Star Wars: The Prediction Awakens

The Force Awakens is busy rewriting the US box office record books on pretty much a daily basis and will likely pass Avatar sometime in the next few days to become the new US box office champ (not adjusted for inflation of course). While that's all well and good I'm going to go on record here with my prediction that TFA will not unseat Avatar as all time worldwide box office champ. Sure, the film has yet to open in China but since it's performance in the rest of the world is currently mirroring that of the US it would need to do something like $1 billion in China alone to have a shot at Avatar's worldwide crown. And I don't see that happening.

So, for what it's worth - and because I have nothing better to do on New Year's Day - my prediction is that TFA will wind up comfortably besting Titanic but fall short of Avatar and become the new #2 movie of all time worldwide.

"It's true. Big blue people. Pandora. All of it. You won't beat them."

Top 5 Films That Should Have Been Left to Stand on Their Own

The following is my list of the top 5 21st century films that would have been better off standing on their own. In no particular order.

Transformers - The original was a fresh, exciting, funny and engaging "boy and his dog" film for the new century. Drunk with power Michael Bay then used the subsequent installments to prove he hates everyone not named Micheal Bay and in the process tarnished Executive Producer Steve Spielberg's previously sparkling reputation.



Batman Begins - This gritty, life-sized portrayal of Batman's origin was followed by two of the worst comic book movies ever made. The Dark Knight was a dreadfully dull affair set in a boring, empty city where the director gave Christian Bale free reign to indulge his pretensions. While TDKR confirmed once and for all what TDK powerfully suggested: that Nolan has no idea what to do with a big budget. (As if any more proof were needed see Inception and Interstellar)



The Matrix - Of course the original was released in 1999 but II and III were 21st century fiascos of epic proportions. Another case of big budget-itis this time with the Wachowskis instead of Nolan doing the deer-in-headlights imitation. Each film had the unmistakable air of being made up as it went along by people with very little imagination who were still trying to fathom how they could have got so lucky. Good question indeed.



The Bourne Identity - In spite of Matt Damon the first movie succeeded in demonstrating the untapped potential of the spy thriller. The sequels did little to build on that potential. All they really accomplished was to point out that the main character isn't smart enough to buy some sunglasses or wear a hat and that the 'actor' portraying him has the dramatic range of a turnip. Oh yeah, and how about that editing. Pretty radical.



The Hangover - The sequels were nasty, pointless affairs that rested firmly on the hope that celebrity would trump quality and put consumer butts in theater seats. To a degree that hope was validated.

Why "Breaking Bad" Sucks

While I'm aware that the subject of this post is not a movie, it has nonetheless obsessed many of my movie loving friends and stuck it's mangy head into many an otherwise interesting movie-related conversation, making it fair game. Also, spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

Yesterday I had the latest in a series of... let's call them "discussions" with another of my friends who thinks "Breaking Bad" was something pretty special. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, in this case his opinion, like the opinion of many other friends on this subject, couldn't be more wrong: Breaking Bad sucks.

When pressed to provide reasons why Breaking Bad was the greatest thing since sliced bread my buddy, like everyone else I've ever met who liked the show, couldn't get much past "Bryan Cranston is awesome." This tells me that what we had with Breaking Bad was a really popular show that people thought was great because it was really popular because people thought it was great because it was really popular... you get the picture. I was really hoping that when the final season made its way into the cultural dumpster so would any memory of this abomination, yet the thing persists; like pee stains on white pants, to taunt me.

But back to last night's conversation that spawned this diatribe.

That conversation was progressing with the usual "Bryan Cranston is awesome" silliness when my buddy crossed a line and, with a completely straight face, compared Breaking Bad to "The Sopranos". It was at that point I resolved to dedicate a post to the Kim Kardashian of "serious programming"; Breaking Bad.

So let's get something out of the way right off the bat: comparing "The Sopranos" to "Breaking Bad" is like comparing the Rolling Stones' "Sway" to the Rolling Stones' "She's So Cold". One is art, the other is a consumer product.

That said here are just some of the many, many reasons Breaking Bad sucks (numbered for your convenience).

1) Bryan Cranston can't act his way out of a paper bag. He has two expessions; mouth agape and squinty eyes.

2) His character's story arch is laughably bad. Sure guys go through crises when facing the void, but even the void wouldn't turn Mr Rogers into Attila the Hun. Mr Rogers might go get himself a Miata, but he's not changing from a wall flower into a guy who tells psycho cartel leaders where to stuff it.

3) They do the "Gee we lost all our money again" thing about 12 times too many. They go back to that well more than Peter Jackson dips into the dead/not dead well.

