and you still don't what it is. HA!

    Location:
    SoCal, Long Beach
    I've never heard of a non Godfather movie fan.
     
  14. True, true but when you have that much money you want to put in on the screen. It made the DeLaurentiis "Kong" look short by comparison.
    indeed, I remember that announcement quite well.
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2018
  15. PaperbackBroadstreet

    PaperbackBroadstreet Forum Resident

    This is a major problem I have with his methods.

    They can be “found “ but just not officially.

    I don’t mind a directors cut, but give me the choice. This is where Ridley Scott did it right with Blade Runner.
     
  16. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Here, I thought that the "director's cut, ruined the timing and pace of the original theatrical cut of the movie.

    With the director's cut of the movie, that I had, I didn't have the option for the original cut.

    Perhaps my version was on DVD and the version with both option's is on the Blu-ray version?
     
  17. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    There are five different versions of Blade Runner, and they were released on separate discs and packaged together at one point. The five versions are the theatrical cut, the director's cut, the final cut, the international cut and the workprint version. The final cut, not to be confused with the director's cut, is the one that the majority of fans seem to lean towards.

    Edit:

    I made a mistake; the theatrical cut, director's cut and international cut were released on the same Blu-ray disc as part of the Complete Collector's Edition and on the same disc as part of the Collector's Edition DVD.
    https://www.amazon.com/Runner-Five-...1-1&keywords=blade+runner+collector's+edition
    https://www.amazon.com/Blade-Runner...blade+runner+complete+collector's+edition+dvd
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2018
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  18. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I had Blade Runner on VHS tape, way back when. What ever they called this cut. I preferred it over the director's cut on the DVD I purchased.

    I had purchased a special boxed set of Avatar, a few years ago. It had three different edited versions on it.

    I used to be fond of the director's cuts of different movies, but with Avatar, like Blade Runner, I felt that the added material was not necessary and slowed down the pacing of the original cut of the movie.

    In addition, I didn't like the fact, that these different cuts took up so much space on the disk, that ypu had to get up and change the disk to see the rest of the movie.

    I didn't care for that so I bought the non-special edition of the disk, which was on a single disk.
     
    Encuentro likes this.
  19. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
  20. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Show me a published statement where Lucas said this. To my knowledge, he's never lied about the issue. Crazy fans are attributing all kinds of thing to what they believe "George said," but I don't think it's true -- I think it's a lot of hearsay.

    All I can recall Lucasfilm ever saying publicly is "this version represents the director's current vision of the film." They never said "it's impossible to reissue the theatrical versions of of the Star Wars trilogy." Anything is possible, given enough time and money. It will be expensive to do, even for Disney, but it's all doable. All they have to do is to want to do it and to be willing to spend the money. The physical elements still exist and have been well-cared for (with the exceptions of certain segments that were damaged decades ago, but those can be resurrected).

    I think every director has an "ideological agenda" in making the best possible film they can. If Lucas is guilty of anything, it's that: he just wants the audience to see the idea of his film that exists in his head. When he completely owned the physical film elements and the copyrights, it's hard to argue artistic possession. Legally, the audience doesn't own anything nor do they have any say in what gets presented to them. You always have the right not to buy the video and not to buy a ticket, which is your vote in the issue.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  21. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    George Lucas himself - through the Lucasflm reps - stated unequivocally that the inferior 1993 Laserdisc telecine scans were the best source for the OT theatrical versions' 2006 DVD release... I'm sorry to ruffle your feathers, but I find it very hard to believe that Lucas didn't know of the existing interpositives for those versions, it was still his company then for goodness sake's, plus he signed off on the Empire of Dreams DVD documentary in 2004, wherein pristine footage of those theatrical versions is prominently featured... so he knew full well by mid-2004 at latest - if he didn't already beforehand - of the existence of usable 35mm elements for the theatrical versions' re-release... but his ideological agenda was/is for those original versions to ultimately disappear from the face of history, leaving only his revised versions... and he's stated that himself in an interview that I can't find online, alas.

