list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Billy Elliot on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Billy_Elliot/154723/default.aspx Title: Billy Elliot
Year: 2000
Director: Stephen Daldry
Plot: Brassed Off meets My Name Is Joe in this gritty coming-of-age drama about a young son of a poor English coal miner who dreams of being a ballet dancer. The film is set during a 1984 miners' strike in Durham county, where angry clashes between picketers and cops in riot gear are nearly daily occurrences. Among the most vociferous protestors are Tony (Jamie Driven) and his dad (Gary Lewis), who nags his youngest son Billy (Jamie Bell) into taking boxing classes. Though the kid can do some fancy footwork, he can't take a punch. One day at the gym, he notices a ballet class taught by hard-bitten Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters), whose young daughter dares him to join. When his father gets wind of this less-than-manly pursuit, he pulls him from the class. Sensing a raw and natural talent, Mrs. Wilkinson offers to teach the lad for free in preparation for the local auditions to the Royal Ballet School. When Tony gets in trouble with the cops, Billy is forced to miss the trials, leading to a confrontation between Billy's pop and Ms. Wilkinson. Though at first he steadfastly refuses to consider his son's desires of going into ballet, he comes to realize that this might be the one shot that Billy has in order to escape the danger and grinding tedium of a miner's life, so he sets out to earn the money by any means necessary to send his son to London. This film is the directorial debut of renowned British stage director Stephen Daldry. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 35
Number of Lists: 23
Number of blog posts: 3
Number of discussion threads: 4
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Mon, 25 May 2009 16:47:03 GMTBilly Elliot2000Stephen Daldry<a href=/films/93916/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Brassed Off</a> meets <a href=/films/118182/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>My Name Is Joe</a> in this gritty coming-of-age drama about a young son of a poor English coal miner who dreams of being a ballet dancer. The film is set during a 1984 miners' strike in Durham county, where angry clashes between picketers and cops in riot gear are nearly daily occurrences. Among the most vociferous protestors are Tony (Jamie Driven) and his dad (Gary Lewis), who nags his youngest son Billy (<a href="/players/P___279767/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jamie Bell</a>) into taking boxing classes. Though the kid can do some fancy footwork, he can't take a punch. One day at the gym, he notices a ballet class taught by hard-bitten Mrs. Wilkinson (<a href="/players/P____74515/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Julie Walters</a>), whose young daughter dares him to join. When his father gets wind of this less-than-manly pursuit, he pulls him from the class. Sensing a raw and natural talent, Mrs. Wilkinson offers to teach the lad for free in preparation for the local auditions to the Royal Ballet School. When Tony gets in trouble with the cops, Billy is forced to miss the trials, leading to a confrontation between Billy's pop and Ms. Wilkinson. Though at first he steadfastly refuses to consider his son's desires of going into ballet, he comes to realize that this might be the one shot that Billy has in order to escape the danger and grinding tedium of a miner's life, so he sets out to earn the money by any means necessary to send his son to London. This film is the directorial debut of renowned British stage director <a href="/players/P___277654/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Stephen Daldry</a>. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide35Tag Target (>10)23343http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t10580pkf0r.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Billy_Elliot/154723/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/2/2/40168.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 2/2/2009 5:01:22 PM
Body: With Danny Boyle’s DGA win over the weekend, Slumdog Millionaire achieved a near-impossible feat; it became even more favored to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Once thought to be an underdog, Slumdog has been pretty much unstoppable throughout the awards season, even picking up the undeserved top honor at the SAG Awards, and has never fallen from its position of frontrunner since it took the lead months ago. Yet last week, the internet was populated by talk of a Slumdog backlash, and for the first time in weeks, other Best Picture candidates were seriously being discussed as slightly plausible victors. The two titles considered most likely to be a threat to Boyle’s film are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Milk, with little concern for either Frost/Nixon or The Reader. However, while the former candidate is probably a sure thing to lose, the latter film should not yet be dismissed. Before the Academy Award nominations were announced last month, The Reader wasn’t even thought to be a contender for any major category except Best Supporting Actress. Now, among its five nominations, it’s up for three higher-tiered Oscars, including Best Picture. So, we can’t rightly continue underestimating its potential. This isn’t to say that we are predicting The Reader to win Best Picture; Slumdog is still the safest bet for the top prize. But odds for The Reader do need to be adjusted, as its chances are a lot closer to, if not better than, secondary favorites Benjamin Button and Milk. Of course, as the it stands now, the film should be an appealing choice for any gamblers out there, because a surprise Best Picture win for The Reader would pay out big time. So, our immediate apologies to betters if the following seven factors have any influence on professional oddsmakers out there. The Cancel-Out Factor Let’s begin with the simplest argument, which has also been used recently as evidence that Milk’s chances for the top award have gone up: Whether due to a backlash or not, Slumdog’s lead may be shortening, and Benjamin Button may be gaining. So, the two films could cancel each other out and The Reader, not Milk, could sneak forward. Or, to give Milk the same credit as others