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SUNDAY AM: These kinds of movies are so demeaning to women when the wife and a deranged "other woman" catfight over a man. But there's no denying that female filmgoers love this winning formula. (Remember the big box office of its inspiration, Fatal Attraction?) So it was no surprise to Hollywood that Screen Gems/Sony's Obsessed starring Beyoncé did so well Friday and Saturday, opening No. 1 to $11.2 million both days in North American grosses from 2,515 theaters for what was an overperforming $28.5M weekend. Amazing, since the studio claims it cost only $20M and was expecting only $18M. This was the 2nd biggest Screen Gems opening ever. Exit polling showed that the extraordinary opening was driven by female moviegoers (58%) and nearly half were under age 25.
Showing that Zac Efron has legs with his tween/teen fanbase, No. 2 went to 17 Again from New Line/Warner Bros with $3.9 million (down 60% from its opening last Friday) from 3,255 dates and $4.8 million Saturday. It did jump up from 3rd place with its weekend tally reaching $11.3M for a new cume of $39.6M.
Rogue/Universal's pummel pic Fighting with star of tomorrow Channing Tatum (of the upcoming G.I. Joe) and debuted in 3rd place to $4.5 million Friday and $4 milliON Saturday from 2,310 venues for an $11.4M weekend. That was in line with expectations for this formulaic he-man genre. Exit polling showed the audience was 58%/42% male to female, 66%/33% under to over age 25, and ethnically diverse -- Hispanic (39%), Caucasian (30%), African American (19%), Asian (9%), and “Other” (3%).
For months, there's been curiosity about how the DreamWorks/Paramount inspirational pic The Soloist would fare in theaters. This Robert Downey Jr/Jamie Foxx starrer was supposed to be released for Academy Award consideration in 2008, but Paramount delayed its debut in order to keep the spotlight and marketing on its two Oscar hopefuls The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and Revolutionary Road. (Needless to say, DreamWorks was not amused...) The much-buzzed pic is based on the real life relationship between a Los Angeles Times columnist and a genius violinist who's also homeless. But The Soloist opened in 4th place with $3.2 million Friday and $4 million Saturday from 2,024 runs for an underperforming $9.7M considering the heavy marketing. But it proved a challenge to convince people the film wasn't a downer. The audience was led by females over 25, followed by males over 25, with some interest from, surprisingly, males under 25.
Disney's environmental documentary Earth (2009) opened, appropriately enough, on Wednesday which was Earth Day. It earned $2.9 million Friday and $3.3 million from 1,804 plays for 5th place and an $8.6M weekend and $14.1M cume. It's a great start for the first documentary from the new Disneynature label. Following 3 animal families with impressive photography, it scored the biggest opening weekend for a nature documentary, even surpassing the $7.2M three-day opening of March Of The Penguins. Because of a Disney ticket offer, 2 million trees now will be planted in the endangered Atlantic Rain Forest.
DreamWorks' Monsters v Aliens snuck into 6th place with an $8.5M weekend still playing wide in 3,358 venues after 5 weeks for a new giant cume of $174.8M.
It's surprising how quickly Universal's journalism thriller State Of Play starring Russell Crowe and based on the BBC miniseries faded in a week after a disappointing opener because the studio really thought this pic would have legs. In the 7th spot, it made only $2 million (-55%) Friday and $3.1 million Saturday from 2,807 theaters for a $7M weekend and new cume of a mere $25.2M. In its 3rd week of release, Disney's Hanna Montana, The Movie made $6.5M this weekend for a $65.7M new cume for 8th place from 3,231 plays. At No. 9, Universal's Fast & Furious blockbuster hangs in starting 4 weeks in release for a $6.1M weekend and $145.3M new cume from a still wide release of 3,566 runs. And, rounding out the Top 10, Lionsgate's Crank 2: High Voltage eked out a $2.5M weekend (-63%) and new $11.6M cume from 2,223 dates starting its 2nd week.Overall, box office looks in the low $90sM -- +5% from last year. Starting May 1st, the summer blockbusters!
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FINALLY A MOVIE WITH BLACK PEOPLE IN IT WHERE WE HAVE NO CROSS DRESSING SHUKEN AND JIVING. THANK GOD FOR SCREEN GEMS!!! LOVED IT. HEY NIKKI DEMEANING IS WHEN YOU GO TO A MOVIE LIKE HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU AND THERE ARE NO PEOPLE OF COLOR. 2009. INTERRACIAL DATING IS NO BIG DEAL. WAKE UP HOLLYWOOD WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT!!!
Paramount fucked up by not releasing Soloist last fall. Foxx was incredible and would have been nominated, as was Downey Jr. The movie itself, no fault of Joe Wright’s in my opinion, wasn’t up to par with its leading men but wasn’t bad at all.
And to comment on what Jill said without the all caps… I sincerely hope she’s talking about Soloist and not Obsessed. Because that was just terrible… and I’m black (see website).
Jill, come on… you aren’t helping our cause much by posting on a blog such as this, in all caps, ranting about improper representation on the big screen. Thank god for Screen Gems? They were partially responsible for the atrocity that was Lakeview Terrace, which portrays Samuel L. Jackson waging war on a couple for being interracial.
