Porthos

It's only "bad news" in as much as "things didn't go exactly as planned so we have to change direction" is a sign that things needed to be changed. But, as I intimated in my admittedly snarky post, there's a pretty strong reason sitting right out in the open for a possible change of direction. Beyond that, there's a *VERY* long list of films that have had production chaos that have turned out to be fantastic. Admittedly, there's also a long list of films that turned out to be trainwrecks. And then there's probably the majority which wind up somewhere on the "eh" spectrum. But my basic point is that folks way overreact to stories about reshoots, and double especially about length of reshoots. That reshoots happen, even fairly big ones, doesn't say nearly as much as they think it does.

MARVEL NEEDS TO COURSE CORRECT AND CHANGE THINGS UP AFTER THE PROBLEMS OF 2023!!! *Marvel engages in precisely that* MARVEL CHANGING THINGS UP MID-PRODUCTION IS NOT A GREAT SIGN EVERYONE!!! (felt a little snarky — don't mind me)

They're not bad news, either.

Google Translate translation: Experience this #Maythe4thBeWithYou like never before on Cinemex's Thunder Stage with #TheAcolyte , the next big Star Wars project. A galaxy far, far away joins the #CCXPVerse for a day full of surprises for all force users. This May 4th be part of #CCXPMexico Hopefully we'll get some good food out of this, and perhaps even a final trailer.

Monday (4/29) according to the tracking doc from @misterpepp and @katnisscinnaplex.

Oh, I'm well aware, though I suspect at least some of that feeling has shifted from "OJ was innocent" to "Well, at least someone who was Black was able to beat the system instead of having the system screw them". Plus the general, "Okay, OJ probably did it, but Fuck Them Racist Cops, so whatever". Which... I have a decent amount of sympathy for. If this project ever sees the light of day — and I am, let's say skeptical for a reason I'll say in a mo — I think it'll be quite the social media train wreck for many different reasons. Or rather, people finding different reasons to comment on it. For instance, what leapt out to me as a sign of unseriousness was the asking for "outrageous suggestions" of what people would like to see in the film. Via a Google Form no less! ... To paraphrase The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, have to give them 10/10 for viral originality (plus harvesting of personal data no doubt), but minus several million for good sense.

There's quite a few basketball fans on the forum, though they're not commenting as much about it as days gone by. Probably my (distant) third sport, but with the Kings being out and the Dubs at the end of their window, not much for me to comment on. Just as long as the Lakers lose in humiliating fashion, I'll be happy with just about anything that happens.

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Oh my. "The footage ends with a link to a Google Form requesting suggestions for "outrageous ideas" to include in the movie." Oh my oh my. "Prior reports about the film have suggested that it will present an argument that definitively exonerates Simpson from Brown's murder." Obviously the people behind this project saw all Teh Drama around Michael and haughtily said, "amateurs". @BoxOfficeFangrl you have to read this article (presuming you haven't already). (is it bad that I searched the forums to see if there was an On The Lot thread for this film? )

I was just thinking about this and thinking it was Wrecker would be the most likely to get the axe, as being a Lovable Goof is pretty much his defining characteristic (well, along with his loyalty). Tend to think Crosshair is the most likely to survive as a Live With Your Guilt/Atone For Your Past type thing while looking over Omega with Hunter or Echo being the next most likely to bite the bullet. Just don't get the sense that they're doing a Redemption Equals Death type dealio with Crosshair as he already crossed that Rubicon a while ago. Wouldn't be surprised if it did happen, mind. Come to think of it to think of it, might slip Wrecker down a tier and have it something like: Hunter/Echo Wrecker [still debating on whether or not to swap him with Echo] Crosshair <INSERT A MILLION BLANK LINES HERE> Omega I suppose Echo might have a Get Out of Jail Death Free card if he's gonna be the link to the inevitable(?) Rex series/shorts. When it comes right down to it, I think the only one who *is* completely safe is Omega. Though, come to think of it,

Thanks to recency bias, gonna be a whooooole lot of talk about Bohemian Rhapsody, but I'm waiting to see how many critics pull Great Balls of Fire! (1989) out of their rolodex for their compare/contrasts, as that to me seems to be the most On Point comparison. I mean, I realize I'm talking about a 35 year old film here, so we're talking about a radically different environment, both for movies at the time and the general cultural state of the US/elsewhere. Plus it isn't exactly remembered all that well in the first place. But have to say, it's Great Balls of Fire! that I immediately think of when I start thinking about Michael. (well, when I'm not thinking about the certain multiple train wrecks that will occur on social media over this film)

Finally took the time to see the trailer* * remember, it's "Resident Star Wars Shill and Apologist", not "Resident Marvel Shill and Apologist" or "Resident Disney Shill and Apologist". Have to say "Cocaine is the one thing Feige said was off limits" is a hell of a way to end the trailer. 👍 An instantly meme-able line, IMO. Hilariously enough, the subtitles on YT have cocaine stared out as "C******", which has to be deliberate. 😂 I so hope that actually makes it into the actual subtitled version of the film.

The Empire was... surprisingly competent in this episode. Oh, not perfect by any means, but leagues better than they('re) normally (portrayed as) are. Is a pretty big dangling thread that's very likely to be picked up on, I suspect But all in all a very well plotted out episode with all actors involved making logical moves and counter moves. Or at least in-character moves in the case of [SPOILER DELETED]. Can't even really blame [SPOILER DELETED] considering how out of their element they were. It's all coming together for the finale. Gonna be interesting to see what happens when the shit hits the fan. Have to think a

I think the real test/tell will be Cap 4. As it shouldn't have most of the baggage that surrounded The Marvels or have any real connection to fallout from AQM. Or the multiverse storyline in general. The only real big strike against it, and it's not an insignificant one, is the... less than universal praise given to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. That has the potential to derail things. (reshoots I don't care about at all, as that discussion is USUALLY far overblown) But I do think it's probably wise to remember that before Captain America: Civil War (which might as well have been Avengers 2.5), the Cap films weren't box office juggernauts. Using the likely conservative ATP adj from the-numbers, Cap 1 opened to something around 88m (65m non-adj) and Cap 2 to 125m (95m non-adj). Probably too far out to set any sort of range, especially given a lot can happen between now and release, but I do think noting how Cap 1 did way back when might be useful in at least framing the discussion, if not expectations.