4) The wife is loathsome. The character is abysmally written. As inconsistent a characterization as I've ever seen. One season a yuppie new age air head, next season a hard-boiled prison wife, next season scared, so scared. So, so scared.

4) The brother in law in the DEA is stupid beyond words. Imagine if they made Carmela's brother head of the Jersey FBI organized crime division. Just lazy, stupid writing.

5) The trope that he's dying of cancer is the most naked attempt I've ever seen of a writer trying to tug at heart strings to try and justify a character's assholedness; and make no mistake, WW is an a-hole of historic proportions.

6) He's such an indescribable a-hole I kept hoping someone would kill him. I don't think I'm supposed to be hoping that.

7) The idea that WW could kill a cartel leader and still be walking a week later is stupid.

8) The notion you could use an RV as a meth lab is stupid.

9) The idea you could cook in houses waiting to be fumigated was funny for about 5 minutes. Then I realized how stupid it was.

10) ABQ is about as compelling as minute rice.

11) Aaron Paul is an even worse actor than Bryan Cranston, and that's saying something. It's no accident he hasn't been seen since the show ended. Also, his character may be the most meaningless and poorly written in a show packed with meaningless, poorly written characters.

We can't act.

12) Flash round
I knew the RV wouldn't start.
I knew the kid on the bike would kill the fat drug dealer.
I knew the kid on the motorcycle would get killed.
I knew WW's cancer would go into remission.
I knew it would come back.
I knew the brother in law would find out.
I knew the cartel guy was going to die at the pool party.
I knew the chicken guy was going to kill the cook guy in the lab.
I knew Skyler was going to walk into the pool.
I knew the girlfriend was going to stiff the kid in front of her dad.
I knew she was going to eventually OD.
I knew Jessie was coming back, every damn time he came back.
I knew the old guy who couldn't talk had a bomb in his wheelchair.
I knew Jessie would discover the secret of the cigarette.

Whew! But wait. I'm not done.

13) The comedic moments say more about the writer's ineptitude than their ability to know when to throttle back.

14) Jerry Seinfeld had Bryan Cranston pegged pretty well: a second rate character guy, good for a few minutes of light diversion here and there.

15) The entire series seems like a Lifetime tv take on what it must be like to be a meth dealer. Like Lifetime went into high schools looking for writing talent to bring their 'bold' idea to the small screen and harnessed the best 10th grade writers in ABQ.

16) And for the record; the brother-in-law as he exists in the show does not get the job as head of the ABQ office. Ever. He also doesn't change from being class clown to being large and in charge. People are what they are. Often within a range, sure. But they are what they are. Good writers understand this.

17) The disabled son serves no purpose other than as a ham-handed device intended to show us WW may be hurting innocent people. They could completely ditch the kid character and instead show some of the thousands of lives WW is laying waste in his quest to get his wife Starbucks money for life.

18) The meltdown of Jessie toward the end is some of the worst acting I have ever seen. Laughably bad from beginning to end. He just took the same high-school-drama-club-quality "I'm mad" look that he's had in every scene since the first show and ramped it up a few degrees until he looked like he was taking a shit in his pants while setting the house on fire.

I could go on but what would be the point. Good riddance BB. You sucked.

Chris

Support Independent Film

My friend Rich Chambers has a short film that's begun making the festival rounds called "Tristan and Isolde" (poster below). It's a 7 minute horror flick with no dialogue. Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" is used as backdrop music and the film deals loosely with Wagner's idea of "love death" and how a serial killer might think that was a pretty good idea. So, to say it's darkly comedic would be putting it mildly.

Rich has given me the link and password to the film on vimeo to share only with viewers of 21st Century Films. So enjoy and don't forget to support independent filmmakers.

https://vimeo.com/129768872
password: 983olsef

For the record, Rich has another short that's in production and should be done by the end of the year. It's a much more involved production that I'm helping him out with and it's looking amazing at this point.

"Sin City 2" gets a name change

Poster with dumbed-down title for SC2

"Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" has been retitled "Sin City: A Dame to Die For" in an apparent attempt to make sure none of those uber-sensitive consumer types get their knickers in a twist and find themselves offended. Oh well. It'll always be "A Dame to Kill For" to me.

Justin Lin takes director's chair for Bourne 5

New "Bourne" director Justin Lin

Though rumors have teased the return of Matt Damon to the franchise for a couple of years now it seems pretty clear that the Bourne universe he essentially created is moving on without him. He has stated on multiple occasions that he would not return to the character of Jason Bourne unless director Paul Greengrass was brought back with him.

