The Condemned Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Box Office Bodyslams WWE Right Out of Theatrical Distribution
Filed under: Action », Horror »
After presenting the universe with such wondrous pieces of cinema as See No Evil, The Marine and The Condemned, the theatrical distribution division of WWE Films is closing its doors (maybe) forever. (One can only assume that the contract between WWE and Lionsgate was a three-flick arrangement, with the distributor politely declining a contract extension.) But don't get too blue, schlock fans. They'll still be making movies. Those flicks will just be going directly to video is all ... kinda like they should have done with See No Evil, The Marine and The Condemned.WWE Films CEO Linda McMahon (any relation to Vince, I wonder?) says "We are now able to move more into direct-to-video production, and that will be the next focus." "Able"? More like "required." But then the Hollywood Reporter article goes on to say "McMahon noted that the WWE is in talks with a major studio on a potential deal for theatrical distribution on a first-look basis." Which means ... what? That WWE Films might latch on to a studio kinda like Nickelodeon did with Paramount? I wouldn't hold my breath on that.
According to McMahon, all three WWE flicks will "make money or at least break even," which isn't exactly the business model you want for a production company. She also suspects that the R rating on The Condemned may have contributed to its limp arrival at the box office. Um, yes. It's the R rating that did The Condemned in. Not the plot or the script or the concept or the (lack of) cast or the fact that it stars wrestlers. Nothing like an R rating to keep the action fans away from your movie. Ms. McMahon predicts that The Condemned will "perform well" once it hits video. Which probably explains why they'll be bypassing the multiplexes on future projects.
This Trailer Should Be Condemned
Filed under: Action », Lionsgate Films », Trailer Trash »
After gracing the world with such cinematic gems as See No Evil ($15 million domestic haul, 8% Tomatometer) and The Marine ($19 million, 22% TM), WWE Films doesn't seem to be slowing down one bit. And who knows? Perhaps their third production, The Condemned, will keep the trend going. Do I smell a $22 million payout and a 24% approval rating!?Sticking with the action stuff for a second time, WWE presents Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones in The Condemned, and after watching this brand-new trailer, I'm wondering how many times we can be offered this concept: Ten brutal convicts are dropped on a distant island and forced to kill one another while a bunch of rich jerks enjoy the carnage via live video feeds. Actor-turned-director Scott Wiper is at the helm for The Condemned, working from a screenplay by Rob Hedden -- yes, the same Rob Hedden who directed Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan.
I pretty much loathed See No Evil, but found The Marine to be a mindlessly watchable action-fest, so maybe this new flick will be more of the same. I'm certainly not expecting a good movie, but if it's at least a fun-bad movie, that's good enough for me. (We are talking about "World Wrestling Films" releases, right?) Guess we'll find out on April 27. Plus c'mon: The poster tagline is "10 people will fight. 9 will die. You get to watch." How hilarious is that?
Next from WWE: The Marine
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Movie Marketing »
We reported back in April on the rise of WWE Films, a new division of World Wrestling Entertainment dedicated to creating and financing (as long as distribution is in place before production begins) vehicles for the wrestlers who ply their trade for WWE. The label's first film, a horror flick called See No Evil, starred Kane and was released earlier this year -- albeit to largely dismal reviews -- by Lionsgate. Though the original report indicated that WWE Films' second release would be a Steve Austin vehicle called The Condemned, it turns out that an action/revenge film called The Marine will be hitting screen in October; Austin's film doesn't yet have a release date.Now, I'm embarrassed to say this, but the Marine trailer really, really worked, at least on my little brain. It had me, as they, say at "hello" -- if by "hello" you mean "Robert Patrick as baddie." Patrick plays an evil, violent bastard who takes the wife of John Cena's character hostage at as a gas station, and drives off with her. Which, needless to say, is a bad idea -- in addition to being played by a badass professional wrestler, the guy is also an ex-Marine, giving him to ability to defeat legions of bad guys with his bare hands. What's so great about all of this, though, is the way Patrick has totally bought into his character's sleaze, and the sort of joyful irritation that colors his delivery -- you never dreamed "I tried to kill this guy twice today" could be pronounced quite so perfectly. He's basically playing Walken-lite, and seems utterly thrilled by the whole silly thing.
So, yeah. Maybe this WWE Films thing isn't such a bad idea after all.
[via JoBlo]
WWE's Hollywood Takeover
Filed under: Action », Horror », Independent », Sports », Casting », Deals », Lionsgate Films », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
Did any of you know that there is such a thing
as World Wresting Entertainment Films?! And that they've already got one movie in the can, and two others in the works?
Christ, I had NO idea. As created by WWE overlord Vince McMahon, WWE Films have the stated purpose of creating vehicles
for WWE wrestlers (oddly, they had nothing to do with Blade: Trinity, which starred a guy named Triple H), and will fully finance all projects as long as distribution
is arranged before production begins. Their first effort, a horror film called See No Evil, is due out May 19 and stars a large man called Kane; it's being distributed by Lionsgate, which also just agreed to handle WWE Film's newest project, The Condemned. Scheduled to begin shooting in a couple of weeks, the movie is another in the legion of titles that work off the Most Dangerous Game/Running Man evil-guy-hunting-humans riff. This one stars Steve Austin as a Stone Cold death row inmate who is "'purchased' by a wealthy TV producer, who pits him and nine other condemned men in a battle to the death." Vinnie Jones (soccer player, not wrestler) also stars, hopefully as the evil producer.
This is all The Rock's fault, isn't it?
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