    And I'm no "crazy fan"... I'm just reflecting what Lucas himself had said, done, and evidently believes, and I'm merely calling him out on depriving people of watching culturally and historically significant works of art in a presentable condition; he can release his revised and preferred versions to his heart's content, but to refuse the release of the original versions that changed the course of cinematic and cultural history just because he's displeased with some technical aspects of them isn't just plain wrong, it's both churlish and asinine.

    But hey, Merry Christmas and all that jazz :cool:...
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
    sunspot42 and SandAndGlass like this.
  22. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Again: show me the statement. That's what I'm asking.

    I know about the early-1990s Laserdisc transfer (mastered for Japan to D1 by ace colorist Lou Levinson, I think one of his last projects for Modern Videofilm), and that was a Fox decision that had nothing to do with Lucas. People asked for the original -- or at least, the "least-changed" version -- and Fox Home Video and Lucasfilm decided, "if we do that, it'll cost over $5 million and take a year to do, so let's just put out the last original transfer." That's all there was to it. A lot of it was expediency, not a reluctance to do it at all.

    That was always their attitude at ILM when I was there in 2004: "yeah, it could be done, but Fox wants it out by such-and-such a date, and we determined it would take roughly a year to conform, restorm, and remaster each film, and there's just no time." But George never released a statement, either directly or indirectly. As far as I know, all Lucasfilm did was just say, "OK, here's the letterbox version released a few years ago." (I think it's even non-anamorphic standard def as well.)

    Sometimes, things like this happen not because of outright incompetence or any kind of a conspiracy; it happens because they don't care. I appreciate that you care, but entertainment corporations can be difficult that way. As I was told several times at ILM by five or six different people: "the only versions of the films that matter are the ones inside George's head at the moment." He was indifferent to the previous home video releases, which he never supervised and actually told me he actually didn't see. If Lucas himself or his family wanted to see Star Wars, they'd project it in his screening room at home. And he only watched the current version being worked on. To him, the 1970s versions were unfinished, only perhaps 60% of what he wanted. But everything changed once Disney bought the properties six years ago.

    You need to direct your anger and your energy towards Kathy Kennedy -- she's at the top of the food chain now and would be involved in any reissue decisions. A statement from her, I would believe. That address again:

    Lucasfilm Ltd
    Attn.: Kathleen Kennedy/CEO
    1110 Gorgas Ave.
    San Francisco, CA 94129
    (415) 623-1000

    Don't be surprised if they give you a "corporate non-answer," like: "We are aware of Star Wars fans' great enthusiasm for the original theatrical releases, and we are currently reviewing several options. A decision will be made sometime in the future, and we hope you'll continue to enjoy Star Wars until that time. We thank you for your interest."

    You could also buy shares in Disney and then attend the public stockholders meeting and bring it up to Disney CEO Bob Iger, which is traditionally held in July in Anaheim:

    The Walt Disney Company’s Special Meeting of Shareholders - The Walt Disney Company

    People have actually quizzed Iger at meetings in the past like "why is Song of the South not out on home video?" and "why are all of the Disney shorts not commercially available?", both of which are very good questions. My hope is that all this stuff will be available via streaming once Disney+ arrives at the end of 2019.
     
  23. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    Appreciate the reply, but it's not anger, seriously... they're only movies, however perennially enjoyable they may be... it's more mild annoyance and an interest in the whole subject matter... and besides, they will come out at some point, that I'm sure of, so as MAD Magazine used to say "what me, worry?"

    FYI; the Mouse House has already given Song of the South a complete 4K remastering, and even digitally corrected some misaligned shots, so don't be surprised if that gets a release some time down the line too... zippety-doo-dah indeed :cool:!!!
     
    sunspot42 likes this.
  24. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    lol.
     
    sunspot42 likes this.
  25. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    Captain Marvel has been a woman since the 1970s. That's 40 years.
     
    sunspot42 likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine