Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
September 25, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
David Mumpower: I think it is a great example that even relatively frugal productions still have downside if the movie looks derivative and, well, god-awful atrocious. The battle of the year should involve giant robots facing off against otherworldly lizards. And we already had that movie. If someone is dancing during the battle of the year, well, that distracts from the seminal importance of the moment. There is also the possibility that we as a people have stepped off, stomped yards and the like as much as they can/should and have decided to move on to new endeavors. Of course, now that I say that, TwerkWar: The Strip-pening probably gets a greenlight tomorrow. Seriously, have some pride, Hollywood.
Jason Barney: It is awful. Opening is fifth is bad enough. Earning a quarter of the budget is not a good sign. Based on the content, however, I doubt many people will want this to stay around for long.
Brett Ballard-Beach: I think it should be classified as highly disappointing, in that it represents a rare misfire for Sony/Screen Gems, who has been able to market and sell the hell out of a wide variety of low-budget genre pics over the last decade. Having had no desire to hear/read any more about this film than absolutely necessary, I can't speak to if the advertising failed to sell it or if Screen Gems realized early on that the audience wasn't going to be there and so only plugged it half-heartedly (the 2,000 screen count would suggest the latter). On top of everything, I am fairly certain this represents the worst opening for any movie playing in 3D and opening wide since the 3D resurgence in 2008-2009. The saddest irony is that the weekend multiplier came in at above 3.0, suggesting that what little word-of-mouth there was to be had was positive. (Sidenote: In reading a plot synopsis, I think I see the problem. This is apparently a sci-fi or s/f dance film, envisioning some future dystopia where there is an international dance competition that the US hasn't won in 15 years?! No wonder they cast an alumnus from Lost to headline this.)
Edwin Davies: I feel that "terrible film starring awful person does horribly" is a story we can all get behind, but as to why the film did so badly I think it's less to do with the quality of the film, though that didn't help, than the fact that the dance movie genre has been in decline for a while now. Other than the Step Up films, which have been doing less and less business as time has gone on, and Magic Mike, which had more going for it than its genre, there have been relatively few dance competition movies that have broken out, and this just continues that trend. Nothing in the ads made this look particularly special, and by most accounts it doesn't even do the dance scenes particularly well, which is pretty much the bare minimum requirement for a dance movie, so I can't see this one being bolstered by word of mouth.
Kim Hollis: I saw a trailer for this several months ago, and it was just strange. I had no idea who the target audience was, and I'm not sure the filmmakers did, either. At least the budget was just $20 million.
Tim Briody: This movie contained Chris Brown, and therefore earned $5 million too much. Sorry to anyone else involved, but it's true.
Bruce Hall: I'm struggling to think of something serious to say. Critics hated this movie. Moviegoers hated this movie. And if you're still mad at Chris Brown, rejoice at his latest public shaming. Although if you're a fan of movies where people solve important social problems through the power of dance, then I guess I know where you were this weekend.
And if you're me, you had no idea this movie even existed until today. I feel like the dance movie genre has made a nice cozy home for itself on direct-to-video, right alongside all those American Pie sequels. I assume that after this, that's where it will stay for a while.
Max Braden: Did Prisoners take up all the advertising slots on TV in the last couple weeks? I saw nothing about Battle of the Year. Prior to today I only had an inkling about the title and actually thought it was a dance documentary. I would have figured, "hey, $5 million for a documentary is pretty good." Look, on the upside, this at least got us talking about Josh Holloway again. I had no idea he was in Paranoia this summer.
Kim Hollis: What did you think of the Emmy results? What winner were you happiest about? What bothered you?
Edwin Davies: It was nice to see a ceremony full of surprise results, and probably my favourite was Tony Hale winning for Veep in a category usually dominated by Modern Family. He seemed genuinely shocked by the result, as no doubt many people were, but it's great to see such a great performance rewarded, rather than getting shut out. I was also pleased to see Anna Gunn win for Breaking Bad, and for that show to take how the Best Drama, since she's been perpetually undervalued on that series for years. Also, it was sad to see The Daily Show's unprecedented ten year run in Best Variety Series to end, but The Colbert Report beating it feels right.
