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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951 Likes: 6
Officially "too old for this shit" 15000+ posts
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OP
Officially "too old for this shit" 15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43,951 Likes: 6 |
Kevin Costner Almost Got 'Lady' LeadThere are plenty of revelations in Michael Bamberger’s new book about director M. Night Shyamalan. The strangest is that Shyamalan briefly considered replacing Oscar nominee and indie-film favorite Paul Giamatti with … Kevin Costner. He even checked his availability at one point. Right away, you know something is off with Shyamalan.
But Disney isn’t stupid. They got out of making “Lady in the Water” by offering the director only $60 million in all. Shyamalan declined, and now Warner Bros. will release the film on Friday. The budget was $75 million.
No one I’ve talked to likes this movie. Two nights ago, Warner Bros. held a premiere at the American Museum of Natural History and banned all columnists from attending. One reporter from The New York Times was invited, but she was instructed not to speak to the press.
Even Ron Howard, father of star Bryce Dallas Howard, skipped the event, a rarity for him. He must have been tipped off.
Surprisingly, only Variety and the Hollywood Reporter were allowed to cover the premiere. After all, the Variety reviewer, Brian Lowry, said "Lady in the Water" was “a ponderous, self-indulgent bedtime tale. Awkwardly positioned, this gloomy gothic fantasy falls well short of horror, leaving grim theatrical prospects beyond whatever curiosity the filmmaker's reputation and the mini-controversy can scare up.”
The Hollywood Reporter was kinder, but eventually Kirk Honeycutt gets around to the business at hand. “The film utterly fails,” he concludes.
Warner Bros. owns up to the $75 million budget for “Lady,” which probably means $100 million, with another $50 million for prints and advertising. That’s a $150 million write off if they can’t convince audiences that early reviews are wrong. Of course, the studio is still wrangling with the “Superman Returns” dilemma, as the failed blockbuster peters out around $170 million domestically.
But now things get interesting. Last night, Disney fired Nina Jacobson, the executive who almost made “Lady.” This is on the eve of the publication of Bamberger's new book about Shyamalan called “The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale,” which describes how the movie was planned, and how it ultimately switched studios.
Jacobson didn’t have exactly the greatest taste — she made the Kate Hudson movie “Raising Helen.” But according to Bamberger’s book, she at least confessed early on, after reading the sixth draft of “Lady,” that she had no idea what it was about.
Now the ball is in Warner's court — and if “Lady” becomes a total disaster, the Warner Bros. crowd may be looking for their own scapegoat. The method would be easy — see if anyone can explain the film.
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Educator to comprehension impaired (JLA, that is you) 50000+ posts
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Educator to comprehension impaired (JLA, that is you) 50000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 53,734 |
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the G-man said:
You know, sorta going back on topic, its funny that Night has such a thing for water.
It was the weakness in both "Unbreakable" and "Signs," and now its the source of the title character in his new film.
Did the guy have a near drowning incident as a kid or something?
The man considers himself a genius, so I suppose he thinks it's grand irony that the basic buildig block of life is also the weakness of it in his movies. I'm sure he giggles everytime he writes a script.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Queen of the Geeks 300+ posts
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Queen of the Geeks 300+ posts
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 345 |
What made The Village suck so badly was not that it was a terrible movie, but that it was promoted in such a way that everyone would think that it was a supernatural flick when it wasn't.
The plot itself had great promise, and it certainly did have an interesting twist ending, as does all M. Night Shamalan's movies, but when you realise that it is not a supernatural thriller, it tends to make fans of the genre very very angry.
Not to mention that the whole twist ending thing starts to get old after a while, and unless you are interested in the story that leads up to the ending, a twist ending can often ruin things, as everyone will end up telling you about it before you had a chance to see it.
Case in point: "Soylent Green is People!"
I don't do drugs, because I am drugs!-Salvador Dali
MST3K:
Master's Wife: The child is a female. She must not be destroyed. She will grow up to be a woman.
Joel: Oh, is that how that works!
Wednesday-I will make for you a brother. He will be Jason Jr.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
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Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 24,593 |
Quote:
Jay Orin said:
What made The Village suck so badly was not that it was a terrible movie, but that it was promoted in such a way that everyone would think that it was a supernatural flick when it wasn't.
That's because the movie disguised itself as a supernatural thriller. That's what was supposed to make the whole "twist" thing work. It lead you one way to reveal another explination. That's not the fault of the marketing.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet." Our Friendly Neighborhood Ray-man said: "no, the doctor's right. besides, he has seniority."
