Predicting the Movie Hits & Bombs of 2020

I do think you're underestimating voice actors with that line. Good voice acting is difficult and in some ways may be even harder than live action acting. For one, you have to combine your voice acting with a different, drawn, acted out physical "actor" (the animation). In some cases there isn't even an animation available and you have to act without the luxury of knowing how your character will move, how all the "sets" will look like. I can also imagine that it's even harder when you have to record your voice tracks separately, not being able to play off your cast mates much.
Like veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen often says "It's voice Acting with a small v and a big A".

 

What I said was (and all that I said was)...

I do think that you're reading a bit too much into my script.

I am neither over estimating nor am I under estimating voice actors and what ever the abilities they may or may not have.

 

The BBC have an idea for resuming production:

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/04/bbc-quarantine-casts-continue-filming-1202228422/

 

What Laika do with stop-frame animation is actually technically very impressive - certainly it is a lot smoother/more fluid than the work produced by, say, Aardman. And that's the problem - their animation has neither the "charm" of the more hand-crafted Aardman approach, nor the scale of your Pixars or Disneys....so it ends up looking like "crap animation".

But the main problem is the stories - Laika have been on a downward trend since Paranorman (which I liked because it felt a bit more hand-crafted and importantly, had a tighter script).

As for Secret Life of Pets.....kill me now.

 

You could get by with movies like Missing Link, if they were good movies.

The problem being that they were not. Animated movies do not have Disney / Pixar quality animation to be a good movie. But you do have to have some kind of endearing qualities that at least children can relate to.

These movies end up checking none of the boxes. When that happens, what you do end up with is a crap fest.

 

You know, the first couple of Fox Ice Age movies were not too bad. It kind of went south after a few sequels, but it had moments. And I thought the first Minions movie and the first Secret Life of Pets wasn't terrible. But a lot of the others...

Even Pixar can get it wrong. Just try to watch Good Dinosaur, which is a terrible, terrible movie. Lost a ton o' dough.

Rob Paulsen is a genius at what he does and an extraordinarily talented man. Anything he's in automatically gets elevated another 25% just with him being there.

 

Absolutely, 100% agreed. He was actually the first guy that made me realize there are "voice actors" that do multiple parts when I noticed how Tazmania's Didgery Dingo sounded remarkably similar to Raphael from the original Ninja Turtles cartoon. Since then I've been quite interested in this industry and it's actors. The range some of these guys and girls have is absolutely astonishing. If you look at Paulsen alone, he has been the voice of Raphael from Ninja Turtjes, Yakko and dr. Scratchansniff from Animaniacs, Pinky from Pinky and the Brain, Carl Weezer from Jimy Neutron and many, many more.

My favorite part of his has to be that of The Mask/Stanley Ipkiss from the cartoon based on the movie. He really gets to show his variety and vocal range in that one. It's like all his talents, stuffed into one part.
To think that one person has such a range is unbelievable.

Plus, he also comes across as a nice, level headed man. If you're into voice actors you should check out his podcast Talkin' Toons in which he interviews many of his voice acting friends. It's a fascinating and honest look at this business.

 

Melvin Jerome Blank (/blæŋk/;[1][2] May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989)[3] was an American voice actor and radio personality. After beginning his over-60-year career performing in radio, he became known for his work in animationas the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck,Porky Pig, and most of the other characters from the Looney Tunes andMerrie Melodies theatrical cartoonsduring the golden age of American animation.[4]

He later voiced characters for Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, includingBarney Rubble on The Flintstones andMr. Spacely on The Jetsons.

Blanc was nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Voices",[5] and is regarded as one of the most influential people in thevoice acting industry.

 

The other one that kills me is when they have a play-by-play announcer in a movie sport, and the announcer is clearly calling the action step-by-step the way it would be on radio or even on TV . . . but they put a big booming echo on it as if it were the stadium announcer (who you rarely hear from at real games). Just ridiculous. Do these people know nothing about sports?

