The blog for Peter T. Chattaway, film critic, journalist, religion junkie, etc. Not all posts will be film-related, but film will always be just around the corner.
Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest.
The Ugly Truth -- CDN $12,460,000 -- N.AM $85,860,000 -- 14.5% District 9 -- CDN $11,300,000 -- N.AM $90,813,000 -- 12.4% The Time Traveler's Wife -- CDN $5,550,000 -- N.AM $48,193,000 -- 11.5% Inglourious Basterds -- CDN $8,100,000 -- N.AM $73,760,000 -- 11.0% G-Force -- CDN $9,990,000 -- N.AM $111,801,000 -- 8.9% Julie & Julia -- CDN $6,090,000 -- N.AM $70,992,000 -- 8.6% Shorts -- CDN $1,140,000 -- N.AM $13,565,000 -- 8.4%% G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- CDN $10,730,000 -- N.AM $132,436,000 -- 8.1% The Final Destination -- CDN $2,130,000 -- N.AM $28,335,000 -- 7.5% Halloween II -- CDN $843,108 -- N.AM $17,405,000 -- 4.8%
A couple of discrepancies: The Ugly Truth was #10 on the Canadian chart (it was #14 in North America as a whole), while Taking Woodstock was #9 on the North American chart (it was nowhere in the Canadian Top 20).
Warner doesn't have any Marvel Comics properties, since they already own DC Comics -- but their sister studio New Line Cinema did produce the Blade trilogy (1998-2004).
The one major studio that's missing from this list? Disney. Which makes it all the more surprising that Disney announced today that they are acquiring Marvel Entertainment and its roster of over 5,000 characters for approximately $4 billion.
Presumably the existing movie franchises will stay right where they are, until the deals with all the various studios expire.
But with all the acquisitions Disney has made over the years, presumably it won't be long before we get a cross-over between Marvel's superheroes and Pixar's The Incredibles, as performed by Muppets in the Oscar-bait art-house stylings of a Miramax film.
MTV Movies Blog reports that writer-directors Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson are "planning big controversies" with their upcoming film The Invention of Lying.
The film, which comes out October 2, takes place in a world where everyone believes everything that everyone says because no one has ever lied -- until, one day, the character played by Gervais figures out not only how to lie, but how to manipulate everyone else's gullibility for his own ends.
And what sort of "big controversies" do Gervais and Robinson have in mind? The article quotes Robinson as saying:
"It's not in the trailer and it's a huge part of the film, but [Gervais] stumbles upon inventing something that in a world without lying wouldn't exist, which is probably going to piss a lot of people off."
Hmmm. That's not very specific. But perhaps there's a hint of what he's getting at in this interview with co-star Jennifer Garner over at Hitfix. Asked if she jumped at the chance to be in a movie with such a unique concept, she replies:
Yup. Well, I did have a moment to pause with would my parents think it was blasphemy, you know? . . . And then I talked to them about it, and they said, "We have a sense of humor. We're not humorless, you know? What do you think?" They were just like, "If it is important, do it. Do whatever you want." But that was it.
Hmmm. Still not very specific -- although, while discussing the challenges of coming up with dialogue for a world where no one has ever lied, she does go on to say:
Even little things like you can't really say gosh, because that's a derivative of God, which you'd never use because he didn't exist. You know, it's stuff like that. It really touches your language and the way you use language in a million different ways.
Hmmm again. And for what it's worth, the synopsis at the movie's official website declares:
In a world where every word is assumed to be the absolute truth, Mark easily lies his way to fame and fortune. But lies have a way of spreading, and Mark begins to realize that things are getting a little out of control when some of his tallest tales are being taken as, well, gospel.
Hmmm yet again. Finally, take a look at the trailer below:
Click here if the video file above doesn't play properly.
Around the one-minute mark, right after Gervais's character has figured out how to lie, there is a sudden rush of images. Here are most if not all of them, in the order in which they appear, more or less:
Hmmm. Notice any recurring themes?
Here's Gervais on how he became an atheist at the age of eight:
Click here if the video file above doesn't play properly.
Well, not exactly. But Variety does report that the rock musician turned horror-movie director plans to direct a remake of The Blob. And CT sister publication Books & Culture did run an article last year exploring how the original 1958 version of that film was produced by a Christian film company determined to make a "wholesome horror film." (One of The Blob's producers, Russell S. Doughten Jr., went on to produce, write and act in a number of explicitly Christian films, including the end-times series that began with 1972's A Thief in the Night.)
And the Christian connections don't end there! The original movie spawned a sequel, 1972's Beware! The Blob, which featured Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill in bit parts. And the movie has been remade once before, by director Chuck Russell (The Mask, The Scorpion King), in 1988; and while I don't know anything about Russell's own religious persuasions, I do know that he was attached to direct the film version of Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness in the late 1990s, until 20th Century Fox pulled the plug on that project.