A disgusted “spoiler alert.”
Just saw “Obsessed.” Beyonce Knowles – great new movie star. Reminds me of Doris Day maybe because of “Midnight Lace” – at any rate she’s terrific!
But the movie – automatic pilot retread of “Fatal Attraction” right on exactly down to the variation of the we-thought-she-was-dead-Glenn Close-popping-out-of-the-bathtub thing. Big fucking clever surprise.
The politics however are appalling. Between the can’t-be-trusted gossipy queen personal assistant who was in charge of the decorations at the Christmas party; and the whole thing predicated on a “white devil” lady infecting Beyonce’s happy and perfect and wealthy black home – you’d think the movie is set in the White House!
If the plot dynamic were inverted how soon do you think we’d hear from the N.A.A.C.P? And appropriately so.
“Progress” in the “Tit for Tat” Era of Peace and Justice Now in Deniable Progress.
Invert the sexual stereotypes. Invert the racial stereotypes. Admit it – you KNOW you want to suck on that big black johnson like a crack pipe – is the insulting subliminal sales pitch to EVERYBODY.
At least Michael Douglas gets verifiably laid in “Fatal Attraction.” God forbid the male lead willingly sleep with this “white devil” lady. (The quotes are mine not the movie’s.) He stays Obama-chaste throughout. You know – like J.F.K.-chaste? Really. Chaste. The “white devil” lady roofies-and-rapes him is what you’re supposed to imagine she conjures from hell including leaving a nasty white-lady-lipsticked imprint of her mouth on their child’s forehead.
The whites in the movie are ineffectual, befuddled, and more. From the cops to the colleagues to the babysitter.
Where’s Hattie McDaniel’s rolling pin when you need it?
Certainly not on the lot at Sony – is how it’s looking to me. I would be curious to know what other people think about my observations after they see the movie.
Detractors most especially welcome.
But not any o’ yo folkes who wanna mix the races!
Signed,
Malcolm X in the Middle Loves Those Sandwich Cookies Oreos.
P.S. A shout-out to Roger Ebert in all ways the real courageous deal in practice not “cable chatter” ivory tower theory!
i find it surprising that Fighting appeals to young male audience, since it looks just like that other pretty white boy fighting to “make a stand” movie – never back down, both are utterly pointless movies with plots we’ve seen so many times before, and male model leads that attract teen girls. but these days, shirtless sweaty fight scenes seem to appeal guys as long as they’re about young man with “nothing” fighting for “something” – ah the winning urban movie formula…think of it as that other channing tatum movie Step Up without the dancing…
As for Obsessed, um, isn’t that just another Lifetime channel movie of the week? so with big name leads and it suddenly became a blockbuster. wow.
Beyonce SUCKS DICK as an actress. This movie was 100% preDICKtable from it’s trailer. Basically if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen the entire movie. Allie Larter is so laughable – nothing sexy at all. I think there are far better movies that represent black people and this movie sure as hell ain’t one of them. Try “Crash” or “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” or “Soul Food” or ANY Denzel movie, but this piece of crap will be lucky to make-up for what it blew on over-hyped advertising.
“It’s surprising how quickly Universal’s journalism thriller State Of Play starring Russell Crowe and based on the BBC miniseries faded in a week after a disappointing opener ”
Does that mean that we’ll not finally have House of Cards – The movie, The State Within redux and Best of Masterpiece Theatre – The Musical? Oh noooo!
all of you who complain about Beyonce’s acting must see CADILLAC RECORDS. Overall – obsessed is not bad — you get what you pay for — which is escapist entertainment and it does just that, I don’t know what you all are expecting with this premise — oscar material? For it’s premise, it’s a step above most of it’s kind. The packed audience I was with loved every minute of it.
I find it difficult to understand how this is “demeaning” to women? It’s true to life stories. I would think that demeaning would fall under the category of a movie like showgirls (or a movie like Captivity), which involved a lot of nudity. Something that Obsessed has none of.
Once again, why did they release teen sensation star moves Hannah Montana and 17 again when kids are still in school. These movies would have done much better had they opened in June. Just look at their weekday grosses.
I too am surprised by state of play’s fast fall — no real direct competition and I thought it was getting good word of mouth, it did well during the week.
Clearly the advertising bombardment of the Obsessed trailer in all of its ‘Fatal Attraction’ glory did the trick this weekend pulling in young females. The question remains whether it has the legs to sustain momentum through this first weekend and beyond the rollout of potential May blockbusters. So, the weekend surprise isn’t that Beyonce’s movie opened #1, it’s that such a strong Oscar contender as The Soloist opens in April. Marketing wise this is either going to prove to be a stroke of brillance or a very large question mark. While 3 million is just so-so for an opening night box office tally, word of mouth is strongly favorable, and the big shocker has to be how it scored with young males under 25. The Soloist is actually a movie with an upside in its story and the potential for an upside to its overall box office. From the standpoint of acting, directing, and cinematography, its a powerhouse! Payday is coming for this film. But Robert Downey Jr. and friends just might have to wait until Oscar night 2010.
Wow… So ‘Obsessed’ is “demeaning to women”, but the not very subtextual racism (and ugly sexual stereotypes that have barely changed since Lilian Gish gave every Klansman conniptions) wasn’t worth commenting on?
