Let's Talk Movies #36 - 2020 - Yep it is a new decade

[Allskate]

The domestic and global box office numbers for Barbie and Oppenheimer are huge:

Box Office Bonanza: ‘Barbie’ to Blast Past $700M Globally by Sunday After Record Week

'Oppenheimer' also continues to contribute to the moviegoing boom, while Disney's family pic 'Haunted Mansion' has entered the fray with $3.1 million in box office previews.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

‘Barbie’ To Bask In $600M+ Global Box Office Through Today; ‘Oppenheimer’ Will Cross $300M+ WW

FRIDAY UPDATE: Warner Bros’ Barbie has passed a new milestone at the international box office, crossing $300M with Thursday’s grosses included. The Greta Gerwig-directed pic is heading into its sec…

deadline.com

 

[PeterG]

The domestic and global box office numbers for Barbie and Oppenheimer are huge:

Box Office Bonanza: ‘Barbie’ to Blast Past $700M Globally by Sunday After Record Week

'Oppenheimer' also continues to contribute to the moviegoing boom, while Disney's family pic 'Haunted Mansion' has entered the fray with $3.1 million in box office previews.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

From the above article:

The question now is exactly where Barbie will land worldwide by Sunday; some think it could even cross $750 million, making it the third-biggest title of 2023 so far after only its second weekend. Currently, the year’s top global earners are Illumination/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.34 billion), Marvel/Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($844.8 million) and Universal’s Fast X ($704.9 million).

Wow. Quite amazing!

 

[Cachoo]

Release two big films and neither is a sequel and the world says YYYYYYEEEEESSSS.......

 

[jenny12]

I saw both Barbie and Oppenheimer this week (but not in the same day; I don’t think I could handle that ?). I thought they were both very good.

Barbie was great to look at and I thought took quite a creative approach to its material. It had a nice balance of fun with touching moments and a good message. Margot Robbie was really great. She was sweet and also brought depth to the role. Ryan Gosling has unmatched comedic timing. Greta Gerwig is a singular talent.

Oppenheimer I thought was a great deconstruction of the “great man” biopic. Very detailed with an interesting structure and some truly amazing shots and sequences by Nolan. I don’t mind long movies but I do think there were some pacing issues. However, it was a fulfilling experience and did well in portraying the feeling of being so invested in a singular vision that one fails to really consider the potential larger consequences until it’s too late.

 

[Buzz]

I am stunned by Barbie’s success. Had no idea it was this big a deal. But happy for the movie business as a whole especially cinemas. Barbie wasn’t a big deal for me while growing up because it wasn’t sold on the small island I grew up on. It was a rival Cindy. (I think) Either way we couldn’t afford it and only got one toy a year at Christmas time. We were always asked what we wanted and I always said a doll. LOL

Haunted Mansion looks like a really good children’s movie and thought it would have done better.

Box Office: ‘Haunted Mansion’ Makes $3.1 Million in Previews, but ‘Barbenheimer’ Stays Strong

“Barbenheimer” fever shows no signs of slowing down. The combined forces of Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” are setting up anoth…

variety.com

 

[Spikefan]

Haunted Mansion looks like a really good children’s movie and thought it would have done better.

They should have held it for an October release. It looks good but it’s the type of movie I want to watch closer to Halloween.

 

[Buzz]

Loved MI: Dead Reckoning and the train sequence was gorgeous! A look behind the scenes of that part of the movie.

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

 

[PeterG]

Loved MI: Dead Reckoning and the train sequence was gorgeous! A look behind the scenes of that part of the movie.

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

My friend said that section of the movie was originally 90 minutes. It would be amazing if that was a DVD extra at some point!

 

[Jimena]

Saw Oppenheimer today. Finally. It was amazing.

The movie theater was insane. Everything was sold out. Oppenheimer is selling out here in Puerto Rico in every theater and I didn't expect that. It was riveting. I've always loved Cillian Murphy, ever since I saw him as Scarecrow in Batman Begins. I'm so glad he got to be the lead in this. He really rose to the challenge.

I'm also really glad I saw it in IMAX. It was an overwhelming experience with the huge screen and the powerful use of the score. I recommend it.

 

[PeterG]

Dame Judi Dench 'can't see on film sets anymore': What is macular disease?

Despite her situation, Dench says she has no plans to retire. She has other ways to learn lines other than reading, such as help from friends. But now that she can't see on a film set, I wonder how much we'll see her on a screen Will take a special kind of director (and cast, etc).

 

[Aussie Willy]

Dame Judi Dench 'can't see on film sets anymore': What is macular disease?