My current ballpark expectations are around 165m - 190m OW; so let's say 180m, give or take. Prob being a little optimistic there, but I think the buzz is real.

Memorial Day Weekend is on the weekend of the 24th-27th (counting Monday), which the OW for Garfield.

Maybe it's only in Sacto, but have to say I was rather impressed with Garfield's sales. Not impressed enough for a dedicated track, but impressed nonetheless. Speaking of KFP4, not at my main computer at the moment, but might sniff around to see if I kept any D1 data for that movie as it might be the best most recent comp, even with the EA factor,

It's preview night is the 23rd, but yeah my bad. Lemme fix the post. (that actually makes the start slightly better. Well, probably. Maybe. At least a little)

Soooo... I don't know who wants to hear this, but Garfield did... pretty decently on its D1 locally, all things considered. And it wasn't even thanks to an EA boost as the lone EA showing up so far has sold exactly one ticket so far. Considering the extreme backloaded nature of the genre + at least some upfront interest due to the Name Brand, not gonna do any comps. Yet. But I will provide some contrasts: Garfield 60 tickets sold on Day 1 (EA: 1 ticket sold) [T-31] ---------------------------------- Sonic 2: 182 tickets sold on Day 1 [T-24] Minions 2 : 67 tickets sold on Day 1 [T-24] Yes Yes, "let reddit know about this immediately" Nope: 57 tickets sold on Day 1 [T-42] Elemental: 37 tickets sold on Day 1 [T-30] Wonka: 57 tickets sold on Day 1 [T-29] Mean Girls: 52 tickets sold on Day 1 [T-29] Don't think I kept Wish's info anywhere on this thread, and that had that weird unannounced pre-sale window that had a smattering of tickets. Plus that had Discount Tuesday anyway, so meh. Either way, a decent enough start. Won't really know where this is headed for a while, thanks to the nature of the genre. But I am... let's say monitoring it. Just in case.

Buzz and interest is a funny thing as there's little rhyme and reason to it. I don't think Taylor Swift having a meaningful role in the film would mean all that much in the end. Not adding a huge amount to the OW, that is. On the other hand, I think Lady Gaga being in Joker 2 *IS* very meaningful, despite her not being a "draw" in and of herself in some of her previous films. (yes, I know the obvious difference between the two situations so no need to point it out, thankyewveddymuch) Think of it more as synergy/force multiplier than anything else. Or rather, more positive prerelease buzz = more hype = more initial interest = stronger opening, no matter what the actual reason is for the "more positive prerelease buzz" at the beginning of the equation. Now, of course, the smaller the role, the less of a deal this is. Including all the way down to nothing burger. Still, I do think we collectively sometimes swing too far into the "Nothing that happens on social media matters" side of things versus the "buzz is buzz no matter what the source". Taylor Swift being in this film would add buzz, at least as long as it isn't a blink-and-you-miss-it type deal. And as I often say, we ignore/discount buzz (positive or negative) at our peril.

I said nothing about gullibility, even by implication. A great deal of them like to "hunt for clues" as part of a social pastime with friends on the internet. Very few of them are actually at It's Always Sunny level of conspiracy board thinking. Now as for Marvel winking and nodding along? I tend to think we'd be hearing through backchannels/spoilermongers if there was a large chance that Swift isn't in this film. So I would agree there that Marvel better rip off that bandaid pdq lest they get a decent sized backlash on their hands. (not that the backlash would amount to much, but film studios should try to head off controversy, even if it is mostly meaningless in the end)

I would point out that Swifties are (in)famous for... looking for hidden meanings in any and all Taylor Swift material. So it is not exactly a surprise to see people leap to a conclusion here. Might be intentional, might not be. Might also be Confirmation Bias, as well as some folks playing to the audience for likes and clicks. Either way, helps build buzz for the film. How much buzz and how much that actually matters in the grand scheme of things is more debatable.

... Yes? "Penny wise, pound foolish" is a(n often) forgotten truism for a reason.

To the surprise of absolutely no one... ‘Fallout’ Renewed For Season 2 At Amazon (Deadline)

They had semi-fast travel unlocked, obviously. ======== The travel was one of the few complaints I had about this, actually. Mentioned it in a previous post with the movements of Wilzig, but it did pop up in a few other areas. Didn't bug me enough to overly affect the grade, but it is something I noted. Don't know how long we're enforcing spoiler bars in a series that was binged, so I'm still holding off on some things. Started a rewatch and some things that irked me on the initial watch, didn't when seeing the whole picture. But other things I noted didn't quite fit as presented so far. Am holding off on complete judgement in case it's brought up in a future season. But the one that bugs me the most after a partial rewatch is that FWIW, Todd Howard has confirmed that BIG SPOILERS AHEAD It is interesting that what looks to be the most controversial storyline came from the person on the production team who has been playing the games since the first Fallout since 1997 and Bethesda was somewhat talked into it, if I read between the lines right. ====== That nit aside, I am very much looking forward to S2 and am... curious if some of the dangling threads from S1 are gonna be tugged at or not. NB: FWIW, I absolutely agree with you about the eight episode complaint. At least these weren't short episodes, for the most part. 12 or 13 episode order probably have been preferable regardless.