Hey Axelrod, love that idea. We’re gonna switch em up and get it out by Xmas.
Oh boy, the box-office report! Bring out the cranks!
I saw Earth, and calling the footage impressive is an understatement. It had a preview for Disneynature’s next Earth day film. James Earl Jones narration + recycled BBC nature film + smart long-term marketing = $$$.
Obama brought into a something that has nothing to do with Obama;it must be box offices numbers day.
On another note, it is sad what Paramount/DreamWorks did to The Soloist.A good film with a good cast and a good director, gets a release date in the mist of dumb down season.Screw oscar baiting and Hollywood politics, if they weren’t going to release The Soloist during winter 08, they should have held it up until winter 09.There was no way The Soloist was going to make money this season.
Suffered through a press preview of “The Soloist” earlier in the week. As my suffering indicates, it was awful. It was clearly held back due to film issues in addition to any scheduling gaps.
There is at least a 2-minute sequence in which the experience of watching the film is like watching the graphical depiction of music in Windows Media Player. That is a literal description. Foxx also gives an odd performance that seems like his Wanda character from “In Living Color” doing an impression of Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man.”
I rarely see the point of people doing film reviews in these comments, but my point is that there is clearly a lot more to pulling “The Soloist” from last fall besides scheduling issues, money, or promotion focus on other films.
I LOVE HOW WE HAVE TO REACH BACK TO “GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER” TO FIND A MOVIE THAT REPRESENTS BLACK PEOPLE. WHY CAN”T BLACK PEOPLE JUST BE IN MOVIES. WHY CAN”T WE JUST BE IN A CHEESY LITTLE THRILLER THAT SHOWS US LIVING NORMAL LIVES. TRUST ME THAT’S WHAT WE DO. WE DON”T JUST COME OUT FOR OUR SOUL FOOD DINNER WITH THE FAMILY. OR GET IN CAR ACCIDENTS AND TALK ABOUT THE MAN. EVERY DAY WE GO TO STARBUCKS, GO TO WORK, EAT, GO TO THE GROVE….WE’RE SO… NORMAL.
I HOPE SCREEN GEMS MAKES MILLIONS OF THESE LITTLE THRILLERS LIKE THIS. IT SURE BEATS DRESSING UP AS A WOMAN AND GOING TO JAIL.
The comment made by Jill has some truth to it it but the movie looks lame, and I am not shocked people watched it. Jill is probably a white liberal.
hey hope and change…i think you’re right about the racial politics. it played two fold. it played on…”im sick of white women taking my man” and “wouldn’t it be great to date a fine black man.” (my quotes) and you’re right about why couldn’t the guy get the girl like in “fatal attraction” they had an affair. well that was fine with me that he wasn’t with her and he was innocent. that made it more of a thriller and the audience instead of feeling like “I hate this guy” felt like this guy was just an innocent man trying to do his job. i also love how the words black and white were never used.
And leland by the way I’m helping our cause because at least we were in it and maybe next time we’ll be in “state of play” or any other movie that has five white people and one of them could have been a person of color. 26 million is nothing to sneeze at. monday it will be just an inch easier for us to get something made that is just a movie. i loved seeing idris in a suit and not a dress and wig being shipped off to jail.
Looks like Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback is over! Time to go back to the indie ranks and work for scale, Bobby! Hopefully this fiasco doesn’t cause him to become a recidivist with his prior destructive ways if you catch my drift! Maybe the backlash against Jamie Foxx for the disgusting comments he made about a pure and innocent girl like Miley Cyrus also played major a factor in this wanna-be Award Bait film tanking abysmally!
Regarding the surprisingly quick fade of STATE OF PLAY after its disappointing opener:
The only thing the public hates more than politicians are journalists. This has been verified and published in numerous polls and surveys. Here we have a movie about journalists AND politicians. This movie had FAIL written on it from the beginning.
It also doesn’t help that it co-stars box office poison Ben Affleck either. People seem to like him as a celebrity personality and maybe director, but hate him as an actor.
Nikki,
You don’t understand the movie industry anymore and please, don’t act like you do. Beyonce wins, you lose. Ha ha!
After seeing the under-whelming and hollow “Soloist” Im not surprised it got a pushed back release date and dumped for late April. This will nose dive. Too bad about “State of Play.” Its a great movie.
The comments on this site regarding “Obsessed” are crazy. If “Obsessed” becomes a sleeper hit with legs in the upcoming weekends, I have given up on the American public.
Jill, I see your point and agree that it is exciting to see African Americans in non-shucking/jiving roles. Also great to see Idris Elba breaking out as a leading man.
But I really have to go with Nikki: “These kinds of movies are so demeaning to women when the wife and a deranged “other woman” catfight over a man.”
I might add that as a minority female, I find it even further demeaning when women of color are involved in being antagonistic toward other women, white or otherwise. ESPECIALLY over a man.
If any good comes out of “Obsessed” having a solid opening, it will convince the industry that it’s the African American talent that attracted audiences, not the two chicks beating the shit out of each other.
I like everyone in “State of Play” and probably would have gone to see it… but honestly? The title is too fucking stupid. Can’t bring myself to bother.
Funny how that works.