Despite her situation, Dench says she has no plans to retire. She has other ways to learn lines other than reading, such as help from friends. But now that she can't see on a film set, I wonder how much we'll see her on a screen Will take a special kind of director (and cast, etc).

I read a few years ago that she had this problem.

 

[watchthis!!]

I think you may mistakenly believe that these House of Cards sexual harassment victims were involved in the cases where Spacey was acquitted or otherwise prevailed. The people harassed on House of Cards are not the alleged victims in the other cases. Again, the House of Cards harassment case involves different times and conduct than the other cases do (some of which involve incidents that are three decades old). Although a civil case has a lower standard of proof than a criminal case, that is not the only reason for the different results. In addition to involving different people and different conduct (and possibly witnesses), the House of Cards case also is the most recent, which also is likely to make it easier to prove.

No, I know all these things are separate. But to be found guilty in a workplace situation (non-legal environment) and then to be found innocent in two different courts of law is confusing to me. I am wondering if the legal court cases tried to include (alleged) abuses from the House Of Cards set as that case/situation found Spacey guilty. I am also confused why the people who were (allegedly...do I need to use allegedly like they do on The View all the time since Spacey was held responsible and had to pay?) abused on the House Of Cards set have not filed civil claims. Although perhaps the 31 million Spacey had to pay covered both productions costs as well as harassment settlements.

 

[jenny12]

Saw Oppenheimer today. Finally. It was amazing.

The movie theater was insane. Everything was sold out. Oppenheimer is selling out here in Puerto Rico in every theater and I didn't expect that. It was riveting. I've always loved Cillian Murphy, ever since I saw him as Scarecrow in Batman Begins. I'm so glad he got to be the lead in this. He really rose to the challenge.

I'm also really glad I saw it in IMAX. It was an overwhelming experience with the huge screen and the powerful use of the score. I recommend it.

Agreed. I loved Cillian Murphy’s performance. It would be great to see him get an Oscar win but I know it’s still early goings yet.

 

[watchthis!!]

I loved, loved, loved Million Dollar Arm. The movie is based on a true story, about sports agent J. B. Bernstein (played by Jon Hamm). His new company is struggling and one day while watching cricket with his business partner (Aasif Mandvi), they wonder about possible untapped talent in India. They are hoping that the talent in cricket might translate to success with baseball in America. They hold tryouts in many cities and decide on two players they hope to teach baseball to. The movie has both an edge to it as well as some sweetness. Sweet and salty, so a good combination. Jon Hamm’s character has some nice moments with potential love interest Lake Bell. And in smaller parts, we get to see Bill Paxton and Alan Arkin both in one of their last film appearances.

 

[MacMadame]

But to be found guilty in a workplace situation (non-legal environment) and then to be found innocent in two different courts of law is confusing to me.

Why? These are three different cases involving different accusations dealt with in two different countries and one of them involved workplace policies, not even a criminal charge.

Not to mention, there is no way that HBO settlement with the people on House of Cards didn't include a "you can't sue us" clause because there is no reason to pay out that amount of money only to get sued for the same thing. Of course, everyone signed NDAs so we'll never know the details.

But really, there is nothing confusing about this. If he had been accused of grand theft auto in the US and shoplifting in the UK and kleptomania at work, would you be confused if he wasn't convicted of grand theft auto or shoplifting but the company where he was accused of kleptomania fired him?

 

[Allskate]

Not to mention, there is no way that HBO settlement with the people on House of Cards didn't include a "you can't sue us" clause because there is no reason to pay out that amount of money only to get sued for the same thing. Of course, everyone signed NDAs so we'll never know the details.

I haven't seen any reports of a settlement with the victims of the sexual harasssment. Do you have a link?

From what I've read, the contracts with Spacey included arbitration clauses, the arbitrator found that Spacey violated the contracts with damages of about $30 million, and those findings were affirmed on appeal. The damages did not include paying the people who were harassed. The production companies probably wouldn't have standing to sue on their behalf, but those people can sue. (Perhaps they already have and I'm just not aware of it, but it sounds like they very much want to stay anonymous and this might deter them.)

 

[PeterG]

I read a few years ago that she had this problem.

I did too, but it seemed like then she could still could move around a set and hit marks, etc. It seems like now her vision has worsened so that I wonder if the only roles available to her are the wise old grandmother sitting in a chair in the living room.

 

[MacMadame]

I haven't seen any reports of a settlement with the victims of the sexual harasssment. Do you have a link?

Oh, I was just taking whatcherface's word about that part.