 

Unsure this is 'evidence' but it may be an indication: GODZILLA VS. KONG: Evidence Mounts That The Movie Could Be Pushed Back To 2021

Other than the director's tweets (which of course are less than objective), there's no real sense that WB is excited about this movie. Could be wrong, and I hope I am, but after several less than stirring Monsterverse excursions and the sort of goofed up DC movies (aside from Nolan's Batmans), one wonders if the primary qualification to be a WB studio executive is incompetence. Or completely unfamiliarity with source material and property.

 

Gone With the Wind: Pandemic Threatens to Reduce Movie Theaters to Rubble
In some locations, theaters may be running out of time

 

I'm revising down slightly my b/o projection for Dune (whenever it's released); I think it will top out at $400m max.

What that means for the second film is anyone's guess...

 

Paywall.

Can you summarize or provide an alternative link?

 

Basically that "The situation is seen leading to many theater closures, say analysts and industry veterans, creating the problem of what to do with the buildings once the curtain goes down for good. According to theater owners and real-estate experts, cinemas tend to be tough properties to move because the sloped floors and multiple rooms make them difficult to repurpose, especially in a commercial property market expected to get crowded with closed retailers, small businesses and offices.

“Movie theaters are single-purpose buildings,” said Paul Glantz, co-founder of theater chain Emagine Entertainment Inc., which operates more than 20 locations throughout the Midwest. Mr. Glantz said his company could face bankruptcy—which would mean the loss of all his theaters—if reduced-capacity restrictions last too long."

It would appear some theaters if not chains are thinking about goodbye

 

Thanks for summarizing.

I know it’s no one’s fault, but this situation has effectively killed this hobby for me. I used to keep track of what had been released by looking at a bunch of local theaters’ schedules every week and reading reviews. Now there is no easy way to keep track, and even when I do look through all the reviews in the NY Times on a Friday, releases are all over the place on at least half a dozen subscription streaming services. I’m not going to waste money subscribing to every possible streaming service on the off chance one will get a new release I want to see.

Hopefully it will get better, but right now this hobby is dead to me.

 

So, does anyone have any current information about movie theaters reopening?

 

more delays....

'Tenet,' 'Wonder Woman' pushed to July 31 amid concerns over theater reopenings

• “Tenet” has been delayed until July 31.
• Warner Bros. also pushed back the release of “Wonder Woman 1984” to October 2.
• “Mulan” will now be the litmus test for moviegoer demand, as it opens on July 24.

It seems Warner Bros. isn’t confident that movie theaters will be up-and-running and in-demand by July 17.

On Friday, the studio pushed back Christopher Nolan’s spy drama “Tenet” to July 31, replacing it with a re-release of Nolan’s “Inception” in honor of the film’s 10th anniversary.

Warner Bros. also pushed back the release of “Wonder Woman 1984” to October 2. The film was supposed to be released August 14. However, it seems the studio is spreading out its blockbuster releases as not to cannibalize sales.

Hollywood had expected to use “Tenet” as a litmus test for theatrical demandand the financial viability of movies at the cinema amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now that responsibility falls on “Mulan,” which is currently set for a July 24 release.

Warner Bros. also announced that Godzilla vs. Kong is being pushed back to May 21, 2021, and that the release of the untitled Matrix film will be delayed from May 21, 2021 to April 1, 2022 after production shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Even Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek was looking towards the Warner Bros. film for guidance on how consumers responded to reduced capacity theaters and increased security measures like masks and increased sanitation.

“Though some may think this earth shattering, it’s a two week pushback and they increase their chances at success by delaying the release to when presumably more theaters will be open and thus more available audience,” Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. “This shows WB and Nolan remain committed to theaters this summer.”

It remains unclear if moviegoers are going to return to theaters in droves or if they will trickle back slowly over the course of several weeks or even months.