I certainly wouldn't expect Rob Zombie's version of The Blob, which will reportedly be R-rated, to follow in the "wholesome horror film" mode of the original movie. (The 1988 version was R-rated, too.) And I wouldn't necessarily expect Rob Zombie's film to feature Christian musicians in bit parts or whatever, either. But you never know.
Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest.
The Ugly Truth -- CDN $11,740,000 -- N.AM $82,811,624 -- 14.2% District 9 -- CDN $8,420,000 -- N.AM $72,804,317 -- 11.6% The Time Traveler's Wife -- CDN $4,020,000 -- N.AM $37,165,676 -- 10.8% The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard -- CDN $1,200,000 -- N.AM $11,247,625 -- 10.7% Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- CDN $29,310,000 -- N.AM $290,238,524 -- 10.1% Inglourious Basterds -- CDN $3,480,000 -- N.AM $38,070,437 -- 9.1% G-Force -- CDN $9,270,000 -- N.AM $107,224,616 -- 8.6% Julie & Julia -- CDN $4,880,000 -- N.AM $59,088,965 -- 8.3% G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- CDN $9,490,000 -- N.AM $120,235,874 -- 7.9% Shorts -- CDN $426,311 -- N.AM $6,410,339 -- 6.7%
Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest.
The Ugly Truth -- CDN $10,710,000 -- N.AM $77,450,118 -- 13.8% Funny People -- CDN $4,910,000 -- N.AM $47,910,620 -- 10.2% Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- CDN $28,470,000 -- N.AM $283,879,025 -- 10.0% District 9 -- CDN $3,540,000 -- N.AM $37,354,308 -- 9.5% A Perfect Getaway -- CDN $1,080,000 -- N.AM $11,560,335 -- 9.3% The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard -- CDN $505,556 -- N.AM $5,642,137 -- 9.0% The Time Traveler's Wife -- CDN $1,660,000 -- N.AM $18,623,171 -- 8.9% G-Force -- CDN $8,320,000 -- N.AM $99,056,616 -- 8.4% Julie & Julia -- CDN $3,350,000 -- N.AM $43,340,386 -- 7.7% G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- CDN $7,400,000 -- N.AM $98,577,529 -- 7.5%
A couple of discrepancies: A Perfect Getaway was #10 on the Canadian chart (it was #12 in North America as a whole), while Ponyo was #9 on the North American chart (it was #12 in Canada).
Pastors beware! If you're a clergyman and you're thinking of letting a film crew into your home or office, be prepared for the odd bit of property damage -- at least if the film stars Hugh Dancy, the star of this summer's acclaimed romantic drama Adam.
In the film, Dancy plays a man with a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome, and in one scene he throws a fit that causes him to get a bit violent with the furniture -- and apparently Dancy got so carried away that he accidentally kicked his foot through an antique cabinet.
Writer-director Max Mayer tells WENN: "It was actually the pastor's apartment in the church on the Upper West Side (in Manhattan). That was awful because from my standpoint with our limited budget we were using somebody's house and I had pointed out to Hugh things that he could destroy and the things he couldn't, which included this antique cabinet, and he put his foot through it on the first take. I'm thinking, 'How much is that gonna cost? Can I cut a scene out tomorrow to make up for it?'"
Dancy himself describes what happened this way: "I was kind of roused and I put my foot through a piece of furniture -- I slammed my foot through the front of a cabinet. I felt even though everybody was quiet because we were filming, an even greater hush descended on the room and it dawned on me that the furniture belonged to the person whose house we were using."
Fortunately, says Mayer, it all seems to have worked out in the end: "The family was fantastic and we mended the cabinet, so, as far as I know, they weren't unhappy with us. They got some new colours on their walls."
Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest.
The Ugly Truth -- CDN $9,190,000 -- N.AM $68,838,257 -- 13.4% Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- CDN $27,160,000 -- N.AM $273,848,633 -- 9.9% Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs -- CDN $18,460,000 -- N.AM $187,871,005 -- 9.8% Funny People -- CDN $3,980,000 -- N.AM $40,537,755 -- 9.8% The Hangover -- CDN $24,230,000 -- N.AM $261,979,331 -- 9.2% Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen -- CDN $33,460,000 -- N.AM $393,709,339 -- 8.5% G-Force -- CDN $7,030,000 -- N.AM $86,183,076 -- 8.2% A Perfect Getaway -- CDN $460,901 -- N.AM $5,948,555 -- 7.7% Julie & Julia -- CDN $1,330,000 -- N.AM $20,027,956 -- 6.6% G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- CDN $3,390,000 -- N.AM $54,713,046 -- 6.2%
1.Mary Mother of Christ has a new director, and a couple new cast members as well. The last time we heard about the film, which will feature Al Pacino as Herod the Great and is based on a script by Benedict Fitzgerald and Barbara Nicolosi, it was going to be directed by Alejandro Agresti; now, however, the director is James Foley, who previously directed Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and Two Bits (1995). In other news, Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado has been cast as Joseph, and Julia Ormond has also joined the cast in an as-yet-undisclosed role. Principal photography, once set to begin a few months ago, is now slated for October. -- Hollywood Reporter
3. Uma Thurman will play a real-life nun who helped rescue over 100 kidnapped schoolgirls from Ugandan rebels in Girl Soldier, based on a book by Canadian journalist Kathy Cook called Stolen Angels. -- Variety
It's awards season again, and the Fellowship of Christian Newspapers, which covers Christian newspapers from across North America, has deemed my film column for BC Christian News the Best Column of 2008. Runners-up included columnists from the Minnesota Christian Chronicle, Good News Etc. (in San Diego), Kansas City Metro Voice and Manna (in Maryland).
Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest.
De père en flic -- CDN $4,690,000 -- N.AM $4,690,000 -- 100% The Ugly Truth -- CDN $6,700,000 -- N.AM $54,668,841 -- 12.3% Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- CDN $24,740,000 -- N.AM $255,672,245 -- 9.7% Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs -- CDN $17,580,000 -- N.AM $182,068,804 -- 9.7% The Proposal -- CDN $14,330,000 -- N.AM $148,964,741 -- 9.6% The Hangover -- CDN $23,570,000 -- N.AM $255,890,892 -- 9.2% Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen -- CDN $32,830,000 -- N.AM $388,189,320 -- 8.5% Funny People -- CDN $1,770,000 -- N.AM $22,657,780 -- 7.8% G-Force -- CDN $5,120,000 -- N.AM $66,918,912 -- 7.7% Orphan -- CDN $1,710,000 -- N.AM $27,066,812 -- 6.3%
A couple of discrepancies: De père en flic was #8 on the Canadian chart (it wasn't on the North American chart at all, though if it were, it would be #21), while Aliens in the Attic was #5 on the North American chart (it was #11 in Canada).
And the biggest cartoon of all time overseas is ...
For proof, if you needed it, that the animation business is no longer owned by Disney or any of its subsidiaries, look no further than Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the third film in this prehistoric series has now passed Finding Nemo to become the top-grossing cartoon of all time overseas. Variety even notes that IA:DotD is poised to become only the ninth film ever -- live-action or otherwise -- to gross over $600 million in the "foreign" market.*
It's a much different story in North America, where IA:DotD currently ranks 21st among animated films and 117th among movies in general. And when you combine the "domestic" and "foreign" grosses, IA:DotD currently ranks 5th among animated films worldwide, behind Shrek 2, Finding Nemo, Shrek the Third and The Lion King.
Still, however you look at it, the success of this film is a striking example of how computerized animation has taken over the business and, in some sense, levelled out the playing field. As I noted in my review of the original Ice Age seven years ago, successful animated films at that time had largely consisted of movies that were produced in partnership with Disney (e.g. the Pixar films) or in explicit rivalry with Disney (e.g. the DreamWorks films) -- but Ice Age and its sequels, which are produced by 20th Century Fox, don't appear to have given Disney a moment's thought. They're just there -- and audiences have been turning out for them in droves.
It's also a striking example of just how important the overseas market has become to the Hollywood studios. In the months before, say, Angels & Demons came out, people would sometimes ask me, "Why are they making a sequel to The Da Vinci Code? I thought the first film wasn't all that successful." Well, as it happens, The Da Vinci Code did do decent business in North America ($217.5 million), but it did much, much better overseas ($540.7 million), and sure enough, Angels & Demons has followed a similar template, earning about two-and-a-half times as much overseas ($348.6 million) as it did in North America ($133 million).
Or, to return to the field of animation, consider this: Jeffrey Katzenberg, who runs the show at DreamWorks (and who ran the show at Disney during their "renaissance" in the late '80s and early '90s), said last week that he wasn't sure whether there would be a sequel to Monsters vs. Aliens, even though the film still ranks ahead of IA:DotD in North America -- and why wasn't he sure? Because MvA actually made less money overseas than it did at home. "Domestically it has performed at a level that would surely qualify it as a sequel, and internationally it did not," he said. "This is the first movie we've had that's right on the bubble."
Financial success, here or abroad, says nothing about a movie's artistic merit, of course. But the growing importance of the foreign market is something to keep in mind, whenever the conversation turns to Hollywood and what might motivate the studios to do something or other.
Born, raised, married, and still living in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to a 2005 Evangelical Press Association award-winning film column for BC Christian News, my articles have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review, Faith Today, ChristianWeek, the Vancouver Courier, the Vancouver Sun, the Georgia Straight and Beliefnet.com. I am a member of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle and the Faith and Film Critics Circle.
