MovieZen Blog

Summer Box Office Exceeds Expectations

No one predicted that The Dark Knight would pull in such a strong box-office performance this summer. Yes, Indiana Jones was a sure-fire hit. But Iron Man? The three films each brought in over $300 million domestically, with international sales equally as impressive. And The Dark Knight's insane success more than compensates for fewer bona fide smash-hits at the box office than in previous summers.

Even with a poor economy and a little thing called the Olympics to keep us away from our local cinemas, Hollywood is hardly hurting.

Meantime, despite some speculation in advance of the Olympics that telecasts of the Beijing Games might have hurt the boxoffice, there was scant hard evidence of late-summer grosses being hammered by the small-screen competition.

“If you look at the raw numbers, it would be hard to see how it did hurt,” Fellman said. “NBC did a great job making sure that the main events were primetime, but it seemed like the movies that opened up against the Olympics still did well."

Added Sony distribution president Rory Bruer: “It’s quite extraordinary that the Olympics could have the kind of TV ratings that they did and the boxoffice could still continue to perform as well as it did. It says a lot about where people are in their heads, and it seems they just want to escape where they are in their daily lives. That could mean either going out to the theater for a few hours or watching Michael Phelps at home.”

Headed into the long Labor Day weekend — summer’s final boxoffice session — Nielsen EDI data showed domestic tallies of $3.96 billion that are sure to rise to beyond $4 billion by the Monday holiday. Internationally, distributors project a $4.1 billion haul through Sunday.

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Nadine Bells
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MTV Movie Awards Get Fired Up

The most excitement on the MTV Movie Awards wasn't finding out which movie took home the big prize, seeing Wayne and Garth again, Johnny Deep winning two awards, or Ellen Page finally getting some recognition. It was a scripted moment between James Franco and Seth Rogen of the upcomingPineapple Express film as they were about to present the award for Best Summer Movie So Far.

As Franco and Rogen took the podium, they mentioned that MTV figured "only potheads like us" could present such a strange award, then defended themselves, saying they weren't really potheads, and because of that, they wouldn't be bringing out a fake bag of weed, and wouldn't be lighting up a big fatty joint and smoking it. The joke was that supposedly the whole time they were doing this very thing,  for all we knew, it probably was real. I'm not sure what the FCC rules are on this, especially being that this was cable, but surely it was close to crossing some sort of line, if you can't even show people smoking cigarettes or drinking on regular TV.

We never got to see too much of what was really going on onstage, as producers decided to go to a very long distance wide angle of the stage, making it seem like they were shocked the two actors took the presentation in that direction. Instead, after the award was presented, Franco stated that the bit was indeed planned and written by MTV, yet right before they went on stage, there was a "big commotion" and they were being told they couldn't do such a thing. Franco was disappointed in the change of heart, as he thought it was a funny take on their upcoming film Pineapple Express about a stoner and his dealer. As for what was really in the bag, he claims to not know, saying it was what MTV gave them for the bit.

This would all be strange and full of excitement on its own, but in addition to this, it almost seemed like more planning, as the winner of the award was the film Iron Man, with Robert Downey, Jr., who seems to finally be on the right track, accepting it. At some points he seemed mildly amused, and others he seemed like he was just putting up with the joke.

As for the other exciting parts of the show, host Mike Myers appeared in many skits onstage, such as he and Chris Brown in a danceoff, a pre-recorded skit with him appearing as a caterer, and he and Dana Carvey reprising their roles as Wayne and Garth presenting the top ten porno movie names based on hit movies of 2008, with such titles as I Am Legend ... In Bed and No Country For Old Balls. Perhaps not so coincidentally, the caterer Myers played stated she used to be a porn star.

There were also exciting musical guests as well with Coldplay and Pussycat Dolls each debuting new hits. In a completely narcissistic bit, Tom Cruise presented Adam "Sandman" Sandler with a Generation Award, and Sandler then took the stage singing and playing the guitar to Nobody Does It Better, as Rob Schneider donned a yellow unitard and long ponytail, and blended in with the other dancer onstage.