Few of the major theater chains have reopened since closing in mid-March. The majority of cinemas that are open are smaller theater chains and independent locations. These businesses have been showing older movies and had banked on new movies arriving in mid-July.

While one more week on the calendar without a new blockbuster may not seem like a big deal, it could break the bank for these smaller chains.

In May, Matthew Baizer, chief operating officer at Flix Brewhouse, a regional theater chain in the Midwest, said that his company could run sustainably for about eight weeks without any new film content. Flix Brewhouse was timing its reopening to “Tenet’s” release. It’s unclear if the film’s shift in date will impact the company’s plans.

AMC, the largest theater chain in the world, had based its reopening schedule on the release of “Tenet,” as well.

 

Just watched Artemis Fowl this morning. What a terrible movie. Couldn’t comprehend what was going on from the very first minute until the credits rolled.

 

The multiplex movie theater in Sevierville Tennessee reopened on Friday.

These are the movies that are playing.

Trolls World Tour
The Hunt
I Still Believe
Bloodshot
The Invisible Man
Fantasy Island
Sonic the Hedgehog
Doolittle
Jumanji: The Next Level
Minions
The Conjuring
Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone
Jurassic Park
The Goonies

Besides movies, there are now several live shows in the Pigeon Forge area. Some of which are owned by one of Dolly Parton's companies.

 

How's the COVID situation in TN? getting better/worse?

 

I think in some areas the social uprising or protests or however you want to characterize the activity is also a factor. Some theaters I used to frequent had old movie posters decorating their lobbies, including, yes, 'Gone with The Wind". But who know if someone might have a problem with almost any movie poster that was too _______ or not enough ______ or whatever.

 

is the only one I would see on that list

 

The State of Tennessee, as of a few days ago, only had 436 CV19 Deaths and that is out of a state with over 6.8M people.

Sevier County, where I have been has a huge tourist presence. They are immediately north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which receives 11M visitors a year.

Pigeon Forge is home to Dollywood, which is the most visited attraction in Tennessee.

The area is predominantly a family oriented area, where most people drive here in their cars and stay in area motels and visit the local restaurants and family attractions.

Since this whole thing began, there have only been two CV19 deaths in Sevier County here.

It has to be realized, that since the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still out there, there will still continue to be cases, until a solution is found.

Being a tourist area, like Orlando, Florida, people come here from all over.

The place is very spread out and it is not that difficult to maintain social distancing.

I hope to catch a movie or two this next week.

I had wanted to see, I Still Believe, which was just released when the theaters shut down. I was going to see it the week that they shut down.

I wanted to see Britt Robinson, who is a North Carolina girl. She also starred in Tomorrowland.

I thought that I would also see, Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone, as I have never seen it in a theater before.

The live shows are practicing social distancing. They are seating every other row and leaving two seats between groups in the same row.

They are requiring masks to be worn to enter the show and they only seat by reservation. People can remove their masks while they are seated. They take everyone's temperature when they enter the building.

They have done away with intermissions for now, so that they don't have crowds at the consession stand and then have to worry about getting people seated back in the same seats.

They are limiting seating to 1/3 rd. Of capacity. These live theaters can seat 750 people at a show and more. Some of the places are dinner shows.

 

Yeah, there’s nothing on that list I would see either. I saw Jurassic Park in the theater when it came out and once was enough for me. (Good, but a little too scary for me.)

Movie theaters aren’t even on the horizon here. Although I will probably watch the new Spike Lee film on Netflix at some point this weekend (Da 5 Bloods), which has received great reviews.

As for live shows, every live performance I had tickets for from March-November 2020 has either been cancelled outright or postponed until the second half of 2021.

When virtual school finishes this week, I am thinking of taking up watercoloring painting as a way to pass some time, even though I have no artistic talent to speak of.

 

If I could access via AMC A-List, I'd see a few of those: "Trolls", "Bloodshot", couple others I didn't see theatrically.

I'm less interested in old movies like "JP" - seen 'em a ton, can watch 'em in high quality at home...