are giving it, the three favorites cancel each other out and The Reader makes an even greater leap forward. The Stephen Daldry Factor Now for the weakest, but not completely implausible argument: It’s clear the Academy loves Stephen Daldry, as they’ve nominated him for Best Director every time he’s made a movie. Unfortunately for him, there’s no way he’ll win his category this year, because no director has ever won the Oscar without at least being nominated for the DGA award. So, Boyle remains a lock for Best Director, but Daldry’s fans could try and make a serious push for the film to win Best Picture. It would be a somewhat ironic win, since Daldry’s first nomination came for a film that wasn’t even nominated for the top award (Billy Elliot). The Posthumous Oscars Factor (aka the Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella Factor) Thanks to a special exception the Academy made for The Reader, there are now three posthumous Oscar nominees. Heath Ledger is most definitely going to win Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Dark Knight, but what about Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella? The two are among The Reader’s four producers named to receive trophies if the film wins Best Picture. Academy members could consider this a year to pay special honor to the artists they’ve lost, and that would mean voting for two of their favorite filmmaking talents. On the other hand, though, with Pollack having previously won two Oscars (out of six nominations) and Minghella having previously won one (out of three nominations), it’s not as if the voters will feel as much of an obligation as they would if neither had been honored before. Still, never underestimate the power of the celebrity death cult. The Harvey Weinstein Factor It’s been awhile since Harvey’s heyday at the Oscars. While heading Miramax, he managed a couple surprise victories in the Best Picture category, and at the 2003 awards, Harvey actually had a connection to four of the five Best Picture nominees. He used to be known as someone not to be reckoned with when it came to his desire for Academy Awards. But it’s taken years for The Weinstein Co. to see one of its films in contention for the top prize. So, will Harvey once again show great influence over the Academy? According to Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger, Harvey’s been advised not to go crazy with the Oscar campaigning this year, partly for economic reasons and partly because his chances are considered low. But Karger thinks he’s still going to “go whole hog,” because “otherwise he wouldn’t be Harvey Weinstein.” And when Harvey goes whole hog, things like Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan happen. Seriously, there are already those who believe the whole Slumdog backlash thing was started by a certain “truth-and ethically challenged mogul” who would benefit from such a smear campaign. The Schindler’s List Factor As much as we all like to joke about the Academy’s Holocaust fetish, no Holocaust movie is a sure thing for Best Picture (especially if such a film is the one non-Harvey Weinstein-related nominee). But one Holocaust film in particular is the Academy’s pride and joy: Schindler’s List. If Slumdog Millionaire continues its awards season sweep, garnering top kudos from the WGA, the BAFTAs and finally the Oscars, it will actually become a more-honored film than Schindler’s List, which holds the current record for awards season domination. Unfortunately for Spielberg’s film, as noted by In Contention’s Kristopher Tapley, there were no BFCA or SAG ensemble awards back then. So, due to more opportunities, Slumdog could break the record rather unfairly. For Schindler’s List-loving members of the Academy, that might be an incentive to vote for The Reader, a fellow Holocaust film, instead of for Slumdog, which nobody could reasonably argue is better than the 1994 Best Picture-winner. The Tolerance Factor One of the major arguments in favor of Milk’s chances are that a Best Picture win for that film would make up for the Brokeback Mountain loss three years ago. And the Academy might vote for Milk in order to prove it is tolerant. But in a way, honoring Crash over Brokeback Mountain was a display of tolerance, only one that focused on race rather than sexual orientation. The Reader could be this year’s Crash, and not just because it’s one of the most critically hated Best Picture candidates in years. An argument against the aforementioned Schindler’s List Factor is that The Reader is almost like an anti-Holocaust film, because it attempts to make the audience sympathize with a concentration camp guard who slaughtered many Jewish prisoners. If the Academy should really feel the need to again prove its members are tolerant, honoring The Reader, which allegorically deals with Germany’s struggle to come to terms with its Nazi past, would be an even stronger display of this than would honoring a film focusing on gay rights. The again, the latter action may potentially be easier for some voters. The Surprise Factor Okay, this is actually the simplest argument: the Oscars are full of surprises. From Marisa Tomei’s out-numbered defeat of the British (and Australian) in 1992 to the shocking 1936 win by write-in candidate Hal Mohr to the unexpected Best Picture wins by non-frontrunners Chariots of Fire, Shakespeare in Love, Chicago and Crash (among others), the Academy should never be underestimated when it comes to their aim with monkey wrenches. So, the best reason not to dismiss The Reader in the Best Picture race is that all Oscars races are anyone’s game up until the envelopes are opened and the winners are named. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:01:22 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com2/2/2009 5:01:22 PMWith Danny Boyle’s DGA win over the weekend, Slumdog Millionaire achieved a near-impossible feat; it became even more favored to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Once thought to be an underdog, Slumdog has been pretty much unstoppable throughout the awards season, even picking up the undeserved top honor at the SAG Awards, and has never fallen from its position of frontrunner since it took the lead months ago. Yet last week, the internet was populated by talk of a Slumdog backlash, and for the first time in weeks, other Best Picture candidates were seriously being discussed as slightly plausible victors. The two titles considered most likely to be a threat to Boyle’s film are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Milk, with little concern for either Frost/Nixon or The Reader. However, while the former candidate is probably a sure thing to lose, the latter film should not yet be dismissed. Before the Academy Award nominations were announced last month, The Reader wasn’t even thought to be a contender for any major category except Best Supporting Actress. Now, among its five nominations, it’s up for three higher-tiered Oscars, including Best Picture. So, we can’t rightly continue underestimating its potential. This isn’t to say that we are predicting The Reader to win Best Picture; Slumdog is still the safest bet for the top prize. But odds for The Reader do need to be adjusted, as its chances are a lot closer to, if not better than, secondary favorites Benjamin Button and Milk. Of course, as the it stands now, the film should be an appealing choice for any gamblers out there, because a surprise Best Picture win for The Reader would pay out big time. So, our immediate apologies to betters if the following seven factors have any influence on professional oddsmakers out there. The Cancel-Out Factor Let’s begin with the simplest argument, which has also been used recently as evidence that Milk’s chances for the top award have gone up: Whether due to a backlash or not, Slumdog’s lead may be shortening, and Benjamin Button may be gaining. So, the two films could cancel each other out and The Reader, not Milk, could sneak forward. Or, to give Milk the same credit as others are giving it, the three favorites cancel each other out and The Reader makes an even greater leap forward. The Stephen Daldry Factor Now for the weakest, but not completely implausible argument: It’s clear the Academy loves Stephen Daldry, as they’ve nominated him for Best Director every time he’s made a movie. Unfortunately for him, there’s no way he’ll win his category this year, because no director has ever won the Oscar without at least being nominated for the DGA award. So, Boyle remains a lock for Best Director, but Daldry’s fans could try and make a serious push for the film to win Best Picture. It would be a somewhat ironic win, since Daldry’s first nomination came for a film that wasn’t even nominated for the top award (Billy Elliot). The Posthumous Oscars Factor (aka the Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella Factor) Thanks to a special exception the Academy made for The Reader, there are now three posthumous Oscar nominees. Heath Ledger is most definitely going to win Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Dark Knight, but what about Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella? The two are among The Reader’s four producers named to receive trophies if the film wins Best Picture. Academy members could consider this a year to pay special honor to the artists they’ve lost, and that would mean voting for two of their favorite filmmaking talents. On the other hand, though, with Pollack having previously won two Oscars (out of six nominations) and Minghella having previously won one (out of three nominations), it’s not as if the voters will feel as much of an obligation as they would if neither had been honored before. Still, never underestimate the power of the celebrity death cult. The Harvey Weinstein Factor It’s been awhile since Harvey’s heyday at the Oscars. While heading Miramax, he managed a couple surprise victories in the Best Picture category, and at the 2003 awards, Harvey actually had a connection to four of the five Best Picture nominees. He used to be known as someone not to be reckoned with when it came to his desire for Academy Awards. But it’s taken years for The Weinstein Co. to see one of its films in contention for the top prize. So, will Harvey once again show great influence over the Academy? According to Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger, Harvey’s been advised not to go crazy with the Oscar campaigning this year, partly for economic reasons and partly because his chances are considered low. But Karger thinks he’s still going to “go whole hog,” because “otherwise he wouldn’t be Harvey Weinstein.” And when Harvey goes whole hog, things like Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan happen. Seriously, there are already those who believe the whole Slumdog backlash thing was started by a certain “truth-and ethically challenged mogul” who would benefit from such a smear campaign. The Schindler’s List Factor As much as we all like to joke about the Academy’s Holocaust fetish, no Holocaust movie is a sure thing for Best Picture (especially if such a film is the one non-Harvey Weinstein-related nominee). But one Holocaust film in particular is the Academy’s pride and joy: Schindler’s List. If Slumdog Millionaire continues its awards season sweep, garnering top kudos from the WGA, the BAFTAs and finally the Oscars, it will actually become a more-honored film than Schindler’s List, which holds the current record for awards season domination. Unfortunately for Spielberg’s film, as noted by In Contention’s Kristopher Tapley, there were no BFCA or SAG ensemble awards back then. So, due to more opportunities, Slumdog could break the record rather unfairly. For Schindler’s List-loving members of the Academy, that might be an incentive to vote for The Reader, a fellow Holocaust film, instead of for Slumdog, which nobody could reasonably argue is better than the 1994 Best Picture-winner. The Tolerance Factor One of the major arguments in favor of Milk’s chances are that a Best Picture win for that film would make up for the Brokeback Mountain loss three years ago. And the Academy might vote for Milk in order to prove it is tolerant. But in a way, honoring Crash over Brokeback Mountain was a display of tolerance, only one that focused on race rather than sexual orientation. The Reader could be this year’s Crash, and not just because it’s one of the most critically hated Best Picture candidates in years. An argument against the aforementioned Schindler’s List Factor is that The Reader is almost like an anti-Holocaust film, because it attempts to make the audience sympathize with a concentration camp guard who slaughtered many Jewish prisoners. If