MANY THANKS TO OUR 9/11 CONTRIBUTORS
As always, Big Hollywood’s contributors came through in a big way. We can’t thank those who contributed to yesterday’s series of posts commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 atrocity enough. In fact, we received so many excellent pieces that we decided to extend the series into this week rather than pile them all into a single day.
So stay tuned for more.
#1. Contagion $23.1 Million Opening
On almost 4000 screens with an Oscar-winning director and four Oscar winners in the cast (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, and Kate Winslet), “Contagion” was only able to scrounge up $23 million. With a $60 million budget (which doesn’t include advertising costs), director Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded thriller will have to gross somewhere around $150 million just to break even
Now can we declare the movie star dead?
And when will Hollywood wake up and realize that Matt Damon insulting half the country on a regular basis effectively destroys the most important quality a movie star can acquire: audience goodwill.
#2. The Help $8.6 Million, Total Domestic $137 Million
This $25 million adult drama with no “sure-fire” bankable stars has thus far grossed a whopping $137 million.
This not only proves that a good story that’s well executed and acted can find an audience, but also how hungry people are for this kind of theatre experience.
#3 Warrior $5.6 Million Opening
Though I’ve heard nothing but great things about the film itself, there just isn’t a wide enough audience for mixed martial arts. Personally, I thought the trailer was terrific, but people probably thought they’d seen the story a hundred times before.
I suspect there’s life in this one yet. Between the positive reviews and what’s sure to be positive word-of-mouth, this has the makings of a DVD hit — the kind that can generate a sequel.
Furthermore, Hollywood loves a comeback and come Oscar season “Warrior” could benefit from the hoopla surrounding Nick Nolte’s performance.
#4 The Debt $4.9 Million, Total Domestic $22 Million
This $20 million drama has already brought in $24 million worldwide. Obviously, that’s not much in comparison to “The Help,” but profit is profit and this one will surely do well enough to do better than break even. And again you have another well-reviewed adult drama bringing in a sizable audience.
For years we heard how the adult drama was dead. No, the lousy, depressing, nihilistic adult drama was dead.
There’s a difference.
Another Woody Allen Documentary?
Whatever you might think of Woody Allen as a person (and I don’t think much), he is an undeniably fascinating character. But it’s only been 14 years since “Wild Man Blues” was released in 1997 and it’s hard to see how that can be improved upon. Moreover, other than his recent comeback, nothing new or seismic has happened in the man’s life.
If you haven’t seen it, “Wild Man Blues” does a marvelous job of showing us the side of Woody Allen Woody Allen doesn’t want you to see. Posing as a documentary about Allen’s love of music and using only subtext to dig into his psychology, Allen cooperated and revealed much about himself and his family — all of it a few years after his bitter break up with Mia Farrow and his subsequent marriage to Soon-Yi.
There’s really not much left to tell and certainly no better way to tell it. And if it’s nothing more than a career retrospective, Turner Classic movies can do that.
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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING
Down to the final two episodes of “Damages” Season Two. This is perfect escapist television after a long work day. Triple-A trash, and I say that as the finest of compliments.
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QUICK HITS
THE BEST SITCOM CHARACTER ON TV IS A LIBERTARIAN
‘REVENGE OF THE SITH’ CAME TOO LATE TO SAVE TRILOGY
FILM CAMEOS OF THE TWIN TOWERS
WHAT IF MARTY AND DOC WENT BACK TO 1967?
SCHWARZENEGGER MIGHT STAR IN INDIE THRILLER ‘CAPTIVE’
ROBERT ZEMECKIS OFFICIALLY DONE PLAYING WITH HIS COMPUTER
WHAT THE NOW-CANCELLED ‘HELLRAISER’ REMAKE MIGHT’VE LOOKED LIKE
BRENDAN FRASER AS WILLIAM TELL IN 3D
IS THIS THE MOST ACTION-PACKED (NSFW) TRAILER EVER?
IS ‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’ COMING BACK TO TV?
‘KING’S SPEECH’ DIRECTOR SET TO REMAKE ‘LES MISÉRABLES’ WITH HUGH JACKMAN
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CLASSIC PICK FOR TUESDAY, SEPT 13
FMC:
10:00 PM EST: Ace In the Hole (1951) — A small-town reporter milks a local disaster to get back into the big time. Dir: Billy Wilder Cast: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Bob Arthur. BW-111 mins, TV-14, CC.
Director Billy Wilder truly had stunning range as a director and writer. You would never guess that the man who made “Some Like It Hot” also directed this deep, dark piece of noirish cynicism.
Kirk Douglas — who never won a performance Oscar! — plays a cold-hearted reporter who exploits a human tragedy in the most craven way imaginable. He’s absolutely perfect in the lead role and if you think for a moment that members of our esteemed media aren’t capable of such things, you haven’t been paying attention.
The present-day MSM might not leave a man to die in a deep hole, but they’re mercenary character assassins in every sense of the word.
If “Ace In the Hole” is allegory, it’s only just barely.
–Please send tips/suggestions/requests to jnolte@breitbart.com
–Please thank ScottDS for today’s awesome quick hits…