3D provides depth to the bottom line, for now

Originally posted on the Berkeley DMEC blog page.

The movie industry is experience some better times with box offices revenues already running 8.8% ahead of 2009 figures (itself a $10B year). A huge driver has been the versioning for 3D and IMAX for tent-pole movies.  Increased traffic for 3D coupled with significant price increases (reported as much as a 26% bump) have continued to feed the hype.  This has been some positive news in terms as revenue as studios expect a 12% drop in DVD sales.

The question is how marginal traffic will making a 3D movie bring in?

With How to Train Your Dragon opening at 27% lower than Dreamwork’s Monster Vs. Aliens may indicate that new features like 3D may not necessarily trump good ole word of mouth. Indeed, the willingness to pay for a superior 3D experience for the family may not be enough to cover the $40-$60 required to take a family to the movies.

To convert a 3D movie, it takes studios an estimated $30 M, will the ROI remain? Wish three more 3D movies coming down this season’s pipeline, 3D may fast becoming the new normal.

Diversions [Artful Procrastination]

Finals are next week, along with a series of papers and the >play conference. It through it all, I still seem to find some time to browse the Internets.

The Cat Piano from PRA on Vimeo.

Independent v. Indie [Film]

Strong Bad, has a funny video differentiating the key traits of Independent vs. Indie films.

HT: MiracleMax

Online Marketplace for Directors [Online Film Festivals]

While living in DC, I was lucky to be part of a film festival. What continually amazes me is the depth and quality of amateur work out there. Given the high cost of making mass consumptive media (like movies and commercials), its no wonder that companies rarely bet on an unknown director.

Film festivals, especially the strappy small ones, seek to showcase emerging talent and their unique stories. For example, a Paris-based production company Mr. Hyde has launched The Hyde Tube, which provides an online venue for directors to have their work juried.

There are two things I like about the project:

• Creation of a Marketplace: Mr. Hyde, hopes that the Hyde Tube will becoming a marketplace where clients can find source new talent (and probably for a cheaper cost). In effect, Mr. Hyde is trying to remove the middlemen in the process--for a nice price"Clients will contact The Hyde Tube in order to pass on a project to a specific director, who is then free to decide whether or not to accept it. If accepted, the director will write a treatment or make an animated test within 3 to 5 days. For this work you will receive approximately 500€.

  If the client is happy with the treatment and decides that the director will make the film, The Hyde Tube will connect the director with the client, and Mr Hyde or one of its affiliate studios will oversee the production until the film delivery."

• Visualization of Content: With a reported 100 directors, I was deeply curious on how they were going to help clients scroll through all the content. The use of screenshots allow the clients to scan multiple aesthetics efficiently.
  

A Third Toy Story [Pixar]

I remember when Toy Story came out on VHS. I watched it relentlessly for an entire summer. I had never seen digital animation as detailed before and it simply blew my mind.

Since then, I've becoming a loyal pixar fan; hungrily consuming each masterpiece. Well, it looks like June 18, 2010 will mark a third and most awesome Toy Story 3. Enjoy the preview.

Biggie Smalls [IMAX FAIL]

There are a couple trends in this year's summer blockbuster movies. It's going to be in 3D and it's going in IMAX. Most of us think of IMAX in its traditional 60x80 foot screens. However, in a move that will invariably cause some blowback, IMAX is allowing its name on 25x58 feet screens. It's no small difference:



With 72 of the 138 "IMAX" screens are in the smaller size, there is going to be a good number of angry moviewatchers. Talk about brand dilution.

Actor/Writer Aziz Ansari, of Parks and Recreation, recently posted an angry, profanity-laden post about the bait and switch.

What is surprising is that the response from the CEO:

“The overwhelming majority of comments on that guy’s blog this morning, more than 90% of them, are vehemently disagreeing with him. And consumers are confirming this with their continued purchases of tickets.”

Read Aziz's response here.

Airplane Films [Movie Reviews]

I've been flying around a lot and consequently have been force fed a series of films. Unfortunately, I'm sad to say that none of them were terribly inspiring. I did, however, get to see Milk in the Castro last week. To watch a film and then spill into the street where it all took place was both emotional and inspirational.