the Academy should really feel the need to again prove its members are tolerant, honoring The Reader, which allegorically deals with Germany’s struggle to come to terms with its Nazi past, would be an even stronger display of this than would honoring a film focusing on gay rights. The again, the latter action may potentially be easier for some voters. The Surprise Factor Okay, this is actually the simplest argument: the Oscars are full of surprises. From Marisa Tomei’s out-numbered defeat of the British (and Australian) in 1992 to the shocking 1936 win by write-in candidate Hal Mohr to the unexpected Best Picture wins by non-frontrunners Chariots of Fire, Shakespeare in Love, Chicago and Crash (among others), the Academy should never be underestimated when it comes to their aim with monkey wrenches. So, the best reason not to dismiss The Reader in the Best Picture race is that all Oscars races are anyone’s game up until the envelopes are opened and the winners are named. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_September_15_This_Sporting_Li/625/35223/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 9/16/2008 7:04:51 PM
Body: [quote user="Tizzy"] [quote user="Risselada"] It is true that the Sports movie genre is one of the most cliched genres out there. I guess because it's all about competition, and rooting for someone, and if you try to thwart the audiences expectation in too many ways they will just get pissed. Just like fans of an actual sport. They will watch it week after week, hoping for the same outcome every time (that their team will win). Whether the team wins or not is how they judge their enjoyment of the game, not many other factors you can play with there. [/quote] Cliched yes, but other than the Star Wars saga and most Disney films, it's hard to think of another type of movie that really embodies Joseph Campbell's hero's journey mythology like the sports movie (although with abbreviated or skipping steps). [/quote] Tizzy: very interesting perspective, I haven't thought of sports movies that way! Rizzo: I was trying to think of a really original sports movie, and I thought of Billy Elliot. What a gorgeous flick. I know ballet isn't a sport per se, but the setup in Billy Elliot would parallel a girl struggling to play a "boy" sport.
]]>Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:04:51 GMTSkyPilotWeekly Theme9/16/2008 7:04:51 PM[quote user="Tizzy"] [quote user="Risselada"] It is true that the Sports movie genre is one of the most cliched genres out there. I guess because it's all about competition, and rooting for someone, and if you try to thwart the audiences expectation in too many ways they will just get pissed. Just like fans of an actual sport. They will watch it week after week, hoping for the same outcome every time (that their team will win). Whether the team wins or not is how they judge their enjoyment of the game, not many other factors you can play with there. [/quote] Cliched yes, but other than the Star Wars saga and most Disney films, it's hard to think of another type of movie that really embodies Joseph Campbell's hero's journey mythology like the sports movie (although with abbreviated or skipping steps). [/quote] Tizzy: very interesting perspective, I haven't thought of sports movies that way! Rizzo: I was trying to think of a really original sports movie, and I thought of Billy Elliot. What a gorgeous flick. I know ballet isn't a sport per se, but the setup in Billy Elliot would parallel a girl struggling to play a "boy" sport. http://www.spout.com/groups/Coming_Soon/Upcoming_Movies_Week_of_9_5/216/34631/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Coming Soon
Post Date: 9/1/2008 10:56:40 PM
Body: (Friday, September 5) Mister Foe -- (limited release) I'm looking forward to this one. Hallam Foe, played by Jaime Bell (Billy Elliot!) is a peeping tom looking for love on the rooftops of Edinburgh. The trailer makes this film look funny and invigorating and sad, like Juno's older, more mature Scottish cousin. Bangkok Dangerous -- This trailer shows Cage cutting off a guy's hand with a boat propellor. I can't decide if that's cool, funny, or neither. What do you guys think? If you're fans of Cage's older action flicks like The Rock, Face/Off, and Con Air, does Bangkok Dangerous look worse? Or is it us that's changed, not the quality of Cage's movies? (I have a soft spot for The Rock myself, and I wonder if I'd ruin that by watching it again.) I'd be interested in hearing from someone who's seen the original Bangkok Dangerous (2000). Did you like it? Are you excited for the remake? Passengers -- Anne Hathaway, grief counselor, is assigned a group of plane crash survivors. Of course she falls for one of them (Patrick Wilson of Hard Candy and upcoming Watchmen) and it appears he's developed ESP. This looks like a mix between Fearless and Lost. My sixth sense says it's skippable. Ping Pong Playa -- (limited release) I like the tagline: "Don't just win. Destroy." The trailer leaves me undecided, though. A comedy about ping-pong and being Asian-American. Everybody Wants to Be Italian -- (limited release) Romantic comedy. A guy's obsessed with a girl who broke up with him 8 years ago. The guy's trying to impress another girl by pretending he's Italian. Could be charming, but I will never find out. Save Me -- (limited release) A gay man enters a religious rehabilitation facility. I read in New York Magazine that it avoids caricature, but it's boring visually and the story's nothing to write home about. Some sources out there are saying Ballast will be released Sept. 4 or 5. To the best of my knowledge, it's not being released until October 1. Anyway, in case it does come out: Ballast -- (limited release) An ex-addict, her 12-year old son, and her brother-in-law (who recently failed a suicide attempt) all realize how helpless they are on their own. Together, they try to become the community that each one of them needs. SpoutBlog writer Karina Longworth reviewed it when it was at Sundance. Director Lance Hammer said in an interview with FilmCouch that he filmed Ballast in the Mississippi Delta because he "fell in love" with the Delta's sadness and authenticity. Two movies I can think of that were filmed in the Delta are also filled with sadness and authenticity. They're the blues documentaries Deep Blues and You See Me Laughin.
