March 28, 2003

The Oscars are over and, hopefully, the pathetically think week of industry reporting will be gone by next week as well.  It’s like everyone went on vacation… well, everyone except for the Movie City News team.  They are launching the brand new MovieCityGeek.com at Noon today.  Check it out.  It won’t be for all tastes.  (Not mine, really.)  But if you want to know the latest spider/hulk/charlie’sangels/lordoftherings/etcetcetc news, it’s for you.

Four Oscar winners are taking advantage of Sunday’s win with expansion this weekend.  Chicago extends out another 136 screens, in its last advance.  The Pianist starts widening out for the first time, really, adding 233 screens for a 773-screen total.  Spirited Away gets a re-release on 711 screens.  And Bowling for Columbine adds a modest 15 screens in its 25th weekend. 

Of course, the entire number of added screens are just a little greater than the 1046 screens being lost to Tears of The Sun in weekend four.  Also suffering is Willard, which drops 1290 screens or 73 percent of their screens.  Ouch. 

The other four Oscar nominees that did not take home the big prizes are all losing screens.  The Hours drops 122 (19 percent), Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers cuts 93 screens (18 percent) and Gangs of New York sends 400 screens to the butcher (71 percent).  Oopsey Daisy!   (See, Roger Friedman was right… that phrase is catching on as a national craze.)

Much to my surprise, My Big Fat Greek Wedding somehow got down to just 21 screens in its anniversary weekend.  Yes, this weekend will mark one year in theaters for the film.  Quite a run.

In the art houses, look for Assassination Tango and Stevie, plus Bend It Like Beckham expands to 46 screens.  And Warner Bros.’ What a Girl Wants sneaks in 1100 houses. 

In spite of falling out of the Top Ten, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days should break the $100 million mark this weekend.

WEEKEND GUESSTIMATES

1. Basic - 2876 venues – off percent - $14.3 million
2. Head of State – 2151 venues – off percent - $13.8 million
3. Bringing Down the House - 2910 venues – off 35 percent - $10.5 million
4. The Core - 3017 venues – off percent - $9.7 million
5. Dreamcatcher – 2945 venues – off 48 percent - $7.8 million
6. Agent Cody Banks - 2786 venues – off 40 percent - $5.5 million
7. Chicago – 2701 venues – off 17 percent - $5.1 million
8. Piglet's Big Movie - 2084 venues – off 40 percent - $3.7 million
9. View from the Top - 2508 venues – off 57 percent - $3 million
10. The Hunted - 2244 venues – off 56 percent - $2.9 million

SCREENING FOR CAMERAS:  Jeff Wells ran a piece (4th item) about being heavily security screened on the way into a WB Dreamcatcher screening a few weeks ago.  The L.A. Times did a story on Wednesday. Neither quite got it, since Warner Bros. isn’t really talking about their policy in detail.  But here’s the word.  The studio is screening tightly at Los Angeles screenings on and off the lot.  For the record, there was security screening at a junket showing of A Mighty Wind, but I was not forced to leave my cell phone behind.   They probably figured out that it was overkill about a day after they did it at the Dreamcatcher screening that Wells was at.  Again, at the Dreamcatcher screening I was at a few nights earlier, they did not take my cell phone.   We did get the infrared goggle treatment though.  They are also screening in New York City.   They are not security screening at most regional screenings… yet. 

Interestingly, the L.A. Times story fails to give credit to Movie City News for making Paramount and the MPAA aware of the pirated versions of The Hours being sold on the internet.  In that case, the “press screening” issue was not at play, since the DVD of the film was available in late October, before even the first press screening of the film.  As with many films, the most effective early access to these films comes from in-house copies that find their way outside of the office.  Last year, Roger Friedman admitted to have seen both Gangs of New York and Frida in this fashion.  And I, without really pursuing the opportunity, saw at least five major titles before studios made them available for screenings.  All five were marked for security.  Only one was marked effectively enough to thwart piracy… though pirates would still have sold it, I’m sure.  DVDs of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers turned up on the same website as The Hours had in October. Movie City News reported it again and New Line and the MPAA finally shut the site down permanently.  (The URL currently offers: “Sorry. We are closed. Our website has been temporarily taken offline. We regret any inconveniences caused. Thank you.”)

The reality, in the end, is that piracy doesn’t have to happen a few weeks early to be damaging.  Walk through Times Square and you can buy pretty much any current title for $5.  Mostly, these are films shot off screens in Manhattan.  Start busting the purchasers of these illegal goods and things might change. 

I would be willing to bet that the Daredevil incident mentioned in the LA Times piece involved an audience member brought in to fill seats and to intensify the experience for the press.  That practice may need to be curbed.  True, it is hard to have a half-empty room for a comedy and the enthusiasm of the crowd is helpful in an action movie.  But I’m pretty sure that the press corps is not the source of the camcorders. 

The worst news of all is that theater managers are the nation’s greatest source of quality piracy.  A print moving out the back door at midnight and returning to the platter by noon the next day…who needs a camcorder? 

READER OF THE DAY:  A FRIEND NAMED DAVID writes:  “This afternoon I finally walked into my school library to view War Photographer, a film I recently spotted on the "new to" shelf. I recalled your praises of the film last year, and was curious to see why you loved it so much.

Several weeks ago I tried to borrow the film, but the Ryerson University library will only lend the video out for two hours at a time, for viewing the library. As I sat in the library cubicle, I popped the video into the VCR. I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

Within ten minutes of the opening credits, my eyes began to tear up. This continued for the duration of the film. Death, destruction, famine, struggle. What war photographer James Nachtwey captures is both beautiful and disturbing. His job is not only admirable, but fascinating, adventurous, realistic and most of all purely emotional. He's dodging bullets, capturing starvation and watching a mother cry while they bring her son home in a casket.

When the film ended, I returned it to the librarian and gave high recommendations. I wanted to show it to my friends, and my family. As an aspiring journalist, it moved me. Though I'm sure I will never be of Nachtwey's caliber, I found his story inspiring. He has made a difference by showing the world images they probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Rushing home, I hoped to purchase the film online. I did. It's distributor, First Run/Icarus Films (http://www.frif.com/), is selling the film for $440.00.

Unfortunately I can't afford a copy licensed for classroom viewing on a student's paycheque. Hopefully the film will be repriced for public consumption soon enough, so that I can show it to everyone I know. I e-mailed the company for information, but have yet to receive a response.

In part, I am writing this to encourage anyone who can get their hands on War Photographer to watch it immediately. I also want to thank you for directing me to a film that not only opened my eyes, but inspired me.

In the terrifying times of this attack on Iraq it is fascinating to see a man who will put his life on the line to capture the struggles and suffering of entire nations. Nachtwey would probably never admit it himself, but he has lived a thousand lifetimes.

Here is Nachtwey's website: http://www.jamesnachtwey.com”

POLI-SCI writes: ”The perfect director for Superman is Baz Luhrmann, and it's so bloody obvious I keep wondering why no one is suggesting him.

He can do big, bold, colorful, wildly inventive tales of valor and justice and love and triumph and make a cynical modern audience buy good guys and bad guys without shades of gray or irony or winking at the camera.  Who else is better to make people believe a man would put on blue tights and a red cape to save the world from an evil bald genius?”

E ME:  How are you going to spend this lovely weekend?  Has everyone forgotten the war?  Did the generally pleasant Oscar ceremony help America forget?