Here are a couple reviews:

Milk
Harvey Milk's journey
film story crescendoes, arcs
Sean and Josh connect
[4/5]

Burn after Reading
Cohens take DC
web of intrigue, spooks, ego
Ridiculous quirk
[2.5/5]

Sixty Six
Boy vies for a nod
Bar Mitzvah on World Cup Day
Bit Cheesy, Stirring
[2.2/5]

Flash of Genius
Ford steals invention
Author draws line, fights machine
standard biopic
[2.1/5]

The Day The Earth Stood Still
Is man destructive?
Keanu decides man's fate
So predictable
[2.0/5]

The Long Shot
Cube coaches football
Girl inspires team as QB
Too many cliches
[1/5]

lady slumdog vengeance? [movie rumors]

In an interview with Empire, Danny Boyle (director of the recent Slumdog Millionaire) has recently been offered the opportunity to remake Chan-Wook Park's Lady Vengeance.

Lady Vengeance is the third and final part of Chan-Wook Park's vengeance trilogy. If you haven't seen them, you should Chan-Wook explores three different takes on vengeance.

[Movie Reviews]

Movie Reviews:
Son of Rambow: [4 of 5]

boys watch rambo film

make believe epic movie

boys find family

Planet B-Boy: [3.5 of 5]

break dancing indie

kinetic, motion, street art

doc, great story arc

Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: [3 of 5]

old Indy, back again

same bits, even a son!

but somehow, bit stale

I was really looking forward to this film. Having grown up with the films in this franchise, I expected the action from my younger days. To be fair, I think it's a straight-line production of the traditional Indie series. But in the modern context, it lacks the kinetic energy as the series did before. I gave it a rating for ole time's sake.

A Slum O'Kay Rags to Raj-ah Tale [Slumdog Millionaire Review]

There's been a lot of buzz about the film. However, this is no typically bollywood film. Slumdog is a heart-warming crossover directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and the underrated Sunshine).

Typical bollywood films have the following characteristics and themes:

• Love and betrayal (on a scale of 1 to 10 in melodrama, they're typically as high as south korean soaps
• Exploration of family dynamics
  
• And always always always... a dance sequence

To be honest, I liked the film, but didn't love the film. You can see Danny's hand through the entire film. Maybe I walked in with expectations too high, but I found the film a little predictable.

However, maybe the best films are predictable. K loves watching Love Actually around this time of year. There is something clever about how the film is constructed and warm about how the main character's (Jamal) journey to be with his destined that will make this a repeat film watched on a movie night between a couple.

[3 of 5]

I want to try something new, i wrote a haiku for the movie:

boyle in bollywood

boy seeks girl melodrama

rags to raj-ah tale

Indy easter eggs

Goonies 2 Rumors

Rumors are that Goonies 2 has been greenlit. Having grown upon on the original goonies, tried my first baby ruth candy bar, and played the Nintendo Famicom game, I'll be eagerly awaiting its release.

You can read more about it at screenrant.

Reel in the Vote...

Long time friend and staffer of the DC APA Film Festival finally makes the jump. For years, I've seen Henry on the festival's programming committee. I've seen how he now manages the fest's annual trailer contest.

This is the one guy I know who has rated more netflix movies than I have.

Well, he's finally made the jump. It's no feature film, but it's a great PSA. Check it out below.

The Art of Cleaning

Speaking of corporations and their PR marketing campaigns. Green Works, a Clorox Company and maker of "natural cleaners," worked with Paul "Moose" Curtis on a graffiti art project.

Using Green Works products, created "reverse graffiti" by cleaning dirt off walls.



Like my last post, I'm on the fence. Conceptually, I like what the idea of "reverse graffiti," and its ephemeral qualities, and I'm a big fan of the director, Doug Pray (Scratch, and Infamy).

It's just...

I'm just not sure how to feel when street art goes corporate.

Source: Blogthousand!

Artopolis and Santa Mesa

Thursday was a pretty busy night. Too many openings and closings, and not enough time to make it all. Hundreds and thousands of people are in town this weekend for Artropolis. They say that in Texas, everything is SuperSized. If Texas gets the prize, Chicago runs a close second. Artropolis is not just one art show, it's four (correction, five) art shows in the same building.