]]>Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:56:40 GMTSkyPilotComing Soon9/1/2008 10:56:40 PM (Friday, September 5) Mister Foe -- (limited release) I'm looking forward to this one. Hallam Foe, played by Jaime Bell (Billy Elliot!) is a peeping tom looking for love on the rooftops of Edinburgh. The trailer makes this film look funny and invigorating and sad, like Juno's older, more mature Scottish cousin. Bangkok Dangerous -- This trailer shows Cage cutting off a guy's hand with a boat propellor. I can't decide if that's cool, funny, or neither. What do you guys think? If you're fans of Cage's older action flicks like The Rock, Face/Off, and Con Air, does Bangkok Dangerous look worse? Or is it us that's changed, not the quality of Cage's movies? (I have a soft spot for The Rock myself, and I wonder if I'd ruin that by watching it again.) I'd be interested in hearing from someone who's seen the original Bangkok Dangerous (2000). Did you like it? Are you excited for the remake? Passengers -- Anne Hathaway, grief counselor, is assigned a group of plane crash survivors. Of course she falls for one of them (Patrick Wilson of Hard Candy and upcoming Watchmen) and it appears he's developed ESP. This looks like a mix between Fearless and Lost. My sixth sense says it's skippable. Ping Pong Playa -- (limited release) I like the tagline: "Don't just win. Destroy." The trailer leaves me undecided, though. A comedy about ping-pong and being Asian-American. Everybody Wants to Be Italian -- (limited release) Romantic comedy. A guy's obsessed with a girl who broke up with him 8 years ago. The guy's trying to impress another girl by pretending he's Italian. Could be charming, but I will never find out. Save Me -- (limited release) A gay man enters a religious rehabilitation facility. I read in New York Magazine that it avoids caricature, but it's boring visually and the story's nothing to write home about. Some sources out there are saying Ballast will be released Sept. 4 or 5. To the best of my knowledge, it's not being released until October 1. Anyway, in case it does come out: Ballast -- (limited release) An ex-addict, her 12-year old son, and her brother-in-law (who recently failed a suicide attempt) all realize how helpless they are on their own. Together, they try to become the community that each one of them needs. SpoutBlog writer Karina Longworth reviewed it when it was at Sundance. Director Lance Hammer said in an interview with FilmCouch that he filmed Ballast in the Mississippi Delta because he "fell in love" with the Delta's sadness and authenticity. Two movies I can think of that were filmed in the Delta are also filled with sadness and authenticity. They're the blues documentaries Deep Blues and You See Me Laughin. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/20/34147.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/20/2008 9:00:59 AM
Body: Warner Bros.’ surprise decision last week to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November to next July caused quite a stir. Fans were upset. Entertainment Weekly was embarrassed. The only people not bothered seemed to be the Twilight crowd, who benefited in the release date jumble when their anticipated adaptation moved up its opening to fill the vacancy. But why did the studio suddenly push back its major fall tent pole? Especially after receiving such favorable buzz surrounding its recently unveiled teaser trailer? Warner’s official statement seemed little more than a “just because” stance. So, ever the skeptic and speculator, I’ve compiled this list of more likely excuses: 10. Equus - My first thought after hearing the news was that Harry Potter’s penis was the cause. And I guess I think like Roger Friedman, who is claiming it’s the truth. Of course, unlike Friedman, I don’t really believe there’s any relation between the date change and the fact that Radcliffe will still be appearing nude on Broadway through the fall movie season (Equus runs from September 25 to February 8). If anything, I think it’d help the release of Half-Blood — what vacationing family in NYC wouldn’t want to make it a double feature over Thanksgiving weekend? First watch your kid march in the Macy’s parade, then head over to the Broadhurst Theatre to see Potter’s wand, and finish up the day with a movie screening at the Ziegfeld. OK, so families are apparently more interested in the Billy Elliot musical. And according to a quote in the new EW, Potter fans might be able to hold out for a nude Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. 9. Less of a wait for Deathly Hallows - With Half-Blood Prince now opening in 2009, there’s less time between that film and the next installment, the first part of Deathly Hallows, which bows in 2010 (specifically November 19, 2010) Of course, the push has still left fans with a two-year Potter drought, as there has been no new book or movie since July 2007. Will those two years make fans anticipate the film more, or will it lead them to forget about the boy wizard and move on to boy vampires? 8. Twilight madness - One rumor floating around is that Warner Bros. was scared of Twilight, particularly after the Comic-Con panel, which was met with an overwhelming volume of screaming fans. Originally, the vampire movie was slated to open three weeks after Harry Potter, and fantasy favoring teens would have likely moved onto Twilight rather than seeing Half-Blood Prince again. However, it’s just as likely that Warner saw bigger competition from: 7. Disney’s Bolt - Personally, I think Twilight is going to bomb, or at least perform unsatisfactorily. I’d be willing to bet the animated film Bolt, which was originally to open 5 days after Half-Blood, is more successful. And now that both Twilight and Bolt have jointly taken Harry Potter’s spot, I get to actually watch as kids choose the latter, with its Miley Cyrus-voiced character, over the cheesy, mushy vampire movie. I don’t think Bolt could have bettered Harry