My point being more that there is no reason why 3 cases in 2 countries stemming from different events happening at different times to different people would have the same outcome than the specifics of the contract dispute.

 

[Mozart]

If there are any fellow horror fans I highly highly recommend Talk to Me. It's a great underdog directorial debut

 

[Allskate]

Oh, I was just taking whatcherface's word about that part.

I don't think @watchthis!! said that, or I missed it.

My point being more that there is no reason why 3 cases in 2 countries stemming from different events happening at different times to different people would have the same outcome than the specifics of the contract dispute.

Agreed.

 

[sk8pics]

I saw Oppenheimer today. Only about 10 people in the theater but it wasn't IMAX and it was a matinee.

I thought it was fantastic. The first thing I thought when it was over is that I want to see it again, and also watch the documentary.

 

[PeterG]

His Hollywood star was finally rising. Now he cleans apartments.

His Hollywood star was finally rising. Now he cleans apartments.

LOS ANGELES - Josh Hooks piled cleaning equipment into his pickup truck. Rubber gloves, bathroom brushes, a vacuum cleaner held together by duct tape, all props for a role he hoped he would never need to play again: An out-of-work actor struggling to pay his bills. Just a few months ago, the...

ca.yahoo.com

After being cast in a few TV shows and a Lifetime movie, actor Josh Hooks felt his career was about to take off. Then two industry strikes happened and he had to switch gears.

This article does a good job of telling the story of the average actor while the media attention goes often to the big stars.

An interesting quote from the article:

The dual strikes have highlighted a vast and growing inequality in Hollywood. According to the actors union, known as SAG-AFTRA, about 80 percent of members make less than $27,000, while some studio bosses pull in more than $100 million a year.

 

[watchthis!!]

Why? These are three different cases involving different accusations dealt with in two different countries and one of them involved workplace policies, not even a criminal charge.

Not to mention, there is no way that HBO settlement with the people on House of Cards didn't include a "you can't sue us" clause because there is no reason to pay out that amount of money only to get sued for the same thing. Of course, everyone signed NDAs so we'll never know the details.

But really, there is nothing confusing about this. If he had been accused of grand theft auto in the US and shoplifting in the UK and kleptomania at work, would you be confused if he wasn't convicted of grand theft auto or shoplifting but the company where he was accused of kleptomania fired him?

My thought was that with three different accusations being tried, each time would learn from the other and build on successes and correct faulty parts of the earlier cases. My guess would be that the three different types of theft you mentioned are different enough in comparison to the sexual harassment charges laid against Spacey.

From what I've read, the contracts with Spacey included arbitration clauses, the arbitrator found that Spacey violated the contracts with damages of about $30 million, and those findings were affirmed on appeal. The damages did not include paying the people who were harassed. The production companies probably wouldn't have standing to sue on their behalf, but those people can sue. (Perhaps they already have and I'm just not aware of it, but it sounds like they very much want to stay anonymous and this might deter them.)

Thank you. This is both informative and helpful.

Oh, I was just taking whatcherface's word about that part.

My point being more that there is no reason why 3 cases in 2 countries stemming from different events happening at different times to different people would have the same outcome than the specifics of the contract dispute.

It's not that I expected the same outcome. But similar to what I mentioned earlier, I would have thought that the success in regards to the original harassment charges would have laid groundwork for the second and third cases to be more likely to have an even greater chance of success. But that would mean Spacey was guilty all three times. I'm undecided about what Spacey did or did not do, despite the last two court rulings.

 

[VGThuy]

Not sure what you mean by thinking that the Spacey cases "would build on top of each other". Each accusation would be tried separately and have their own unique facts, victims, and evidence. You can't use evidence that A committed crimes against B and was convicted of it as evidence that A also committed crimes against C and D, especially when C and D were separate victims of totally separate incidents happening in different times and in different settings from not only A but also each other.

I also don't know what you mean by the contract dispute arbitration being in a "non-legal" environment unless you meant open court. Arbitration is a different setting and that can definitely affect things, but procedure is very much still grounded by laws governing the arbitration process/law and arbitration in the U.S. still makes the case-in-controversy subject to American laws, so it's still a "legal" environment.

 

[MacMadame]

My guess would be that the three different types of theft you mentioned are different enough in comparison to the sexual harassment charges laid against Spacey.

No, I picked those examples carefully. What Spacey was accused of in the three legal matters was different in each case. We have stuff happening to a minor in one case. We have sexual assault in another.

And the third "case," wasn't even a case. There were no charges. It was a civil matter where the company wanted Spacey to compensate them for damages to their reputation. Like if you run your car into my retaining wall and chip off some of the stone and I sue you to pay to fix it.