Well, Universal has pretty effectively hammered the final nail in the coffin of Damon/Greengrass with their announcement that "Fast and Furious" director Justin Lin will take the big chair for the series' next installment. It's hoped that Lin - who turned the lame F&F concept into box office gold - will do the same with the Bourne franchise, which frankly is difficult to justify without an actual Bourne character in it.

"Mad Max Fury Road" the film that wouldn't be born

The delays on George Miller's fourth Mad Max film had already become the stuff of developmental legend. But a few months ago it seemed that maybe, finally, the film was in the can. Apparently, that's not quite the case after all.

Said star Tom Hardy at the BFI London Film Festival: “[Mad Max] is great, it’s a big old beast, it’s a behemoth. I’m off out there next week to do some reshoots – well, not reshoots, actually, we’re doing more. Building more Mad Max that’s even more spectacular.”

Hardy's words are the kind that those of us who've been waiting on this film for several years now really didn't want to hear and raises the question: is he simply putting a brave face on a disaster or did the studio decide that what Miller had done to this point was so good it warranted an additional investment to put it over the top? I guess we'll know when we finally see the flick.

If we finally see the flick.

Possibly coming some day to a theater near you. Maybe.

Release date set for Episode VII

December 18th 2015. Mark it on your calendar Star Wars fans. That is now the official release date of Episode VII.

Disney studio head Alan Horn made the announcement Thursday and went on to state;“We’re very excited to share the official 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, where it will not only anchor the popular holiday filmgoing season but also ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture,"

This announcement follows by a couple of weeks word that writer Michael Arndt was leaving the project for reasons that probably won't be clear for a while. It was an announcement that sent shivers through the fanbase many of whom feared there was trouble in a galaxy far, far away and that we might not see this film until 2016 or even beyond. Thankfully that's not the case.

Disney Chairman Robert Iger also chimed in on the issue during an earnings call noting that  December 18th “is also the date Avatar opened in 2009.” It can be safely assumed that associating his film with the biggest grossing film of all time was Iger's way of placating those who fear that releasing a Star Was movie in any month other than May is asking for trouble. It's also notable that the 2 biggest names at Disney felt compelled to tag team the media regarding this announcement. Apparently the departure of Arndt caused some significant ripples on the Disney pond prompting the two to handle the fire extinguishers personally.

Another note to our readers

There's no doubt we've been remiss with our updating responsibilities the past month or so and particularly the past week. As I explained in an earlier post this is because we have been assisting our friend Rich Chambers in the making of his first feature film entitled "The Shadow Sea". It's been an amazing experience but also a time consuming one. Something has had to give and unfortunately it's been 21st Century Films up to this point. With principal photography nearly 90% complete, however, we expect that over the course of the next few weeks things will return to normal here and we'll get back to bringing you a choice selection of movie news from here there and everywhere. In the meantime please accept our apologies and keep coming back and, oh yeah, don't forget to visit the official facebook page of "The Shadow Sea" (address below) and drop a like on the project while you're there.

www.facebook.com/theshadowsea

Chris and Gigi

Ridley Scott confirms "Prometheus" sequel is a go

Long rumored this project has been sputtering through development for the past year with writers leaving, writers coming and the presumed director tied up with a plethora of other high-profile projects. Now however, Ridley Scott has finally put something like an official stamp on it with his statement (made during a press conference for his new film "The Counselor") that the sequel to the prequel "is being written right now". Whether or not you believe that's good news I suppose depends on what you thought of the original film. Personally I thought "Prometheus"' was stunning from a visual standpoint and that its problems stemmed from really poor writing that had Damon Lindelof's kind of "wouldn't it be cool if..." TV mentality all over it. Also, the musical score was one of the weakest I've ever heard for a major motion picture with the theme sounding like it was lifted from a 40 year old episode of "Cannon".

With Lindelof and composer Marc Streitenfeld not attached to the se-prequel (or is it pre-sequel?) hopes are high that Scott will get it right the second time around and give the rabid Alien fan-base a film they can sink their multi-tiered teeth into. Whether or not the near 80 year old Scott will wind up directing it may well depend on which completed script hits his desk first: this or the one being developed for his "Blade Runner" sequel.

"The Counselor" viral piece with Michael Fassbender

This vignette is apparently designed to fill in some background of Michael Fassbender's character for the soon-to-be-released Ridley Scott film. Not sure if you'll see any of this in the movie since the youtube blurb says no yet Natalie Dormer (the blond seen here) is listed on the movie's IMDB page as being part of the cast.


Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" opens this Friday.