She doesn’t suck as an actress… watch Dreamgirls or Cadillac Records where she’s in her element. She does fine.
What an apt name… stupid.
The trouble with the Soloist is that after Tropic Thunder it’s hard to take the film seriously. Downey Jr is acting alongside a J Foxx very much going ‘full retard’ with the whole endeavor reeking of ‘gimme an oscar’ .
Nikki,
So are so, so, very right when you say these girlfight flicks demean women and worse is the seemingly legitizing of catfights all over the media making it acceptable behavior amongst teens. And when you can, plese give us the 411 on the sale of National Amusements.
Lord above. Are we really going to boil every movie down to a politically correct head count? Must we always ask why they filmmakers didn’t choose a person of color for the lead of Fighting? Or 17 Again? Or State of Play?
How about complaining about movies being bad, first and foremost. That’s the bigger sin.
And Obsessed is certainly moving white people into a voluntary Stepin Fetchit routine, though instead of being lazy and servile it’s evil and more evil. Tyler Perry made a bundle playing into the wish fulfillment of black women and this movie is the same from the other direction. Screen Games wanted in on that pile of cash and they got their wish. It’s just the rest of us who suffer.
When the working title of a film like “Obsessed” is “Oh No She Didn’t!” (according to IMDB), you can’t seriously take a piece of shit like this seriously.
@ David Axelrod:
“Obsessed” would’ve been released regardless who won last year’s election, so your trying to link this movie with what’s going on in the White House is simply appalling. As is this movie. Idris Elba and Ali Larter (who’s looked much better in “Heroes”) deserved much better. Beyonce, however, should stick to her day job.
It’s sad to see a quality movie like “State of Play” lose traction to movies like “Obsessed” and “17 Again,” but the b.o. is just unpredictable. Hopefully “Play” will get a bigger audience on home video.
Can I just say that State of Play’s numbers warms my heart. Yes, I’m petty but I’m glad that Universal is not getting much from this film and hopefully international numbers will be just as deserving…. you reap what you sow.
Too bad people aren’t seeing “State of Play.” It’s the best movie out there right now. Russell Crowe reminds us all why he’s a movie star. He carries the movie with a strong, charaismatic performance. The story itself is interesting, and it’s one of the best movies ever made about journalism. And Ben Affleck isn’t bad in it either. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!
Nikki, you think auds thought The Soloist looked like a downer? I give them more credit, it looks like the opposite of a downer — it looks like Hollywood pablum, and of course, it is. Canned uplift, not a downer.
Hey J,
When you’re asking the Lord if we are going to continue to have fights over whether a person of color is in a lead, tell him we are until people of color can go to the movies and see themselves in all types of pictures. tell him to hurry up and equalize this mess so we can all stop bitching and ask him if we can have black people in tv shows too. please lord, we beg of you. does cedric the entertainer have to be the only black lead in a pilot? can we watch the oscars and not see just white people in the audience. please lord, please!!
i love how state of play spent on writers what obsessions entire budget was and now beyonce and company have beat it’s cume in one weekend. “If you like then you have to put a ring on it.” BEYONCE GOT THE RING, TAKE THAT MOFOS!!!!!
Universal knew State of Play had problems. They were warned that the script needed work and a number of reviews have aptly pointed that out. They didn’t care that it wasn’t ready to shoot, they just wanted to make their money. Well, too bad for Universal. I’m sure the WGA is gloating as it should be.
In any event, the majority of SOP’s reviews are just so-so with quite a number of negative ones from the big critics. While Rotten Tomatoes overall is in the 80s, the major critics only give it a mediocre 60s. Metacritic’s score is similarly in the mid to low 60s. It’s not a great movie by any means and Crowe is simply not a big BO draw. Pitt, on the other hand, would have had big international BO appeal. He certainly could have brought those numbers up.
I’d like to know who’s spreading the BS about Crowe demanding Pitt not be sued when everyone knows Universal had no grounds to sue. Pitt gets some of the best contracts in the industry and I am sure he still got paid for the movie.
just came home after seeing OBSESSED. Packed house loved this flick. People cheering Beyonce on as she kicks Ali Later’s ass. People who are hating are missing the change in the business. Clint Culpepper just plain get “it” and while they have some misses they are few and far between. sign me up to write my next script for him.
thank you for a real fun saturday night flick.
beyonce you are a star and i am happy for you have a hit movie.
Idris you are hot and woman will be throwing there underwear at you.
Ali you bad girl you. sign me up if you want to stalk my ass.
thank you Obsessed i am not going to be able to sleep tonight.
bobo i agree
my gf dragged me kicking and screaming to obsessed and man after 30 minutes i was sweating. the writer did an amazing job in capturing life. flirt we a colleague at work and an a ca of whip ass can come your way all from innocent flirting or a stare , a smile….man i wanted to kick Ali L. butt. when it was over had to say great job guys that was a fun ride….
Regarding Obsessed: I like how people who whine about so-called “reverse racism” are often the same people silent about racism against blacks – including that found in Hollywood – usually admonishing those who DO acknowledge racism to “get over it” or stop playing the race card.