You are conflating things that can't be conflated.

 

[PeterG]

Another movie I thought I MUST have seen (but couldn’t remember ever seeing) was A Streetcar Named Desire. Maybe I’ve heard so much about it and seen various scenes from the movie it felt like I had seen it. And after watching it? I didn’t have a lot of thoughts about it. Good movie. Downer. Okay then.

But then I read over the plot summary at Wikipedia and thought a couple of times, “Oh…THAT happened during that part of the movie?” Then I read a few other articles and watched the DVD extras. Suddenly I had a lot more thoughts about the movie.

One of those is probably why I didn’t have much to say at first: the censorship. One thing I read was that Brando’s character was supposed to be gay. Then later on, I read that the four lead characters were all supposed to be gay. Four gay men that had to be presented as two heterosexual couples for the play (and then the movie) to even exist.

So as for the censorship:

• Playwright Tennessee Williams self-censors his story to get his work accepted
• The re-writing of the movie for the screen had producers asking for changes
• Filmed scenes were cut to conform to the Production Code
• Cuts were made so as to not offend National Legion of Decency (these might be the same cuts as in point three)
• After test screenings were done, music had to be re-scored as the music in at least one scene was so "provocative" (as music so often is) audiences reacted negatively

In one of the DVD extras, a film historian says, “scenes were all cut up (edited highly), but we know what happened”. Such as Brando’s character raping Leigh’s character. Sorry, but that went right over my head. The two are having a very heated argument, Blanches tries to leave and Stanley moves in her way. Then we see the two of them in a mirror and the glass breaks. Scene fades. Stanley was always threatening to Blanche and now that I’ve been told what happened, I think, “oh…okay…” But if the censors weren’t so hysterical, there could have been more shown such as Blanche being pulled into a bedroom, the door being slammed shut and then hearing Blanche scream. The way the movie runs, it’s like Stanley is getting a free pass for the violent act he commits. Typing this, I’m still not 100% sure a rape happened. If it did, the audience should be more clearly shown what an even bigger f***-up Stanley is compared to what we already think of him.

A Streetcar Named Desire was nominated for twelve Oscars, all seven major categories and in five technical categories as well. In the seven major categories, the movie won three. Actress for Vivien Leigh, Supporting Actor for Karl Malden and Supporting Actress for Kim Hunter. In the technical categories, it won only one: Best Art Direction – Black-and-White. As for the wins, my biggest thought is with Leigh. The DVD extras for this movie have about seventeen minutes of deleted scenes and it’s pretty much all Leigh. Notable not because so much of it was Leigh on the cutting room floor, but how amazing she is. Even with deleted scenes, Leigh can do no wrong. The scenes must have been cut for running time, certainly not because Leigh ever set a foot wrong.

Trailer for A Streetcar Named Desire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9YgJjSCT08

 

[Jay42]

Another movie I thought I MUST have seen (but couldn’t remember ever seeing) was A Streetcar Named Desire. Maybe I’ve heard so much about it and seen various scenes from the movie it felt like I had seen it. And after watching it? I didn’t have a lot of thoughts about it. Good movie. Downer. Okay then.

But then I read over the plot summary at Wikipedia and thought a couple of times, “Oh…THAT happened during that part of the movie?” Then I read a few other articles and watched the DVD extras. Suddenly I had a lot more thoughts about the movie.

One of those is probably why I didn’t have much to say at first: the censorship. One thing I read was that Brando’s character was supposed to be gay. Then later on, I read that the four lead characters were all supposed to be gay. Four gay men that had to be presented as two heterosexual couples for the play (and then the movie) to even exist.

So as for the censorship:

• Playwright Tennessee Williams self-censors his story to get his work accepted
• The re-writing of the movie for the screen had producers asking for changes
• Filmed scenes were cut to conform to the Production Code
• Cuts were made so as to not offend National Legion of Decency (these might be the same cuts as in point three)
• After test screenings were done, music had to be re-scored as the music in at least one scene was so "provocative" (as music so often is) audiences reacted negatively

In one of the DVD extras, a film historian says, “scenes were all cut up (edited highly), but we know what happened”. Such as Brando’s character raping Leigh’s character. Sorry, but that went right over my head. The two are having a very heated argument, Blanches tries to leave and Stanley moves in her way. Then we see the two of them in a mirror and the glass breaks. Scene fades. Stanley was always threatening to Blanche and now that I’ve been told what happened, I think, “oh…okay…” But if the censors weren’t so hysterical, there could have been more shown such as Blanche being pulled into a bedroom, the door being slammed shut and then hearing Blanche scream. The way the movie runs, it’s like Stanley is getting a free pass for the violent act he commits. Typing this, I’m still not 100% sure a rape happened. If it did, the audience should be more clearly shown what an even bigger f***-up Stanley is compared to what we already think of him.