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 32,001 Likes: 1
We already are 15000+ posts
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We already are 15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 32,001 Likes: 1 |
Quote:
the G-man said:
Kevin Costner Almost Got 'Lady' Lead
There are plenty of revelations in Michael Bamberger’s new book about director M. Night Shyamalan. The strangest is that Shyamalan briefly considered replacing Oscar nominee and indie-film favorite Paul Giamatti with … Kevin Costner. He even checked his availability at one point. Right away, you know something is off with Shyamalan.
But Disney isn’t stupid. They got out of making “Lady in the Water” by offering the director only $60 million in all. Shyamalan declined, and now Warner Bros. will release the film on Friday. The budget was $75 million.
No one I’ve talked to likes this movie. Two nights ago, Warner Bros. held a premiere at the American Museum of Natural History and banned all columnists from attending. One reporter from The New York Times was invited, but she was instructed not to speak to the press.
Even Ron Howard, father of star Bryce Dallas Howard, skipped the event, a rarity for him. He must have been tipped off.
Surprisingly, only Variety and the Hollywood Reporter were allowed to cover the premiere. After all, the Variety reviewer, Brian Lowry, said "Lady in the Water" was “a ponderous, self-indulgent bedtime tale. Awkwardly positioned, this gloomy gothic fantasy falls well short of horror, leaving grim theatrical prospects beyond whatever curiosity the filmmaker's reputation and the mini-controversy can scare up.”
The Hollywood Reporter was kinder, but eventually Kirk Honeycutt gets around to the business at hand. “The film utterly fails,” he concludes.
Warner Bros. owns up to the $75 million budget for “Lady,” which probably means $100 million, with another $50 million for prints and advertising. That’s a $150 million write off if they can’t convince audiences that early reviews are wrong. Of course, the studio is still wrangling with the “Superman Returns” dilemma, as the failed blockbuster peters out around $170 million domestically.
But now things get interesting. Last night, Disney fired Nina Jacobson, the executive who almost made “Lady.” This is on the eve of the publication of Bamberger's new book about Shyamalan called “The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale,” which describes how the movie was planned, and how it ultimately switched studios.
Jacobson didn’t have exactly the greatest taste — she made the Kate Hudson movie “Raising Helen.” But according to Bamberger’s book, she at least confessed early on, after reading the sixth draft of “Lady,” that she had no idea what it was about.
Now the ball is in Warner's court — and if “Lady” becomes a total disaster, the Warner Bros. crowd may be looking for their own scapegoat. The method would be easy — see if anyone can explain the film.
Superman made more than 170 million domestically......they are full of shit.
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 32,001 Likes: 1
We already are 15000+ posts
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We already are 15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 32,001 Likes: 1 |
Quote:
thedoctor said:
Quote:
Jay Orin said:
What made The Village suck so badly was not that it was a terrible movie, but that it was promoted in such a way that everyone would think that it was a supernatural flick when it wasn't.
That's because the movie disguised itself as a supernatural thriller. That's what was supposed to make the whole "twist" thing work. It lead you one way to reveal another explination. That's not the fault of the marketing.
spoil it for me.....what was it about ....what was the twist.....how did it end. I will never watch this movie so I might as well get a cliff notes version.
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 19,633
I walk in eternity 15000+ posts
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I walk in eternity 15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 19,633 |
Quote:
Jay Orin said:
What made The Village suck so badly was not that it was a terrible movie, but that it was promoted in such a way that everyone would think that it was a supernatural flick when it wasn't.
The plot itself had great promise, and it certainly did have an interesting twist ending, as does all M. Night Shamalan's movies, but when you realise that it is not a supernatural thriller, it tends to make fans of the genre very very angry.
Not to mention that the whole twist ending thing starts to get old after a while, and unless you are interested in the story that leads up to the ending, a twist ending can often ruin things, as everyone will end up telling you about it before you had a chance to see it.
Case in point: "Soylent Green is People!"
I was all prepared for MONSTERS, dammit..!!!
"I offer you a Vulcan prayer, Mr Suder. May your death bring you the peace you never found in life." - Tuvok. 
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 15,546
Living the dream 15000+ posts
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Living the dream 15000+ posts
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 15,546 |
Quote:
PJP said:
spoil it for me.....what was it about ....what was the twist.....how did it end. I will never watch this movie so I might as well get a cliff notes version.
The twist was that the creature was just a costume meant to scare the younger villagers into staying within town limits. Turns out the "elders" had a lot of bad stuff happen to them (death, sickness, etc) so they created their village in a forest preserve to hide from modern society. In other words, they're a bunch of cowards.
Yeah...spoilers.
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