These folks have nothing at all to say about the racist subtleties and subtexts of 95% of Hollywood movies. You can start with this weekend’s #2 – with it’s White Knight lead fighting all the grungy “urban” people while banging the hot, spicy, Latina (mandatory sweet love scene included) – and work your way on down the list. Go for it.
I live in Seattle, and this weekend the Langston Hughes Film Festival screened a movie involving black thespians that is MUCH better than the Beyonce dreck. The flick is called Medicine for Melancholy. It is really a terrific first film — that got no marketing muscle. The characters are smart, likable and –wait for it — BLACK. The story follows a one-night stand in which the couple discover a shared love of punk rock and Goethe and museums. It made African Americans seem full and human. Hollyweird hates to put out these images, favoring instead the pimp–n-ho concoction, or the Tyler Perry minstrel hour. Sigh.
Black people constitution around 10% of the population of the United States. While I agree they aren’t around 10% of the actors or near that at the Oscars. You shouldn’t expect them to be everything. As long as its relatively normal distribution, i think its ok.
Most people don’t realize, BLACKS ARE ONLY 10% OF THE POPULATION haha. Mexicans should be complaining way more then the Black people are. And Whites don’t have a WHITE ONLY channel. Would be ridiculous to have one, but stil…
Re: Obsessed. I would have written Beyonce’s part as a doctor Like Eric Holder’s wife, or at least she could have already finished college, and maybe persuing a law degree or something. But to have her portrayed as just ‘eyecandy’.
Too much candy all the time is not good for you. She should keep her day job.
She really did not have many speaking lines either; buty she sold the movie because she is truly a stunning beautiful girl. I just did not like her attitude in the movie- as a ‘B’ And that man is fine! The blonde devil was actually the star. She played that part.
Brucie, are you insane? I do think the comments made by Foxx on his Howard Stern wannabe show were unwarranted, but calling Miley Cyrus “pure and innocent” is beyond ridiculous.
Screw the weak-minded debates about misogynistic formulas and racially-minded subtext… the real issue here is the fact that people are choosing to sit inside a dark theater and watch a crappy movie when it’s 75 degrees outside. Sure, my girlfriend and I would love to go see The Soloist, but yesterday was so nice, we went on a picnic instead. If the weather stays this nice, I doubt if I’ll ever get around to seeing a movie this summer.
@ lisa:
You’re getting it confused: Universal and Working Title agreed to Crowe’s $20 million paycheck so that SOP wouldn’t be abandoned. (There are only a few writers who have a $5 million fee, David Koepp being one of them. But Carnahan, Ray, Morgan and Gilroy aren’t part of that.) And to be truthful, he wasn’t that bad — actually pretty good, to be honest. And Affleck was the weakest link but he did a decent job, it would’ve been more interesting to see if Norton had managed to stay on. It was the women (Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams) who stole the show, however.
As a product of the WGA strike, SOP as a movie had a solid plot and felt like a complete whole. I do think the script could’ve been smoothed down and less complex, but I enjoyed it. And as for people hating journalists more than politicians, why? Isn’t it better for someone like Nikki Finke to give people the whole, complete story than have a company giving a press release showing one side of their story?
Hey China you do have a whites only station it’s called nbc, abc, cbs, fox, fx, cw (so white it’s retarded) hbo, showtime….you just don’t have to call it white because that would be redundant. and to your little theory that we are ten percent of the population. this country was built on our backs dummy, so the idea that we can’t complain about a nation our ancestors built in slavery is STUPID. please go back to college because you’re INSANE!!!
All i can say is 29million!!!
Idris needs to be a movie star. Im sure he will struggle and Crowe will continue to get more movies even though Idris KICKED HIS ASS. Now that’s racism.
The bottom line is… let me rephrase. “State of Play” had every big writer in town on it. So let’s say they only spent 5 million on the script. How much did Obsessed cost? Okay 6 million, 7 million. Now add in Russell Crowes fees. So the entire budget for “State of Sorry Play” was what? Over 40, over 50. It’s cume to date is 24. And the cume on “Obsessed” is 29 for the first weekend. This is a business people and the business shows that those idiots who remade Abott’s great BBC mini-series are losing money as we speak and little Screen Gems who spent nothing is actually making money and they are making money and guess what THERE ARE BLACK PEOPLE IN IT. So the next time a Studio goes wow let’s make an a movie maybe these IDIOTS won’t make as one of the posts here says “He’s Not That Into You” and not put any people of color in it. Why ignore an audience when clearly there is a 29 million dollar audience out there that is Dying to see themselves and who just want to go to the movies. That’s the point of this. THERE I AN AUDIENCE WHO FEELS UNREPRESENTED who packed theaters across the country to see themselves. So that’s what these morons need to be watching. It’s like when “Greys Anatomy” came out. Everyone watched. Every race. There were three black leads and you know what this stupid business did instead of using it as a model it created more shows with all white casts!! This business if filled with not racists…IDIOTS!
