Ghost Rider To Be Held From Critics? Nope.
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Sony, Critical Thought, RumorMonger, Fandom, Distribution, Exhibition, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Update: After a conversation with sources at the studio, Cinematical has learned that Lou Lumenick's original post is no longer accurate. Ghost Rider is screening for critics tonight in Los Angeles, and will continue screening until its release date. Whether this turnaround came in response to the recent media flurry, we do not know, but we apologize for passing on any bad gossip. .jpg)
There was a rather alarming item in Lou Lumenick's Post blog on Tuesday, alleging that Sony Pictures is going to do without opening-day print reviews for their upcoming guy-with-skull-on-fire comic book movie, Ghost Rider. If this is true, it sets a completely new precedent. Despite the questionable quality of the source material, the film itself is not a low-rent affair by any stretch of the imagination. Unlike most of the horror movies that studios don't dare foist on critics these days, it's a $120 million action film from a popular comic franchise, boasting bankable stars like Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes. Lumenick notes that if these rumblings are true, then Ghost Rider would perhaps become the most expensive film project ever to be hidden from critics in this manner.
Again -- if it's true. Cinematical contacted two Sony reps this morning for comment -- we received no reply. So if it is true, then what's next? No reviews for Spiderman 3? Lumenick added the following off-the-cuff observation in his blog post: "The marketers at Sony are probably wondering if "The Da Vinci Code" -- the No.5 grossing film of 2006 in the U.S. -- would have been an even bigger smash if it hadn't received scathing advance reviews," which is probably a valid point. It seems like it's increasingly S.O.P. for studios to sit down and look at the movie they end up with, and then decide whether or not it will get a pan from critics, and then act accordingly. Cinematical recently received an invitation to screen the upcoming film from the ludicrous Tyler Perry -- the day the film opens, and not a minute before.
Via [Latino Review]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-08-2007 @ 12:50PM
Advanced Dark said...
The story above is false. The movie has already been screened abroad and is being screened by US critics today per the director and producers. The NY Post article is 100% false. Please update your story here's the proof:
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264927
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2-08-2007 @ 1:04PM
Vartha said...
I have to agree with Advanced Dark. You need to update your story because it is False.
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2-08-2007 @ 1:20PM
FlameHead said...
Yup, it's false. People seem to want to find anything negative at all to bash this movie... even make crap up. Amazing.
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2-08-2007 @ 1:53PM
Chris Holland said...
Even if it were true, why is this news? In the last few years studios have routinely withheld screenings of films they suspected wouldn't do well with critics, especially since reviews of such films generally don't affect the box office receipts. Why should a studio pay to hold nationwide press screenings of films just for the pleasure of getting the film slammed?
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2-08-2007 @ 2:02PM
Nick Green said...
Superherohype.com have seen the movie and posted the review on their website.
Mark Steven Johnson, the director of the film, wrote to them on Feb 7th to clarify the situation. In his words:
'The movie is being screened for the press tomorrow on the 8th as we have our junket on Thursday and Friday of this week. Then the movie is being screened for the CRITICS next Thursday morning so that their reviews can come out the following day, on Friday the 16th. The only critics we've missed are the advanced press/weeklies So there will be reviews on opening day! Sony is contacting the Post for a correction. Sometimes you have critic screenings a week in advance but we weren't ready for that (as I've said before, we took it down to the wire)'
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2-08-2007 @ 2:57PM
Yashar said...
NY Post is wrong the movie WILL not hide from critics, there are already reviews and more are coming, just read the first review at SSH! (http://www.superherohype.com)
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2-08-2007 @ 3:34PM
Scott Weinberg said...
Guys, calm down. This is standard operating procedure: You say the movie will screen for press the day before the movie opens, right? That's so nobody can claim that the flick was "un-screened," but the folks at Sony aren't stupid. By having the screenings next Thursday, they're preventing the print critics from getting their reviews logged by opening day. Normal press screenings are held 3 to 14 days BEFORE opening day.
And sorry, but a junket screening is not the same thing as a press screening. It's sweet that your advance screening and conversations with the director have instilled in you such passionate loyalty for the movie, but Ryan cited two separate sources for his information. Should the distributor decide to hold some actual press screenings, I promise that one of us will report on it.
Why do we post news like this? For the same reason a car blog would post news like "New Sentra to be released amidst media blackout!"
Lastly, if you'd like a list of all the movies from the past two years that DIDN'T screen for the press, I can get you one. You'll notice a pretty common thread among all those titles......
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