usc Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Hey College Kids! Now You Can Major in 3-D!
Filed under: Fandom », Exhibition »
Everyone listens to Harry Knowles, but nobody listens to Harry Knowles. I've failed to find a link to his original rant, but a while ago the AICN headgeek was ranting about how 3-D was going to be the future of the medium. He had his own fan perspective as a lover of the gimmick, but more importantly I recall his rant mentioning the business incentive studios had (higher ticket premiums, motivation to back to theaters again, renders piracy pointless) to make all of their tentpole films in the third dimension. And yet no one really took him seriously, it was just another in a long line of Harry's infamous ravings.That was a year ago, maybe even two. Now the world has more 3-D films than theaters to display them in and it seems like a new production is announced every other day. Whether or not you agree with me that an Oscar for Best 3D is only a matter of time at this point, there is a booming need to accommodate Hollywood's extra-dimensional lust. And if the sheer volume of films looking to capitalize on the tech wasn't sign enough of things to come, now the University of Southern California has announced the creation of a new program within its School of Cinematic Arts to train and challenge students in the still-developing field of stereoscopic 3-D.
Wow, Children of Men Actually Wins an Award
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Awards », Mystery & Suspense », Scripts », Newsstand »
For whatever reason, all the orgs and major awards shows are staying far away from Children of Men, even though the film has shown up on quite a few top ten lists (our own James Rocchi easily picked it as this year's best film). Since I have not seen Children of Men yet (I know, don't kill me, I'm going Sunday), I can't sit here and cycle through what those reasons might be, but I can tell you that the film has finally won an award.
Remember that USC Scripter award I was telling you about recently? For those that don't recall, the Scripter award is handed out each year (by the USC Libraries) to the writers involved in an outstanding film adaptation. Not only do the screenwriters who adapted the (book, short story or novella) get recognized, but also the original author. This year, five films (and their writing teams) were nominated, including Children of Men, Notes on a Scandal, The Devil Wears Prada, The Last King of Scotland and The Illusionist. As I previously noted, Little Children was strangely absent from the finalists, which probably helped Children of Men (and its five screenwriters, as well as original author P.D. James) ultimately win this year's USC Scripter award. Previous winners include Capote and Million Dollar Baby, among others.
If you're a huge Children of Men fan, then might I suggest you cherish this moment folks, as the film will most likely not win anything else this year. The official awards ceremony will be held on February 18 at USC's Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library in Los Angeles.
George Lucas Forgets His Roots
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », George Lucas », Movie Marketing »
George Lucas spoke in an interview after giving a $175 million donation to the University of Southern California, his alma mater, and lobbed several shots towards major Hollywood studios. He called out their distribution models in particular, saying that studios can no longer rely on tentpole films and summer blockbusters to provide most of their income, and that they have it all wrong."Spending $100 million on production costs and another $100 million on prints and advertising makes no sense," he said. "For that same $200 million, I can make 50-60 two-hour movies. That's 120 hours as opposed to two hours."
At least he's good at math. I had to read that quote more than once to make sure it was Lucas that was saying it. This is a guy whose entire fortune and popularity can be attributed to tentpole films and blockbusters, most with enormous budgets. The original three Star Wars films, the Indiana Jones films, the three Star Wars prequels, Howard the Duck ... all of which cost a heck of a lot of money to make, and which made oodles of money in return. With the glaring exception of Howard the Duck. Okay, in all fairness he didn't direct that last movie, but he did executive produce it, and boy was it bad. I still remember seeing that in the theaters as a kid and wondering what the heck had happened to George.
I just don't think it is even remotely possible for Lucas to make 50-60 two hour movies for $200 million. This is a guy who spends fortunes on all of his movies. I'm sure the catering bill for two days of shooting on Revenge of the Sith was more money than I made last year. Its easy to claim you can do this when you're sitting on the golden throne of the Lucas empire, but let's be a little realistic.
He might be able to make those 50-60 movies, but would anyone want to watch them?
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