http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-et-ct-lucy-hercules-guardians-china-box-office-20141028-story.html
The film "Lucy" directed and written by Luc Besson and starring Scarlett Johansson topped box offices in China recently. It beat both "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Hercules." It grossed $20.8 million. "Guardians of the Galaxy" grossed $17.7 million and "Hercules" grossed $8.5 million. This interested me because there's a noticeable difference between the box office sales. It's a great film and people in China apparently agree. "Lucy" also has grossed more in America over these two films. It's nice to see a movie with a strong female lead do great in sales over typically male led films like "Hercules." As a filmmaker, it's good to learn about how people react to a film internationally as well. There's actually a growing fan base for Scarlett Johansson in China due to films such as "Iron Man 2" and "The Avengers." It's important to know details like this when your casting actors for a film. As a consumer, it's interesting to see how much other people liked this film as well. I actually saw the midnight premiere of this movie because it intrigued me so much and it's good to know how other people are reacting similarly. As a student, it's nice to learn about different countries and their impact on the film industry. A question I do have did "Lucy" do as well in other countries other than American and China?
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Hollywood raises profile of ALS with two new films
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-als-movies-20141023-story.html#page=1
After the Ice Bucket Challenge mania, $115 million dollars was raised in awareness for ALS. But still, we don't know much about the disease and the seriousness to it. Hollywood has decided to take it on. There are two films that are centered on this illness to come out soon. One of them is "The Theory of Everything" and the other is "You're Not You." This caught my eye because they both sound like really interesting films. And it's true, we still don't know much about ALS and what it does. From this article alone, I learned about how ALS can affect the brain and spinal cord nerve cells. It can lead to paralysis while one's mind is still completely alert. In "The Theory of Everything," we have Eddie Redmayne playing Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist who has been living with ALS for more than 50 years. With an average life expectancy of 2 to 5 years, this is amazing. It's a great story to tell. As a filmmaker. it's insane to see how much one must prepare for a film. In this situation, the actors had to spent months figuring out how to physically portray these characters. Redmayne spent 4 months before production working with a dance coach on movement and even had a voice coach. Hilary Swank, who stars in "You're Not You," worked alongside a nurse and ALS patients for months. As a student, it's good to learn about how you can get your story from anywhere and turn it into something powerful. ALS by itself is already such a strong topic but when film brings it to life with the actual visuals of what it's like to go through this illness, it will lead on a greater path of awareness and truth. As a consumer, it's great to learn about these different type of films with such great stories that I would love to watch. I hadn't heard about either of these films before now and I'm definitely interested in watching them. It also raises my awareness of ALS. A question I do have is how well will the director and actors work together to portray this difficult disease on the big screen? And which of the two will be better or will they both exceed my expectations?
After the Ice Bucket Challenge mania, $115 million dollars was raised in awareness for ALS. But still, we don't know much about the disease and the seriousness to it. Hollywood has decided to take it on. There are two films that are centered on this illness to come out soon. One of them is "The Theory of Everything" and the other is "You're Not You." This caught my eye because they both sound like really interesting films. And it's true, we still don't know much about ALS and what it does. From this article alone, I learned about how ALS can affect the brain and spinal cord nerve cells. It can lead to paralysis while one's mind is still completely alert. In "The Theory of Everything," we have Eddie Redmayne playing Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist who has been living with ALS for more than 50 years. With an average life expectancy of 2 to 5 years, this is amazing. It's a great story to tell. As a filmmaker. it's insane to see how much one must prepare for a film. In this situation, the actors had to spent months figuring out how to physically portray these characters. Redmayne spent 4 months before production working with a dance coach on movement and even had a voice coach. Hilary Swank, who stars in "You're Not You," worked alongside a nurse and ALS patients for months. As a student, it's good to learn about how you can get your story from anywhere and turn it into something powerful. ALS by itself is already such a strong topic but when film brings it to life with the actual visuals of what it's like to go through this illness, it will lead on a greater path of awareness and truth. As a consumer, it's great to learn about these different type of films with such great stories that I would love to watch. I hadn't heard about either of these films before now and I'm definitely interested in watching them. It also raises my awareness of ALS. A question I do have is how well will the director and actors work together to portray this difficult disease on the big screen? And which of the two will be better or will they both exceed my expectations?
