Are There Two Versions of Vin Diesel's 'Babylon A.D.' Hitting Theaters?
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, RumorMonger, Fandom, Distribution, 20th Century Fox
See, stuff like this just bugs me. According to Twitch (via the Babylon A.D. production blog), two different versions of Vin Diesel's Babylon A.D. will be hitting theaters far apart from one another. It's not that I care so much about seeing a longer version of the film in theaters (which, apparently, is what will take place in the UK), it's just that Fox has once again decided to release a film in the UK first and then wait six months before putting it in theaters here in the states. You'll remember something similar happened with Danny Boyle's Sunshine earlier this year. The film was released in several cities around the world in March, but Fox decided to hold it back until December. Luckily, we're still not waiting for the film because Fox ultimately chose to stuff Sunshine into an already-packed summer line-up.
Anyway, UK folks will supposedly get to see a two hour and forty minute version of Babylon A.D. early next year when it's released across the pond. However, Fox has decided they will in no way ask people to sit through a three-hour Vin Diesel film in America, so they're going to trim that sucker down to a reasonable time and release it on August 29. In my opinion, this is a stupid move because by the time it's released in the states, copies of that sucker will be all over the internet, etc. I remember a good month after Sunshine was released in the UK, that film was all over the place -- one of my friends actually had it, and asked if I wanted a copy. I did not take it. I wanted to see the film in theaters. And I did.
Babylon A.D., a pet project for Diesel, follows a Veteran-turned-mercenary who's placed in charge of escorting a woman from Russia to China. What he doesn't know is that this woman is to host an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a new Messiah. The film was originally supposed to be released in the states on February 28, the same day as the UK, and I imagine they're taking the extra time to trim. Here's my question: Would you even be interested in a two hour and forty minute Vin Diesel sci-fi flick? And does watching the man for that long make a person stupider?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-07-2007 @ 1:46PM
thegoldfishpool said...
Yes. if the film was made to be 3 hours than it should be showed at that length. Over editing becomes so glaringly obvious when the storyline jumps and you have to take five minutes to figure out what you just missed. And yes I would sit through 3 hours of Vin Diesel in a Sci-Fi flick (I loved Pitch Black) I wouldn't sit through 3 minutes of The Pacifier.
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11-07-2007 @ 2:16PM
KMF said...
Perhaps not a Vin Diesel movie. I agree that if a movie is 2 hours 40 min or 3 hours even, then it should be shown that way. If it's a good film, I'd sit there the whole thing. There was a time when movies had intermissions because they were longer, like Lawrence of Arabia for instance. We're too scissor happy for time, and as the other commenter said over-editing does more harm than good more times than not.
I think most of it comes down to money. If a movie runs over 2 hours, there would be limited amount of showings in a day, so the tickets sales aren't as high.
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11-07-2007 @ 2:24PM
Scaramanga said...
I don't mind something being long if it keeps you engaged. The movie sounds cool. Also sounds a little influenced by the book 'Diamond Age.'
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11-07-2007 @ 3:59PM
eugene said...
@ 3. Please don't ever compare a vin diesel movie to "Diamond Age" ever again.
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11-07-2007 @ 4:43PM
madgamer said...
I'm all about 3 hours of Vin Diesel if it's sci-fi action stuff.
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11-07-2007 @ 5:40PM
Gayle said...
I'd definitely sit through three hours of a Vin Diesel movie like this. Sounds like classic action stuff. Guess we'll just have to wait for the DVD!
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11-07-2007 @ 8:17PM
Laura said...
I'd rather sit through a near 3 hour movie (no matter who is in it) than a movie that has been edited to death.
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11-08-2007 @ 3:34AM
Peter Koritschan said...
Not sure if I could watch an almost 3hr long sci-fi flick, would be hard-pressed to even watch such a long star wars film... :)
I was briefly visiting the set to Babylon A.D. here in Prague earlier this year, and whatever the place was that I saw (apartment interior with blue screen windows) was pretty nice... some upscale modern furniture...
I noticed that some of the guys doing the lighting I recognized... they had worked on Casino Royale...
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11-08-2007 @ 8:14AM
lainix said...
they release a movie over seas and then send us half a movie months later...
they are begging for people to pirate it.
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11-08-2007 @ 12:09PM
Vito said...
I would rather watch the longer version than a shorter version that had been over-edited.
The discrepancy in release dates is just another example of movie (&TV) execs not understanding that with the internet, the world just got a whole lot smaller. It's not in their interest to have different release dates, have TV shows air a year+ later in different markets, have different region codes, etc. Wake up decision makers!
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11-08-2007 @ 4:20PM
Dave said...
Let me get this straight, there are people out there who will watch Vin Diesel for 2 hours but 2 hours and 40 minutes out of the question? I am willing to bet that a person who likes Vin Diesel enough to watch one of his movies would watch it no matter how long it is.
The only bright side to this decision is the release of two DVDs, we will probably get the longer directors cut which some fans may be foolish enough to buy.
I wonder if Vin can turn this into a successful video game franchise as well.
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1-02-2008 @ 2:18PM
All_Thumbs said...
I'd rather watch any 3 hour movie over most of the 90 minute music videos Hollywood puts out these days.
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