As far as the reason for the show, the movie awards, most went according to plan, but there were a few that jumped out of left field. Ellen Page finally got her due, getting an award for Best Female for her role in Juno, although she seemed a bit unprepared in her speech. At least she thanked the writer, Diablo Cody. Will Smith took the male counterpart of this award for his role in I Am Legend, thanking everyone for turning out to see the film, even though it was just him alone for a solid hour of the film. In a complete surprise, Zac Efron won Breakthrough Performance for his role in Hairspray even though he'd already starred in two very successful High School Musical films. I really don't understand how it was "breakthrough."

Never Back Down surprisingly picked up the award for Best Fight, and while the good part about fights is they're always followed by makeup sex, it was Step Up 2 the Streets that won for Best Kiss. In a true test of his acting talent, the always cool Johnny Depp came up to accept the awards for both Best Villain and Best Comedic Performance.

The Best Summer Movie So Far was voted to be Iron Man, but it really isn't saying too much as it's the film that was on the list that has been out the longest, other than Speed Racer that seemed to die a miserable death at the box office. The big award of the night, Best Movie, went to Transformers, another surprise, since its audience doesn't seem as widespread as some of its fellow nominees.

It was definitely an exciting evening, no matter how you look at it, and I'm just guessing that we haven't heard the end of weed/fake weed incident.

LauraBelle
Troubled Hollywood

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Downey Puts the Iron in Iron Man

Looking back about 10 years ago who would ever think that Robert Downey Jr. would be making movies again much less playing a super hero. But here we are 10 years later, Downey is back and boy is he super!

Downey plays Tony Stark, a wealthy weapons manufacturer and all around entrepreneur known as much for his mind as his misdeeds. More comfortable in the headlines than the boardroom, he uses a mission to the Middle East with defense contractor pal Jim Rhodes to introduce The Jericho, an unfathomably destructive missile. A roadside ambush however, soon finds our cocky CEO in enemy hands, and they have a simple demand: build them a similar system.

With the help of a fellow prisoner, Stark instead turns the tables and erects an incredible armored suit that not only saves his life but helps him to escape his captors. Once he is back on U.S. ground again, Stark realizes what his company has wrought, and demands that his company change its course. This makes his secretary Pepper Potts happy, and his chief advisor and company head Obadiah Stane wary. Stark in the meantime, modifies his suit, turning it into the sleek, super-powered Iron Man. With it, he hopes to right the wrongs his corporate callousness created.

With its good balance of special effects and some good old-fashioned fine acting, "Iron Man" offers plenty to keep both action and non-action lovers alike happy. Downey meanwhile, plays Stark with loads of self effacing humor and you can tell he’s a having a great time and therefore, so does the audience. It is Downey that really puts the iron in "Iron Man" and I could not imagine this movie without him!

Downey’s co-stars are equally enthralling. Jeff Bridges is almost unrecognizable as chrome-domed, diabolical Obadiah Stane and he plays him with much relish. In her role as Pepper Potts, Gwyneth Paltrow offers up just enough sizzle to sell her relationship with Stark as alternatively stern and sexual. It’s a role that we rarely get to see Paltrow portray and it’s great to see her flex her acting chops in this way. As Jim Rhodes, Stark’s best buddy, Terrance Howard plays the "stock hero’s best friend" and doesn’t have much outstanding to do here but it is foreseeable that he will have a much meatier role in future "Iron Mans" to come.

And how do I know there will be future "Iron Man" movies? Let’s just say $100 million dollars on the opening weekend is reason enough.

Limoge
Opinionella

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Iron Man: A Must-Watch

Movie lovers and the occasional movie goer will surely not miss the movie Iron Man. Why? Because it is something that everyone has been talking about since the start of the year. Everyone loves a Marvel superhero movie just like Fantastic Four and The Hulk even if some of them are flops. But what I can surely tell you is that Iron Man is not a flop. It’s one of the best movies I have seen this year!