A Streetcar Named Desire was nominated for twelve Oscars, all seven major categories and in five technical categories as well. In the seven major categories, the movie won three. Actress for Vivien Leigh, Supporting Actor for Karl Malden and Supporting Actress for Kim Hunter. In the technical categories, it won only one: Best Art Direction – Black-and-White. As for the wins, my biggest thought is with Leigh. The DVD extras for this movie have about seventeen minutes of deleted scenes and it’s pretty much all Leigh. Notable not because so much of it was Leigh on the cutting room floor, but how amazing she is. Even with deleted scenes, Leigh can do no wrong. The scenes must have been cut for running time, certainly not because Leigh ever set a foot wrong.

Trailer for A Streetcar Named Desire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9YgJjSCT08

From what I read in the IMDB trivia section the rape is a lot more obvious in the play but there are consequences for Stanley's actions in the movie that aren't in the play. Specifically in the movie his wife leaves him (sorry I watched it 2 summers ago I'm rusty on names) in the play she doesn't.

Vivien Leigh was absolutely stunning in the movie, I am going to watch it again eventually but it's an intense enough movie that it's not high on the list of movies I want to watch again.

Tennessee Williams ran into the issue of having to censor his plays for the movie adaptations a lot. I haven't gone out of my way to watch the movie versions of his plays but because the movies frequently have people in the cast that I'm a big fan of I've seen several of them and that comes up a lot. I think The Night of the Iguana might be one of the ones that needed the least amount of censoring. Most of the extra work on that was just updating it to the 60's from the 40's of the original play.

 

[VGThuy]

Oh yeah, the stage version of A Streetcar Named Desire had even more heat and the characters exuded more "adult" attitudes. Blanche is a bit more flirty and mischevous in the stage version too, such as the scene the movie cut where Blanche and Mitch are talking and Blanche, feeling frisky, starts to flirt more heavily with Mitch. In the scene, she starts to speak to him in French. Knowing he doesn't understand what she's saying, she asks him, "Voulez-vous couchez [sic] avec moi ce soir?" which ended up being immortalized for modern audiences in the song "Lady Marmalade".

I think the biggest travesty of adapting his plays from stage to screen was with Cat on the Hot Tin Roof. The film version had Elizabeth Taylor in what may be her "best" role or at least the one with one of her most beautiful and iconic looks. And most of the actors are first-rate (well, I thought the actress playing the competing sister-in-law played her way too on-the-nose but I wonder if that was the film director's choice and not the actress' choice). However, the studio censoring a very integral part of the story that was sort of the only reason why this play even existed totally ruined the whole thing. Furthermore, they added all these kind of cheesy scenes to make the overall material softer and to support

Spoiler

the "happy" ending between Brick and Maggie.

That one was so bad that Tennessee Williams himself protested the movie and even stood outside theaters that were playing it to tell them not to watch it.

 

[watchthis!!]

I watched Nothing Compares the other day, it’s really good. It’s the 2022 Sinead O'Connor documentary that aired on Showtime. Lots of people are interviewed for this movie and much time is spent on Sinead’s early career. The infamous SNL moment comes late in the film. Some nice moments with Kris Kristofferson supporting her on stage while she was booed by the audience at…a Bob Dylan tribute concert. Apparently the concert-goers didn’t know that like Sinead, Bob Dylan was also a protest singer. Anyway, the movie is quite informative and goes by very quickly. I wish more time could have been spent on Sinead’s life and career after SNL. She was promoting her third album at that time and went on to release seven more albums, none of which are mentioned. The movie ends with a current (and lovely) performance of Thank You For Hearing Me.

 

[PeterG]

Streep and Clooney Lead Donation Campaign for Striking Actors

Streep and Clooney Lead Donation Campaign for Striking Actors

The stars, joined by celebrities like Matt Damon and Oprah Winfrey, helped raise more than $15 million over the past three weeks.

www.nytimes.com

They helped raise over 15 million for striking actors. From the article:

The pair each gave $1 million and then started to lobby Hollywood’s other top-earning stars for contributions. A Google Doc was created to keep track of who was leaning on whom.

Eight others are mentioned as to having paid one million (or more). And on the picket lines, Lupita Nyong’o, Colin Farrell, Jane Fonda, Awkwafina and Brendan Fraser have appeared.