Potter, though, so Warner likely wasn’t scared away by the little animated dog. 6. Midnight shows - Some kids have pointed out that with a summer release they’re more likely to be able to attend a midnight screening on the eve of Half-Blood’s opening. Other kids have pointed out that their parents are cool enough to allow them to stay up late on a school night for Harry Potter mania. Meanwhile, I’d like to point out that my dad could beat up all those kids’ dads. 5. Re-shooting for Darker content - As its Dark Knight keeps on reeling in the dough, Warner Bros. may be interested in making other tent poles as dark as the highly acclaimed and highly successful Batman sequel. So, rather than appeasing the kiddies with more accessible midnight shows, the studio might want to appease more of the older folk by adding in some harder content (in one new scene, Potter shows us how to make his wand disappear). It would make sense, since most of the original Potter fans are now adults. And like Anne Thompson, I’d be much more interested in seeing an R-rated Potter installment (though she means because Billy Elliot was rated R). Then again, from what I hear, the last two books are plenty dark without need for rewrites and re-shoots. Maybe not enough to get an R-rating, but I doubt any WB execs would honestly think that’s a good idea anyway. 4. After effects of the Writer’s Strike - Although the WGA strike now seems like it happened ages ago, its effects will still be felt next summer, when the blockbuster season is expected to be lacking in big movies that could have been scripted were it not for the writing hiatus. But if you actually look at next summer’s crop of releases, you’ll notice there’s actually some major tent poles, even in July, when Harry Potter will be rounding out the peak of the season against such worthy competitors as Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi flick 2012, which opens the weekend before, and Jerry Bruckheimer’s family film G-Force, which opens the weekend after. Plus, the little kids will still be excited for Ice Age 3 (in 3-D), out two weeks earlier, and the big kids will still be into Transformers 2, arriving three weeks earlier. Warner Bros. head Alan Horn was correct that Half-Blood Prince “perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer,” but that’s not a good enough motive to suddenly hold a highly anticipated movie for another eight months, especially when it leaves a similar gap in the holiday season. 3. In-house finances - Then again, Warner Bros. may have seen a tent pole lack in-house rather than in general. Now, in the event that R-rated blockbusters Watchmen and Terminator Salvation aren’t huge moneymakers, the studio has Harry to fall back on. And with The Dark Knight making the company enough dough for 2008, it makes sense for the WB to balance out its expectant profit-makers. I’ve also seen it explained as having to do with not paying as much in taxes for this fiscal year, but whatever the specific reason, it seems probable that it’s an in-house financial strategy. 2. The last Potter was huge in the summer - 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had the worst opening weekend of the franchise, yet it went on to earn the second highest gross of the series, with only the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, performing better domestically and worldwide. Plenty of people have noted that the three fall-opening installments average out better than the two summer openers, but that’s only because of the monumental success of part one. Logically, though, to open the movie in mid July, as Warner Bros. did with Order of the Phoenix, means it will easily have longer legs, able to perform well on weekdays for another 5-6 weeks of vacation before school starts. Opening around Thanksgiving is good for a strong debut, but then within a month the box office drops due to school, a crowded movie season and other holiday-minded priorities. 1. Warner Bros. hates the fans - Obviously the true reason for the delay is to piss off Harry Potter fans. But fortunately, the fans are striking back … with three online petitions (one at iPetitions; two at PetitionSpot). And so far, more than 34,000 outraged Potterheads have signed in protest of the release date change (I’m counting the largest one of the two at PetitionSpot as the only noteworthy). Unfortunately, most of the signers are probably like #34,196, Catherine Blencowe, who adds to the basic “I support this petition” these words: “If I actually thought I could, I would say that I will boycott the movie, but alas I’m too hooked.” Warner Bros. may hate the fans, but the fans will never hate Warner Bros. more than they love Harry. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:00:59 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/20/2008 9:00:59 AMWarner Bros.’ surprise decision last week to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November to next July caused quite a stir. Fans were upset. Entertainment Weekly was embarrassed. The only people not bothered seemed to be the Twilight crowd, who benefited in the release date jumble when their anticipated adaptation moved up its opening to fill the vacancy. But why did the studio suddenly push back its major fall tent pole? Especially after receiving such favorable buzz surrounding its recently unveiled teaser trailer? Warner’s official statement seemed little more than a “just because” stance. So, ever the skeptic and speculator, I’ve compiled this list of more likely excuses: 10. Equus - My first thought after hearing the news was that Harry Potter’s penis was the cause. And I guess I think like Roger Friedman, who is claiming it’s the truth. Of course, unlike Friedman, I don’t really believe there’s any relation between the date change and the fact that Radcliffe will still be appearing nude on Broadway through the fall movie season (Equus runs from September 25 to February 8). If anything, I think it’d help the release of Half-Blood — what vacationing family in NYC wouldn’t want to make it a double feature over Thanksgiving weekend? First watch your kid march in the Macy’s parade, then head over to the Broadhurst Theatre to see Potter’s wand, and finish up the day with a movie screening at the Ziegfeld. OK, so families are apparently more interested in the Billy Elliot musical. And according to a quote in the new EW, Potter fans might be able to hold out for a nude Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. 