I've left the theater by then.
"Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper flicks are box-office duds" by Jake Coyle Associated Press November 02, 2015
NEW YORK — Sandra Bullock’s political satire ‘‘Our Brand Is Crisis’’ and Bradley Cooper’s chef drama ‘‘Burnt’’ continued a string of flops at the box office, where new wide releases have gone a startling 0-for-9 in the last two weeks.
After five movies failed to draw moviegoers last week, Hollywood whiffed again over the Halloween weekend as four new movies went largely ignored in favor of trick-or-treating. The ‘‘60 Minutes II’’ scandal drama ‘‘Truth,’’ with Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, expanding nationwide, and the horror comedy ‘‘Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse’’ added to a plague of empty theaters.
That enabled the top three films from the last several weeks — ‘‘The Martian,’’ ‘'Goosebumps,’’ and ‘‘Bridge of Spies’’ — to remain atop the ranks, according to studio estimates Sunday. With an estimated $11 million in its fifth weekend, Ridley Scott’s 3-D space adventure ‘‘The Martian’’ has hauled in $180.8 million domestically, and led the box office four times — a dominating stretch that has spelled trouble for other releases courting adult moviegoers.
Related: War Room Running Long
The weekend was never meant to be a big one at theaters with Halloween falling on a Saturday and the latest James Bond film, ‘‘Spectre’’ (and follow-up to the $1.1 billion ‘‘Skyfall"), awaiting release in the coming week. Sony’s ‘‘Spectre,’’ which has opened in a few international markets, scored the biggest UK debut ever with $63.8 million over the weekend.
But the box office numbers in North America were still especially low. The Weinstein Co.’s ‘‘Burnt’’ took in $5 million despite playing on more than 3,000 screens. ‘‘Our Brand Is Crisis,’’ David Gordon Green’s true tale of political strategists in Bolivia, managed a scant $3.4 million on 2,202 screens for Warner Bros.
Though made for a modest $28 million, the film’s opening marks the worst wide-release debut of a movie headlined by Bullock, even falling below the $4.7 million of ‘‘Two if by Sea’’ in 1996.
Sony Pictures Classics ‘‘Truth,’’ which recounts CBS’s reporting on President George W. Bush’s military service, expanded to 1,120 theaters, but couldn’t even crack $1 million. It earned just $901,000.
Paramount Pictures’ ‘‘Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse’’ grossed just $1.8 million on 1,509 screens.
Paramount is experimenting with a shortened theatrical window for the film, along with the recently opened ‘‘Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.’’
Thus far, the trial has yielded mixed results. Major theater chains aside from AMC and Cineplex have refused to play the films, which will be made available digitally 17 days after they leave theaters.
The four flops added to five from last week, when ‘‘Steve Jobs,’’ ‘'Jem and the Holograms,’’ ‘'Rock the Kasbah,’’ ‘'The Last Witch Hunter’’ and ‘‘Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension’’ all failed to crack $11 million.
‘‘Next week, the whole complexion of this will change,’’ says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office data firm Rentrak. ‘‘But I think this is a really good lesson learned for Hollywood that if you have too much product — particularly aimed at older audiences — you’re going to fragment the audience to the point where a lot of movies are going to become casualties of that crowded marketplace.’’
They need the $80 million more than you, citizen of the state. You just never mind the growing poverty and homelessness!
The two weeks of debuts have also been populated mainly by poorly reviewed movies with the exception of the acclaimed but much criticized ‘‘Steve Jobs.’’ Instead, the October success are mostly movies roundly considered good, made by veteran directors: Scott’s ‘‘The Martian’’ and Steven Spielberg’s ‘‘Bridge of Spies.’’
I never listen to what the self-appointed elitists known as critics say.
And here they are again.
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What a tearjerker, huh?
What seems to be happening, other than not being able to afford seeing such slop, is that the American public is sick of Hollywood slop in all its forms, period.
There isn't one movie out there or coming that I would want to see, and that includes next year's Oscar winner.
"Jerry Heller sues over ‘Straight Outta Compton’" by the Associated Press November 02, 2015
Former N.W.A manager Jerry Heller has filed a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit over the hit film ‘‘Straight Outta Compton,’’ claiming it portrayed him as a villain who led to the breakup of the gangster rap group. Heller, who is played in the film by Paul Giamatti, sued former N.W.A members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, the widow of rapper Eazy-E, and NBC Universal, which released the film in August. ‘‘Straight Outta Compton’’ was a hit, earning nearly $160 million domestically in the first six weeks after it was released. Heller is seeking more than $110 million, although a jury would determine any damage verdict.
Conan on first lady’s trip
Michelle Obama is bringing a little bit of Hollywood on her trip to Qatar this week. The first lady is being accompanied by late-night comic and talk-show host Conan O’Brien, who will entertain US troops during a visit to the al-Udeid air base near the capital of Doha. The vast air base operates as an overseas headquarters for US Central Command, and hosts American bombers and support aircraft used in the air campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The base is home to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing of the Air Force and has more than 11,000 service members stationed there. Obama is visiting Qatar and Jordan this week, primarily to promote her girls’ global education initiative.
Is she still going to Jordan (a one-day wonder and an ally we are losing because of self-created ISIS)?
See: Conan O’Brien, Michelle Obama meet troops in Qatar
She turned out to be as disappointing as her husband.
Lohan’s brother arrested
Authorities say one of Lindsay Lohan’s brothers used a forged parking permit to avoid paying a New York City parking meter and has been arrested. State police say Michael Lohan was arrested Thursday in Manhattan. Authorities allege he had a phony parking placard featuring the state seal displayed on the dashboard of his 2015 Audi. They say the bogus placard said the car was being used for official state business. Lohan has been charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal impersonation. Prosecutors say he was released without bail.
The Lohans look like minor league Kardashians.
‘Walking Dead’ world
Organizers of a convention devoted to ‘‘The Walking Dead’’ unveiled an immersive attraction over the weekend meant to make fans feel like they are in the fictional world of the hit AMC television show. The production opened at the 2015 Walker Stalker Con at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. ‘‘The Walking Dead Experience — Chapter 1’’ drops fans into more than 10,000 square feet of sets and special effects, organizers say. The exhibition is scheduled to move to another Atlanta location for a four-week run before starting a national tour.
I call it a newspaper, what of it?
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At least somebody is keeping busy.