Wow, didn’t realize there were so many defenders of STATE OF PLAY, almost makes me think the Universal drones are buzzing around to prop up their limp movie. It was well acted, but ultimately it’s such a forgettable movie with convoluted plot twists. For me, the worst offense was that at times it felt like a PSA for the Importance (with a capital I, of course) of investigative journalism. It could drown in its self importance. There’s a reason people aren’t flocking to this movie and it’s not because of Zac Efron or Beyonce.
i saw ‘obsessed.’ it is, what it is. it’s a cheesy, popcorn flick. i enjoyed it. i did cringe a bit, at the catty gay guy and the mandingo-ish texture of the relationship between ali and idris. that said…i’ve seen much worse things on film.
as far as the comment about the langston hughes festival…c’mon now. you are comparing apples and oranges. i love a good art house film, but there’s nothing wrong with a commercial flick. it’s not ‘hollywood’s’ fault that these images don’t exist. there’s nothing stopping black folks from leaving the multiplex and driving down to the indie theater to support smaller films.
Disagree that “Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback is over”. We got Sherlock Holmes and Iron Men 2 yet to come.
If anything, I think The Soloist is a prime example of how to mishandle a film by releasing it at the wrong time of year. Plus more than ever in recent years, people seem to be flocking to escapist fare instead of serious films, hence my prediction that Wolverine will do just fine despite being leaked online.
Wrong, China. Blacks constitute 14% of the population, or 1 out of every 7 US Americans. People of Mexican descent are about 9% of the US; Latinos as a whole are about 15%. AA/PI, NA/AI, etc. are about 5%.
Caucasians (non-hispanic white) are only about 65% of the US, yet comprise 95% of all leads and over 80% of total TV and film casting. That under 20% non-Caucasian casting is mainly for minor, supporting, and/or character roles.
It’s a shame that although we have a Black male as POTUS and a woman who was close to being Prez nominee, Hollywood still pushes white males as “leads” in film and tv in numbers far disproportionate to their actual numbers in the population. This is not because white males are better actors or because there is too small a pool of non-whites to choose from. It’s only because most of TPTB are simply uninterested in and unwilling to show diversity or anything that isn’t white-centric, and don’t care or want to serve “minority” audiences, especially African-American.
Blacks have every right to “complain” or to call out Hollywood on its BS as appropriate.
Blacks don’t have a Black-only channel either. There are two predominately black channels compared to the hundreds of disproportionately white channels. At least BET and TVOne are honest about who they target. They also suffer whatever consequences because of those (like you) who disagree with their targeting and therefore do not watch said networks.
On the other hand, most of Hollywood is afraid to admit that they simply prefer to write and produce white stories, feature white people, and serve a white or white-centric audience because they don’t want to suffer the consequences of exposing their preferences. So, they’ll blame lack of diversity on some other (ever-changing) reason.
I disagree with Spike Lee a lot, but I give him respect for speaking his mind over the years and taking whatever media hit and/or loss of audience because of his honesty. Most of Hollywood is content with being disingenuous with its intentions, motivations, and true feelings, all while presently themselves as righteously progressive.
State of Play deserved to bomb. It was so lackluster. There was no chemistry between fat Russell Crowe and naive Rachel McAdams. Helen Mirren was powerless to do anything with her stereotypical role as the crotchety editor who’s always barking out admonishments to her hotheaded staff. The bombshell revelation at the end was convoluted and anticlimactic. The platitude-heavy dialogue was like something out of a basic cable movie. I’m stunned it was as well received as it was by critics when something much more interesting, involving and original like Knowing got a near-universal drubbing a month ago. Nic Cage has the last laugh though since his movie has shown formidable legs and State of Play is already on life support two weeks after its release.
@ Lisa:
We need more good African-American directors and stars making their own stamp. Tyler Perry’s nothing if regressing the trend, and Shondra Rimes can only do so much with “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice.” The only really good example of a multiracial cast that I can think of is “Lost” and “Heroes,” where the writers steer clear of stereotyping and let the characters develop.
And yes, Idris Elba should have a bigger career. He has great potential in the future. He shouldn’t be wasting it on crap like “The Reaping” and “Obsessed.” But I suppose he had bills to pay, so he couldn’t be choosy.
@ Over-Stated:
Um, SOP came out a week earlier than “Obsessed” did and I wasn’t interested in seeing SOP until I started seeing solid reviews a few days ago. I had a free ticket, so it wouldn’t be a big loss if I didn’t like it.
Kathleen, Pitt walked off the STATE OF PLAY on his own. Why in God’s name would he still get paid? Crowe, hot off Universal’s hit AMERCIAN GANGSTER, got $20 million to replace him. You think Pitt got paid too? For what, almost sinking the film? Don’t be so naive.
Lisa, OBSESSED cost about $20 million to make, not $6m or $7m.
Actually, THE SOLOIST is a decent movie and Foxx is excellent in it. But, Joe Wright, did you really need to end the film….SPOILER, I GUESS…with the homeless people dancing with each other and the cast in the street. Did the three studios involved think this would take what is essentailly a downer and make audiences this it was upbeat? You should’ve said no, Joe.
I like Beyoince but I think she is over exposed. Anyway, the real test will next week, will the movie have legs?
As for STATE OF PLAY, I think the audience is tired of this genre. Another political thriller! I confused this movie with BODY OF LIES, also starring Russel Crowe. Like I said, the audience is tired.
STATE OF PLAYED…BY BEYONCE. I hope every ce in town is calling up every top agency including WME and asking “do you have any scripts black people could be in because Idris, Ali and Beyonce just gave Helen, Russell and Rachel a BEAT DOWN!!!”