Stephen Lang returning for Avatar 2, 3, 4

Pandora: home of the undead

Deadline is reporting that Stephen Lang will be returning for the trio of "Avatar" sequels that begin filming next year, in spite of the fact that he was killed good at the end of the original film. According to writer/director James Cameron  

“Steven was so memorable in the first film, we’re privileged to have him back... I’m not going to say exactly HOW we’re bringing him back, but it’s a science fiction story, after all. His character will evolve into really unexpected places across the arc of our new three-film saga. I really look forward to working with such a gifted actor, who’s also become a good friend.”

Well alright! I'm assuming if they can bring back scarface then it won't be any problem bringing back 'home tree' too. And while we're at it let's not forget Dr Grace Augustine. (Oops! Chris tells me Sigourney's already said she's coming back. Yikes!)

Sam Worthington on Avatar sequels

Though it seems like he's dropped off the edge of the planet since "Avatar" Sam Worthington is apparently still alive and kicking and resurfaced this past week to give a radio interview in which he touched briefly on the fate of the much-delayed "Avatar" sequels and indicated that there is apparently a genuine start date in place for production. Said Worthington:


"I think Jim is building the ship to Pandora to be honest... We are going to start this time next year and we will do two, three and four. I'll be grateful if it finishes." 

While any news is good news regarding Avatar, when you do the math it seems like holding your breath for the sequels would not be a good idea. Let's see: they start filming in 1 year, then 1 year of production, then at least 1 year of post production on each film plus inevitable delays... whew! Wake me up when we get there.

Michael Bay assaulted: The story from Hong Kong

As you may have heard Michael Bay was assaulted in Hong Kong yesterday while filming "Transformers 4" in the Chinese territory. Reports have been sketchy but most have alleged the attack was carried out by a pair of brothers who were unimpressed with compensation the film crew offered to local merchants to make up for the inconvenience of effectively shutting down their neighborhood to shoot. Now comes this video report from Hong Kong television which goes into things in a bit more detail, alleging the brothers were actually gang members intent on extortion. Take a look.

4th "Narnia" film finally gets the green light

"I'm not in the 4th movie?" "Sorry hon. At least we'll always have Paris, sort of."

Seems like a long time that the 4th installment in the Narnia series has been tied up in development hell. Which is a little weird because, while the third film - "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" - didn't do as well as the first, it was no slouch at the box office pulling in $415 million worldwide on a $155 million budget.

But, whatever the reason for the wait word has finally come that N4 has apparently been greenlit. The new film will be drawn from the C. S. Lewis novel "The Silver Chair" and will follow the exploits of King Caspian and Eustace Scrubb, played by Will Poulter in the 3rd film. I'm glad the series is finally moving forward but a Narnia film without any members of the Pevensie family? Whose idea was that?

5 new banners for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

While I'm on the subject of The Hobbit here are 5 newly released banners from the film featuring (top to bottom) Bilbo and the Dwarves, Thranduil, Bard the Bowman, Gandalf and Legolas. If you click on the images in the post it should take you to larger versions.

New image from "Hercules the Thracian Wars"

Courtesy of star Dwayne Johnson, this image from director Brett Ratner’s mythological musing is extremely easy on the eye in an otherworldly way. That alone puts this project on the map for me.

Look for "Hercules the Thracian Wars" next July.

A note for our visitors

We've been a little slow with the updates lately because we're helping our good friends at Shadow Productions put together their first feature film entitled "The Shadow Sea". Once principal photography wraps things will get back to normal here at 21st Century Films.

In the meantime take a minute and visit the movie's facebook page and drop a like on it.
www.facebook.com/theshadowsea

Thanks,
Gigi and Chris

Comic-Con teaser for "The Avengers: Age of Ultron"

A few thousand people who were on hand a couple of months ago at Comic-Con got to see it and now you can too. Admittedly it's a bunch of audio snippets from A1 married to a fancy-pants new graphic but hey, we'll take what we can get. Have a look.


As the teaser says look for "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" in the summer of 2015.

Ahnuld the Avatarator?

A strange little rumor popped up a few days ago that had Ahnuld being cast in "Avatar 2" as one of those evil humans who enjoy making such a mess out of Pandora. It made a certain kind of sense I suppose as Schwarzenegger and Cameron are such good buddies. Still, it was a disturbing thought (for me anyway) on more levels than I care to mention.

Now, however, Fox has come out and in no uncertain terms put the kibosh on the rumor with a studio rep stating in no uncertain terms: “No truth to this”. Whew! For the record "Avatar 2" is currently in the casting stage with production set to start next year with release set for 2016.