Jeff Daniels winning for The Newsroom is the result that bothered me the most. He isn't bad on that show; in fact, he's probably the best thing about it, and I can appreciate it as a legacy win for his long career, but there is no way that he was better than Bryan Cranston or John Hamm. It's insane to even consider the possibility. The worst thing about it is that it puts me in a position of being annoyed that a guy I liked won an award he, in theory, deserves. I'd like to see Jeff Daniels get some attention, but not like this...not like this...
David Mumpower: I deride the Emmys whenever they come up in conversation because...well, I can give the blueprint example this year. Bob Newhart is not only a television icon but also one of the few people alive who could stake a reasonable claim to being the greatest living professional in the medium. At the age of 84, a man who has been appearing on television for more than half of his life finally won an Emmy. I have no idea how the voting process works, but it has proven inflexible in terms of considering all but a few darlings for each category.
To wit, the shock of the evening was probably Bryan Cranston not winning for Breaking Bad. I idly wondered during Jeff Daniels' acceptance speech if someone backstage was having to scratch Cranston's name off the trophy. Edwin mentions Cranston and Jon Hamm as much more worthy, and I am confident that is the prevailing opinion. All I can think when I hear those words is, "How many times do the same people have to win?" Sometimes it feels like these ballots are pre-punched.
What I did like about the Emmys was the acceptance speech by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (a four time winner, by the way). The decision to receive the award in character as Vice President Selina Meyer with assistance by bag boy Tony Hale was very clever. I was also pleased that Ellen Burstyn won for her portrayal of a grandmother/past her expiration date party girl in Political Animals, a mini-series nobody watched that I quite enjoyed.
The award that shocked me was Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama. I am a huge fan of Bobby Cannavale, but he was only the second best actor from The Station Agent to be nominated in the category. I guess they didn't want to celebrate Dinklage again, but as I mentioned above, they do that repeatedly for performers they love. Even if Tyrion Lannister wasn't to win, I would have voted for every other actor in the category above Cannavale, primarily because Boardwalk Empire doesn't do a damn thing for me. Meanwhile, both Breaking Bad nominees (Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks) and especially Mandy Patinkin delivered better performances on vastly superior series.
I just don't get the Emmys.
Kim Hollis: I watched just bits and pieces of the show, and quit watching altogether once Breaking Bad actually started airing. I thought a lot of the winners were strange, including Jeff Daniels. I also like him a lot on The Newsroom, but I don't feel like it was quite his time. Breaking Bad is a deserving winner. Mostly, I was annoyed at the lack of tribute to Jack Klugman, who was one of my favorite TV actors through the years. I realize that the Cory Monteith tribute was really intended to bring in the youthful audience, and I can't argue the point since ratings were spectacular. That doesn't mean I can't be annoyed, though.
Reagen Sulewski: I enjoy the novelty of an awards broadcast dedicated to the best in television taking place on network TV. Got to throw them a bone somehow. I also look forward to it being on Netflix by 2017. I'm never too concerned about Emmy awards (I think there were still a few dozen write-ins for David Hyde Pierce), but it's good to see the obviousness of Breaking Bad's superiority being recognized. I concur with Edwin on both the non-terribleness of Daniels and also the insanity of him winning given that competition. The overall highlight for me was Hale as well, but not his win - instead his pitch perfect supporting role during Louis-Dreyfuss' speech, which on some level might have been glory stealing but was really just a spectacular bit of character work.
Max Braden: I tend to not bother with the Emmys. They never award the right shows. I get that everyone loves Modern Family but I just don't find any of the characters likeable, and I feel like most of the jokes are obvious. Every one of the eight minutes I've seen of The Big Bang Theory made me want to strangle Jim Parsons. And AMC's shows are just so dreary. Why do they keep awarding shows I hate, or at best love to hate? Why can't they award shows I love to love? Where is the appreciation for Suits? (Are USA regular series not allowed to be nominated?) Rick Hoffman has been killing it as Louis Litt. Sarah Shahi's return to Person of Interest this week reminds me that she had some brief but stellar moments last season. How about the writing on Archer, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Community, or Justified? Really the only award I could get behind was The Colbert Report's win, because as much as I enjoy the first ten minutes of every Daily Show, Colbert is consistently brilliant throughout every episode and has been deserving of the praise.