Right on Lisa. The problem is the people in charge of cutting the checks. If Hollywood was run by people who actually like movies then be rest assured that the cinema landscape would be much more varied, much more exciting. Yes we would still have our Paul Blarts for the Commoners, but sure as shit Let The Right One In would be saddled next to it.
Craig Ranapia.
Correct about “Birth of a Nation” and the like but it has been commented upon subsequently, historically, voluminously. “Birth of a Nation” was an accurate depiction of racist ideas in its time. Is this film “Obsessed” an accurate depiction of our time? That’s my question. My point is that one could make the case that “Obsessed” is merely the underpinnings of “Birth of a Nation” unchecked. And I don’t mean African Americans unchecked or any other ethnic group unchecked. I’m talking about how easily the origins of racism or gender prejudice can be amplified and reinforced then legitimized through media. In this regard “Birth of a Nation” is an excellent example. This film is still considered to be an excellent and well-made, highly regarded and historically important one for its time, racist concepts notwithstanding.
Which brings me to Lisa.
That it’s a “business” has no bearing on the substance of your argument. Doing a “black” “Fatal Attraction” with more inexpensive above-the-line costs only ghettoizes African Americans in the Hollywood community.
The cheap cost of putting together the script..is because it’s an index card rip-off of “Fatal Attraction.” Paramount should sue.
Meaning African Americans are additionally ghettoized with sub-par ideas, material, development.
For any woman anywhere to rave about this picture with the cardboard wife letting her husband back in the house after the non-existent chaste affair – by trading his house key – for the key to his Benz – on his birthday – as the most trivializing retrograde sexual stereotype exalted as African American Hollywood “progress…” – well, there’s a side of me that believes that this country has made no progress since “Birth of a Nation!”
I’ll go DHD “rogue” political.
Barack Obama can float a “we’re in all ways pushing the re-set button all of the time and everywhere” agenda all he wants. Unless he addresses the rampant anti-semitism; homophobia; and sexism which plays out as world class misogyny in his own ethnic community (and delights in it) his “education” platform is ludicrous. Not to mention the gun culture in rap music that is everywhere. (He said that he doesn’t like the rap songs where they “curse.” Way to go out on a limb.) Such unattended issues, while completely legitimate as personal expression and I defend that right to the death, nevertheless fuel the N.R.A. lobby. And therefore young ethnic groups die at the mercy of each others’ guns.
As for “Birth of a Nation” I sincerely hope that someday Disney puts together a thoughtful re-release of “Song of the South” for historical and educational purposes.
You don’t hide it away. You fuel an interesting dialectical debate with the appropriate advance publicity.
Saw it as a child. Would love to have the opportunity to look at it again on a big screen as an adult for what it may or may not be an example of.
We’re at an interesting social moment and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Barack Obama as much as he would like to abscond with it as head case self-fulfilling prophesy. (Grant Park – “Change has come to America.” How? Because you’re African American? Start the job first you idiot. Technically, you can’t actually “change,” or measure “change,” until you’re actually in the position to “change” anything – and for a while. Quoting Richard Pryor to Eddie Murphy on what he should have said to Bill Cosby on a sanctimonious call from Cosby to Murphy for doing “blue” humor : “Have a Coke and a smile…and shut the fuck up.”)
Sorry. Didn’t mean to get into Obama’s Hollywood/Madison Avenue campaign outside out of the Washington “bubble”… but tapping into all the deep-pocketed others for the most expensive campaign in political history. You know. The “all in” thing he’s doing now with international policy.
Not to worry though. HRC is set up as “the fall guy.”
I’m a Democrat. Sue me.
Let’s see what the Oprah/”every single mother’s dream child” science project crows in St. Louis for the unemployed and desperate. Should be funny.
They merely concentrate on making pandering ring as high-brow. It’s a “superiority complex” that’s not supposed to look or play that way.
Don’t forget to get the kidz and the teenagerz in da house as early as possible for re-election with the subliminally anguished “Party of No” you-can’t-go-out-or-have-the-keys-to-the-car thing.
The Pointer Sisters and Sammy Davis, Jr. tell me it rhymes with “Yes We Can” in the cultural legacy of America’s conceptual rip-off presidency.
Not a single original idea in policy or otherwise.
Signed,
Abe Lincoln
F.D.R.
J.F.K.
M.L.K.
and yes me – Malcolm X in the Middle. (”Malcolm X.” Better, definitely more original film, than “Schindler’s List.” Bat THAT one around but very far away from Amblin or DreamWorks.)
See there is no other business on earth that would give a bunch of things that didn’t make money more money and ignore the thing that made money no money except hollywood. WAKE UP PEOPLE BLACK PEOPLE MADE MONEY THIS WEEKEND!!! BLACK PEOPLE. So tomorrow when you think of hmm…let me find a script and put no people of color in it or hm..and let me ignore the black people then you are an idiot. Go to Harvard business school they will tell you the same thing. YOU ARE AN IDIOT. That makes no sense.