9. Less of a wait for Deathly Hallows - With Half-Blood Prince now opening in 2009, there’s less time between that film and the next installment, the first part of Deathly Hallows, which bows in 2010 (specifically November 19, 2010) Of course, the push has still left fans with a two-year Potter drought, as there has been no new book or movie since July 2007. Will those two years make fans anticipate the film more, or will it lead them to forget about the boy wizard and move on to boy vampires? 8. Twilight madness - One rumor floating around is that Warner Bros. was scared of Twilight, particularly after the Comic-Con panel, which was met with an overwhelming volume of screaming fans. Originally, the vampire movie was slated to open three weeks after Harry Potter, and fantasy favoring teens would have likely moved onto Twilight rather than seeing Half-Blood Prince again. However, it’s just as likely that Warner saw bigger competition from: 7. Disney’s Bolt - Personally, I think Twilight is going to bomb, or at least perform unsatisfactorily. I’d be willing to bet the animated film Bolt, which was originally to open 5 days after Half-Blood, is more successful. And now that both Twilight and Bolt have jointly taken Harry Potter’s spot, I get to actually watch as kids choose the latter, with its Miley Cyrus-voiced character, over the cheesy, mushy vampire movie. I don’t think Bolt could have bettered Harry Potter, though, so Warner likely wasn’t scared away by the little animated dog. 6. Midnight shows - Some kids have pointed out that with a summer release they’re more likely to be able to attend a midnight screening on the eve of Half-Blood’s opening. Other kids have pointed out that their parents are cool enough to allow them to stay up late on a school night for Harry Potter mania. Meanwhile, I’d like to point out that my dad could beat up all those kids’ dads. 5. Re-shooting for Darker content - As its Dark Knight keeps on reeling in the dough, Warner Bros. may be interested in making other tent poles as dark as the highly acclaimed and highly successful Batman sequel. So, rather than appeasing the kiddies with more accessible midnight shows, the studio might want to appease more of the older folk by adding in some harder content (in one new scene, Potter shows us how to make his wand disappear). It would make sense, since most of the original Potter fans are now adults. And like Anne Thompson, I’d be much more interested in seeing an R-rated Potter installment (though she means because Billy Elliot was rated R). Then again, from what I hear, the last two books are plenty dark without need for rewrites and re-shoots. Maybe not enough to get an R-rating, but I doubt any WB execs would honestly think that’s a good idea anyway. 4. After effects of the Writer’s Strike - Although the WGA strike now seems like it happened ages ago, its effects will still be felt next summer, when the blockbuster season is expected to be lacking in big movies that could have been scripted were it not for the writing hiatus. But if you actually look at next summer’s crop of releases, you’ll notice there’s actually some major tent poles, even in July, when Harry Potter will be rounding out the peak of the season against such worthy competitors as Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi flick 2012, which opens the weekend before, and Jerry Bruckheimer’s family film G-Force, which opens the weekend after. Plus, the little kids will still be excited for Ice Age 3 (in 3-D), out two weeks earlier, and the big kids will still be into Transformers 2, arriving three weeks earlier. Warner Bros. head Alan Horn was correct that Half-Blood Prince “perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer,” but that’s not a good enough motive to suddenly hold a highly anticipated movie for another eight months, especially when it leaves a similar gap in the holiday season. 3. In-house finances - Then again, Warner Bros. may have seen a tent pole lack in-house rather than in general. Now, in the event that R-rated blockbusters Watchmen and Terminator Salvation aren’t huge moneymakers, the studio has Harry to fall back on. And with The Dark Knight making the company enough dough for 2008, it makes sense for the WB to balance out its expectant profit-makers. I’ve also seen it explained as having to do with not paying as much in taxes for this fiscal year, but whatever the specific reason, it seems probable that it’s an in-house financial strategy. 2. The last Potter was huge in the summer - 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had the worst opening weekend of the franchise, yet it went on to earn the second highest gross of the series, with only the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, performing better domestically and worldwide. Plenty of people have noted that the three fall-opening installments average out better than the two summer openers, but that’s only because of the monumental success of part one. Logically, though, to open the movie in mid July, as Warner Bros. did with Order of the Phoenix, means it will easily have longer legs, able to perform well on weekdays for another 5-6 weeks of vacation before school starts. Opening around Thanksgiving is good for a strong debut, but then within a month the box office drops due to school, a crowded movie season and other holiday-minded priorities. 1. Warner Bros. hates the fans - Obviously the true reason for the delay is to piss off Harry Potter fans. But fortunately, the fans are striking back … with three online petitions (one at iPetitions; two at PetitionSpot). And so far, more than 34,000 outraged Potterheads have signed in protest of the release date change (I’m counting the largest one of the two at PetitionSpot as the only noteworthy). Unfortunately, most of the signers are probably like #34,196, Catherine Blencowe, who adds to the basic “I support this petition” these words: “If I actually thought I could, I would say that I will boycott the movie, but alas I’m too hooked.” Warner Bros. may hate the fans, but the fans will never hate Warner Bros. more than they love Harry. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Games/Re_Pick_a_Pair/598/31645/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Movie Games
