Plain Old Tele

FYI, I've updated the game subforum to reflect the new Winter Game and its dates.

The Dark Tower. You know of what I speak... a great Eye, lidless, wreathed in flame...

Next time you see Tull, tell him to use some of those JW profits for good.

Arnold in TL is a nice combo of his action stuff and his lighter fare. He's a very appealing presence on screen... especially since Cameron is perfectly aware of how ridiculous it is to have a dude with his physique posing as Mr. Average American (check out that shot of him walking the dog!).

No. They're fine. I've just never been a huge, giant fan.

My first thought was, "No fuckin' way, that's absurd!" But after thinking about it... it's the year of nostalgia, and the bar is not incredibly high. There are a lot of Rocky fans out there. I'm IN.

While it's true you might pick up on nuances and things you missed the first time around, you also only get one chance for that first-ever viewing. And in many ways, I feel that's the "truest" viewing... repeat viewing is basically already catering to your expectations. The exception, I guess, is if many years have passed since you last saw it... and in that case you've changed as well.

As I've gotten older, I usually only watch movies once. I don't have any sort of calculation about movies I'll want to see again (and do), it's very much instinctive and based in the moment. Now that I'm older, I tend to have less free time completely to myself, which definitely factors into things: if I'm with my wife or my son, if we watch something, it's gonna be something they want to also see (whether they've seen it or not). So movies that are of interest only to me tend to get marginalized and I'll find time to squeeze them in during odd hours.... which means (generally speaking) I'm more likely to watch something I haven't seen before (and am interested in) than repeat viewing. If a movie's on TV and I've seen it, I might watch for awhile, depending on my free time. If it's something I really enjoy, in fact, I'll almost always watch a portion on TV, no matter what else is happening. (Case in point: coming across MIDNIGHT RUN the other night). I still buy Blu-rays of my favorites, partially for the quality, partially for the guarantee of being able to watch whenever I want, and partially for any extras... but at this point that's reserved only for favorites.

You're right, I guess it depends on what you consider as the second act.

Since when do we determine that the final arrived for quality is the filmmaker? They're often the least objective of anyone. And, funnily enough, the third act is basically what saves the movie.

It doesn't matter that she's drunk, it still didn't ring true to me.

"Desperate" is overstating it a bit, I think. Of course they'd like one -- wouldn't everyone? -- but it's not exactly like their business model will collapse if they don't have one.

The studios have essentially given up on anything except that demo. Anything not directly targeting 16-30s is now the providence of the specialty divisions or the indies.

But baumer, I think you miscalculated my week 11 score. Can you double-check? I think I got bonus #2. But seriously, I'm amazed at the energy and dedication you've put into the game, and I wish I had gotten into it back in the Mojo days. That would've been fun. Thanks for all the blood, sweat, tears, and money you've invested into your baby.... now he's all grown up and you get to watch him soar on his own. Or something.

Well, we're kinda dancing around the same issue, because I'm arguing that they don't need to only finance, they're well-balanced right now with all sorts of projects, both those they entirely develop and ones they are more just straight financiers.

I think it's a bit more glaring because Jobs is a pretty recent figure and a lot of people know exactly what he looks like. Using the PATTON example, it was made 25 years after WWII and I'm betting most weren't that familiar with either his specific looks or voice. That being said, you're right: there are plenty of amazing performances by actors who didn't resemble their real-life characters. Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence is another example.

Legendary is very involved with the development of their projects, whether or not they're co-producing with another company. In addition to stuff like GODZILLA and the Nolan projects, they do a fair amount of mid-budget adult-oriented dramas: Unbroken, 42, Straight Outta Compton (they've got STEVE JOBS coming up as well). Sure, there are some financial stinkers, but on the whole they've done really well, and they get a slice of some of the biggest blockbusters too (JW, for example). Plus they've branched out into television as well -- they bought Asylum Entertainment, which does stuff like "The Kennedys" and various sports programming, along with a ton of reality stuff. So I think they're pretty well diversified.

What do you consider "studio interference"? Why aren't you including stuff like "42"?

His "serious" movies don't do nearly as well as his spectacles, though, so it's understandable that the studio wouldn't want to automatically pour more money into it.

I dunno, they seem to be doing just fine with their slate over the last few years (which is a mix of financing and developing).

I don't really think so... and it's worth pointing out that it single-handedly revived a dead genre.