I am not a fan of superhero movies and I was really not looking forward to watching Iron Man, I was dragged into watching it and was glad that I didn’t miss the movie. One thing that made me very skeptical about Iron Man is the casting. I didn’t think Robert Downey Jr. would fit the role of Iron Man especially after watching the trailer. But I was so very wrong. Robert Downey Jr. did a fantastic job in portraying his character and looked as if no one could have done a better job at it.

As for the storyline, Iron Man has a simple plot that is somewhat obvious from the start. It’s not good or bad, it’s just average and it’s a typical superhero movie. But one thing that I really loved about Iron Man was the computer graphics. The level of technology shown in the movie while Tony Stark was working on his suit for Iron Man was just marvelous and way too cool. The computer graphics while he is suiting up is also one of those things that really stick to your brain because of the level of detail and “awesomeness” of the contraption coming together.

Iron Man is a must-watch movie and it will surely be one movie that will be with you for a long time. People will be talking about it and you don’t want to be left out of the conversation!

st3ph_17
Movie Rants and Raves

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Downey writes with 'Iron,' too

Robert Downey Jr. stars as “Iron Man” and alter ego Tony Stark in the summer’s first certified blockbuster. Listen to a couple of his co-stars talk in separate New York interviews, and you’d swear he wrote much of the Marvel-inspired film, too.

“Robert is totally insane, and brilliant, and hilarious.  I'm madly in love with him,” says Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Pepper Potts, right-hand woman to Stark. “Working with him every day was very refreshing.  He has such a different approach.  He's very spontaneous, and he would always change lines.

“What would happen every morning is that they would say 'OK, Robert and (director) Jon Favreau are ready to talk about the scene in Jon's trailer.  I would go in Jon's trailer and be chatting with Jon.  Then Robert would come in with his 88-liter coffee, and his sunglasses.  He would saunter in and take the sides, and he would literally ball them up, whip it against the wall, and be like, 'Fuck this. This is the worst thing I've ever read.  We are not doing this.' "

“And we would be like, 'OK, OK.' Then we would sit down and rewrite a lot of it, and that's sort of how we did the whole movie," Paltrow explains. “It was kind of crazy, but it was fun.  We always knew where we wanted to go, but it was a lot of time.  Robert cannot say something that he doesn't feel. He can't do it, and he just won't do it.  I think it's a testament to why he's such a good actor.”

Adds Terrence Howard (playing military man and Stark confidante Rhodey), “Robert is the most gifted actor I’ve ever worked with. I told him, ‘I am your second lead and anyplace you go I will follow.’ He was a real leader on set. He would take the script and say, ‘This is good. We can shoot this and be done by lunch, or we could rewrite it and make a good movie.’ ”

“His instincts are right on. He made every scene better. It’s as if he’s completely free because everyone knows the worst of his deeds.”

For his part, Downey, whose late-‘90s drug woes and demons are well-documented, freely admits to the “dirty deed” of rewriting what’s on the page.

“We had great writers and (two of them) had just been nominated (for “Children of Men”), and I said, 'Hey, I was nominated once, too,’ ” Downey says. “So, anyway, we really all worked together as a team and sometimes they'd hand me stuff that I said, 'Thank God they wrote this. It's so smart and cool and perfect.' And other times I would go to them with ideas or with Jon Favreau.

“By the time we got to Act III, I was like, 'I can't have this confrontation scene with Pepper.' Hey, we're getting along fine. Yeah, I realized that some of the stuff that I was like, 'That's garbage!' becomes the first big laugh in the movie after all the schlock that Jon and I wrote gets just these little titters and chuckles."

“It's always a group effort,” Downey concludes, “but my thing is that we should always feel free to ball each other's junk up and throw it against the wall because we're not here to serve a legal document. If you asked me, that's going to be the problem for me in the rest of my career and I know it now.”

Sounds as if the sequel might be boffo – on and off the set.

John Urbancich
Cleveland Sun - Intermission

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