Post Date: 6/24/2008 7:16:50 PM
Body: [quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="Risselada"] Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Big Momma's House of course!!! It will feel just like the year 2000 again! The best year for movies EVER! [/quote] I just wiki'd the box office number-ones for 2000, and it was like going through a depressing museum exhibit. I thought, "I don't want to live through that year again." Funny I didn't realize popular cinema was so s***ty at the time. Gladiator won Best Picture? Gladiator is to cauliflauer what award-winners are to vegetables. What were the only two ears of sweet corn in 2000? Billy Elliot and O Brother, Where Art Thou. [/quote] Yeah I've never seen Billy Elliot, but I remember 2000 being over and thinking O Brother was about the only good thing worth seeing at all the whole year. I did a search on movies I've seen and rated although it's kind of hard becuase some movies are listed with release dates of 2000, but that was just at some film festival. Sometimes they don't hit the major market for nearly a year after the festival circuit. For instance Mememto is listed as being released in 2000, but wasn't really released in most theatres until the middle of March in 2001.
]]>Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:16:50 GMTRisseladaMovie Games6/24/2008 7:16:50 PM[quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="Risselada"] Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Big Momma's House of course!!! It will feel just like the year 2000 again! The best year for movies EVER! [/quote] I just wiki'd the box office number-ones for 2000, and it was like going through a depressing museum exhibit. I thought, "I don't want to live through that year again." Funny I didn't realize popular cinema was so s***ty at the time. Gladiator won Best Picture? Gladiator is to cauliflauer what award-winners are to vegetables. What were the only two ears of sweet corn in 2000? Billy Elliot and O Brother, Where Art Thou. [/quote] Yeah I've never seen Billy Elliot, but I remember 2000 being over and thinking O Brother was about the only good thing worth seeing at all the whole year. I did a search on movies I've seen and rated although it's kind of hard becuase some movies are listed with release dates of 2000, but that was just at some film festival. Sometimes they don't hit the major market for nearly a year after the festival circuit. For instance Mememto is listed as being released in 2000, but wasn't really released in most theatres until the middle of March in 2001. http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Games/Re_Pick_a_Pair/598/31630/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Movie Games
Post Date: 6/24/2008 4:32:12 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Big Momma's House of course!!! It will feel just like the year 2000 again! The best year for movies EVER! [/quote] I just wiki'd the box office number-ones for 2000, and it was like going through a depressing museum exhibit. I thought, "I don't want to live through that year again." Funny I didn't realize popular cinema was so s***ty at the time. Gladiator won Best Picture? Gladiator is to cauliflauer what award-winners are to vegetables. What were the only two ears of sweet corn in 2000? Billy Elliot and O Brother, Where Art Thou.
]]>Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:32:12 GMTSkyPilotMovie Games6/24/2008 4:32:12 PM[quote user="Risselada"] Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Big Momma's House of course!!! It will feel just like the year 2000 again! The best year for movies EVER! [/quote] I just wiki'd the box office number-ones for 2000, and it was like going through a depressing museum exhibit. I thought, "I don't want to live through that year again." Funny I didn't realize popular cinema was so s***ty at the time. Gladiator won Best Picture? Gladiator is to cauliflauer what award-winners are to vegetables. What were the only two ears of sweet corn in 2000? Billy Elliot and O Brother, Where Art Thou. http://www.spout.com/blogs/snowgirl/archive/2007/8/5/17340.aspx Post By: Snowgirl
Post To: Snowgirl Blog
Post Date: 8/5/2007 10:39:32 AM
Body: That's what I think this movie want's to say: "Always be yourself." Everyone has something that they love to do. For Billy Elliot it's dancing. He loves to dance, though he is afraid, and is real brave for doing it. But even though he really loves it, he needs support from people arround him to reach for his dream. Don't we all need that? And also, I loved the dancing!
]]>Sun, 05 Aug 2007 14:39:32 GMTSnowgirlSnowgirl Blog8/5/2007 10:39:32 AMThat&#39;s what I think this movie want&#39;s to say: &quot;Always be yourself.&quot; Everyone has something that they love to do. For Billy Elliot it&#39;s dancing. He loves to dance, though he is afraid, and is real brave for doing it. But even though he really loves it, he needs support from people arround him to reach for his dream. Don&#39;t we all need that? And also, I loved the dancing! http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/british/MemberTagFilms.aspxbritish
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