The entire portfolio of shows is held in the Merchandise Mart which reminds me of some Romanian, ex-soviet building--utilitarian and heavy. One of the most amazing things about the show in relation to the MerchMart is that the show, in all its size and glory only occupies 3 floors.

Merchandise Mart

Casa Poporului (Bucharest, Romania)

Thursday night was preview night. After visiting my friend Loreen Hospodar who is showing for the Artist Project, I went to the 8th floor to check out Art Chicago in all its glory. People everywhere, it was an art extravaganza. After stopping by a few galleries, I found K's booth at the Secrist Gallery. I'm simply blown away at the proportion of art galleries represented. I even saw pieces that I recognized! For example, sketches of Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset's Prada Marfa. I felt cultured.

I couldn't stay long because I had a show to catch. It was closing night for the Asian American Showcase at the Gene Siskel theater. The festival closed with Santa Mesa, a touching story about a filipino-american kid who loses his mother and is taken in by his grandmother in the Philippines. Neither understanding the culture or the language, Hector struggles to overcome his loss and build new ties. I'd give it a [3 of 5]. Santa Mesa is currently playing the film fest circuit. Check to see where their screening schedule.

21, the movie

21 a movie based on the book Bringing Down the House comes out in movie theaters this weekend. It's a great story of how a group of MIT kids work as a team to win millions of dollars.

Jim Sturgess an up-and-coming actor plays the lead role. I think the the casting director totally got it right. there's such an uncanny resemblance between the actor and the character that it's really based on.

Side note, Jeff Ma quit the card counting business and started protrade.com

Blueberry nights...absolutely scrumptious

Wong kar wai, one of my favorite directors, has a new film out on limited release (which means that I won't be able to watch it this weekend). Director of faves including In the mood for love and fallen angels, My Blueberry nights stars grammy winner Norah Jones along with a deep bench of Academy Award winners and nominees including Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz and (my favorite) Natalie Portman.

Using NY as a backdrop, Norah Jones plays a sensual woman who sets out on a journey in the pursuit of love. Check out the trailer below:

Yeehaw, camping near sxsw

In a couple hours I will be on a plane from Midway en route to the great Texan state. As a person bitten with wanderlust, this must be my mid-west year. Barring any delays, I will arrive in Dallas, TX tonight. It's been a while since I've been to Texas. But you've got to love a state where there are restaurants on top of restaurants. I wont' be spending much time here though... only to rest and to take a shower...

Tomorrow morning, me and my college roommate, will be driving to Austin. A city definitely worth checking out, for the past week and for the next two weeks, the city is teeming with people.

Why? Because it's so cool? I'm sure it is, it's because of the annual SXSW festival. three festivals that abut each other--interactive, film, and music. Initially a music festival, this festival has grown in leaps and bounds over the past couple of years.

But, I may not partake. I will be about 20 miles outside of the festival. Away from the hubbub, I am going to go fishing, hiking, and communing with nature (it does have its benefits). We may go in, we may not. I'll report back after I get back sunday night.

Scratch that, i fly back and immediately drive to Jeff's place to watch the season finale of the wire.

Can life get any better?

Cinematical's magnificant 7

I just booked my ticket to SFIAAF! It's going to be awesome. No better place to see some emerging asian-american content than from my mothercity--San Francisco.

To kick off the countdown, I've added a link to Cinematical's top seven Asian-American actors ready to break out.

Read Cinematical's post here.

I can't help but fear that my inner demons of skepticism have conquered my angels of hope, but I would also like to add Aaron Yoo to that list.

What rgb is your shoe?

This is an old but great campaign. The original concept, launched in 1983, were white sneakers sold with tools for individuals to customize it as they saw fit.

Fast forward about 20 years. To relaunch and promote adicolor, adidas commissioned a series of directors to create specific shorts. There are seven shorts from a slew of directors--Roman Coppola & Andy Bruntel, Neill Blomkamp, PSYOP, TRONIC, Saiman Chow, Charlie White, and HAPPY.

A nice touch small touch is how they reserved URLS based on the colors RGB code:

• White: www.r255g255b255.net
• Yellow: www.r254g245b006.net
  
• Green: www.r006g146b071.net
• Pink: www.r243g197b208.net
• Blue: www.r023g075b158.net
• Red: www.r213g037b053.net
• Black: www.r000g000b000.net