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Netflix gains fewer new subscribers than expected
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-netflix-earnings-20141015-story.html
The streaming video company Netflix added fewer subscribers these past few months than the usual wave of people they get. They had about a 3 million subscribers when they had expected around 3.69 million like previous times. Shares even fell more than 25%. This caught my eye because I had actually thought Netflix has been getting more popular than before. What could be the reason for these drops? Netflix believed that their increased monthly fees were the reason why. Their advertised prices do change a dollar or two when subscribing due to HD quality or other factors you may want. But they are trying to find a way to pull new users. They are betting on original shows like, "Orange is the New Black" and "House of Cards" to reel many people in. As a consumer, it's interesting to see their strategies on shows I watch myself. I love "House of Cards" and would recommend it to many people. That's exactly what they're betting on. Now that they've made their mark in television, Netflix wants to move on to bigger things. In one word, this would be feature films. They actually just made a deal with Adam Sandler to star in four upcoming movies they have planned. As a filmmaker, this is interesting to hear about jobs in this industry that can come from anywhere. You could end up working for a big budget studio or a video streaming company. Another company thinking about competing with Netflix is HBO. They have plans to start their own a sort of streaming service. With exclusive shows, like "Games of Thrones", this idea may be really successful. As a student, it's nice to learn about what's happening behind the scene of the infamous Netflix company. A question I do have is, if they're having trouble with subscribers now, how will they handle when competition starts arising like a HBO streaming service?
The streaming video company Netflix added fewer subscribers these past few months than the usual wave of people they get. They had about a 3 million subscribers when they had expected around 3.69 million like previous times. Shares even fell more than 25%. This caught my eye because I had actually thought Netflix has been getting more popular than before. What could be the reason for these drops? Netflix believed that their increased monthly fees were the reason why. Their advertised prices do change a dollar or two when subscribing due to HD quality or other factors you may want. But they are trying to find a way to pull new users. They are betting on original shows like, "Orange is the New Black" and "House of Cards" to reel many people in. As a consumer, it's interesting to see their strategies on shows I watch myself. I love "House of Cards" and would recommend it to many people. That's exactly what they're betting on. Now that they've made their mark in television, Netflix wants to move on to bigger things. In one word, this would be feature films. They actually just made a deal with Adam Sandler to star in four upcoming movies they have planned. As a filmmaker, this is interesting to hear about jobs in this industry that can come from anywhere. You could end up working for a big budget studio or a video streaming company. Another company thinking about competing with Netflix is HBO. They have plans to start their own a sort of streaming service. With exclusive shows, like "Games of Thrones", this idea may be really successful. As a student, it's nice to learn about what's happening behind the scene of the infamous Netflix company. A question I do have is, if they're having trouble with subscribers now, how will they handle when competition starts arising like a HBO streaming service?
Thursday, October 9, 2014
'Gone Girl' likely to top box office for second weekend
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-projector-gone-girl-alexander-judge-annabelle-20141009-story.html
It's going to be a busy weekend in the box offices as fall movies begin to roll in. "Gone Girl" directed by David Fincher, is expected to stay on top for a second week in a row. The thriller has grossed $38 million when it premiered last weekend and is expected to gross an added $25 million this upcoming weekend. Behind it, is the one of the only family films in theaters right now, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." Fighting for 3rd, we have the low-budget film, "Annabelle"which has grossed $37.2 million. This especially caught my eye because the film took only $6.5 million to make and has already grossed about triple that. While "Dracula Untold", also fighting for 3rd, took an immense $70 million to make. Both films are anticipated to gross $18 million this upcoming weekend which puts "Annabelle" at 9 times its budget and "Dracula Untold" at a little over 1/4 of the budget. The money differences are astounding. This is important to me as a filmmaker because I learn about the difference a budget can make for a movie. The more you waste the harder it is to gain money in sales. Yet, are low budget movies filmed with the same passion and effort as higher budget films or does it all depend on the filmmakers? The last film to make top 5 is anticipated to be "The Judge" starring Robert Downey Jr. Lionsgate's "Addicted" is thought to pull in less than $10 million. As a consumer it helps me see which films should I go watch myself, as I have really been anticipating "Gone Girl" but "Addicted" had also caught my eye. As a student, I learn about the financial side of film and how money is always a big issue as in any job and how much it affects it overall.
It's going to be a busy weekend in the box offices as fall movies begin to roll in. "Gone Girl" directed by David Fincher, is expected to stay on top for a second week in a row. The thriller has grossed $38 million when it premiered last weekend and is expected to gross an added $25 million this upcoming weekend. Behind it, is the one of the only family films in theaters right now, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." Fighting for 3rd, we have the low-budget film, "Annabelle"which has grossed $37.2 million. This especially caught my eye because the film took only $6.5 million to make and has already grossed about triple that. While "Dracula Untold", also fighting for 3rd, took an immense $70 million to make. Both films are anticipated to gross $18 million this upcoming weekend which puts "Annabelle" at 9 times its budget and "Dracula Untold" at a little over 1/4 of the budget. The money differences are astounding. This is important to me as a filmmaker because I learn about the difference a budget can make for a movie. The more you waste the harder it is to gain money in sales. Yet, are low budget movies filmed with the same passion and effort as higher budget films or does it all depend on the filmmakers? The last film to make top 5 is anticipated to be "The Judge" starring Robert Downey Jr. Lionsgate's "Addicted" is thought to pull in less than $10 million. As a consumer it helps me see which films should I go watch myself, as I have really been anticipating "Gone Girl" but "Addicted" had also caught my eye. As a student, I learn about the financial side of film and how money is always a big issue as in any job and how much it affects it overall.
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