I swear they are probably making the sequel to”Is just Not that into you” Right now. Who born after 1970/75 has not dated outside of there race. If you haven’t then you are moron. Kids today don’t care about that crap. People are people. Obama is in office. Change has come. Just not to Hollywood. We are still in the “don’t let Denzel kiss Julia in the Pelican Brief mode.” Idiots. Talk to your kids. They’ll tell you. No one gives a crap anymore. Let’s show that on screen!
Hey Alboone,
Yes see that’s all we want. We want to be in Paul Barts, we want to be in “Baby Mama” and we want to be in “State of Play.” But if all you give us is “Obsessed” we’ll be in that too because it’s friday night and we want to go out and if that’s what I can see myself in than so be it. I ate my popcorn, yelled at the screen but at least I didn’t have to sit thru one more “What happens in Vegas” or “Knocked up” and feel like a martian because I don’t exist. I mean we can’t even be in “Juno” and that was about a girl having a baby out of wedlock. Now come on.
State of play is a good movie. how sad that a crappy B movie is doing better than a good movie like State of Play.
Kathleen P….As a writer, I have always been amused by the phrase “ready to shoot” in regard to screenplays — as if that kind of determination about a script was somehow, magically, empirical, and not merely some studio executive’s opinion. Plenty of terrible movies — a few of them even (gasp!) profitable — have gone before the cameras that were not, by any creative measure, “ready to shoot”. And likewise, plenty of scripts that would make for BRILLIANT motion pictures were deemed “NOT ready to shoot” and subjected to months and years of endlessly pointless rewrites, and turned into crap.
I believe Pitt had a play or pay option (or something like that) in his contract, meaning he got paid even though he did not make the movie and that’s why Universal was a bit p’od and American Gangsters was a Denzel Washington movie….
Dixon Steele, Pitt has a play or pay clause in his contracts. Since he had a legal right to exit the production I am sure the studio has to pay. It was the studio’s fault he walked – they had been on notice for ages that he was not happy with the direction of the script. They knew he had script approval right. They chose to wait until mere days before the strike was scheduled to begin to show him the shooting script hoping they could force his hand. Well, when you are Brad Pitt and you make the kind of money for studios that he does – especially overseas – you earn the right to have very favorable contract clauses. Pitt is pretty much his own man. I don’t think anyone forces his hand. Do you really think they are going to quibble with Pitt over $20 million when he can pull in so much more money for them in future productions.
I think Pitt even referenced this on Charlie Rose when he mentioned it was enabling him to do Malick’s Tree of Life for little money. He also mentioned that he was angry at first over how Universal handled SOP and that some of the Uni players had been very deceptive about it all. I think he’s over it because he is doing Inglourious Basterds for them. I am sure they want to make him happy now.
Crowe was not hot off American Gangster. He hot off Body of Lies – well, cold off would be more accurate. It wasn’t exactly a BO winner to put it kindly. American Gangster did pretty good BO (about even foreign & domestic) but it had a huge budget for that type of movie. I’m not so sure that its BO wasn’t more creditable to Denzel than to Russell anyway. Crowe is close to being BO poison. SOP isn’t going to help with that rep – fair or not.
Thank MLE, you save me a lot of typing.
Local cinema finally got Hannah Montana. Didn’t open with the DisneyNature film Earth whose trailor did run here. Also Obessesd with Boyonce didn’t open nor the Soloist with Jamie Foxx. I beleive since the cimema closure here the distrubuters are bypassing the market here becouse they don’t know about a new startup. Also this new startup is making the same mistake over holding movies for over a month which infrindges on new releases. Sometimes four screesn will get a new release and have time a film incoviently where the customer can’t see the film they desire.
Some have wondered why this town doesn’t have a box cinema like the other towns now have.
malcolm x in the middle etc….
Listen, I get you. You’re smart. Very smart. But let’s be clear, hollywood doesn’t make movies with black people in it (and clearly im not talking about denzel and will), Im talking about it’s friday let’s go to a movie and when you look up there is at least one movie with people of color in it. So my progress for this weekend is judged by if I can see a black couple in a normal house without some cross dresser running around in it or some people doing the electric slide that’s progress. I get the racial implications but you know as well as i know the true movie going on is that Idris would already be married to Ali and Lucy Lui would be stalking them and there would be no Beyonce in sight. That’s the real deal. So whatever.
Next up for Crowe: the mega-budgeted Robin Hood franchise hopeful! Yikes!
Kathleen,
You obviously hate Crowe, and love Pitt, but your logic makes no sense. STATE was shot between January and April 2008; BODY wasn’t released until October of that year. So the non-performance of BODY is totally irrelevant. Like your arguments.
Do you even know how a pay-or-play contract works? Actors are paid off when a STUDIO decides not to move forward in making the film, not the ACTOR, sweetie-pie. This happened when Universal chose not to move forward with the original filming of AMERICAN GANGSTER, under Antoine Fuqua, due to budget concerns. Washington was ready, the studio wasn’t, so they had to pay.
In the case of STATE, the studio was ready to make the film (and did) and Pitt decided he didn’t want to move forward, feeling the script needed more work.
If you think studios pay off actors when the ACTOR walks off the film, you really are naive.
Regarding the Charlie Rose interview, why would Pitt be so angry, as you put it, accusing Universal of deception, if he had been paid off, as you suggest?
Oh, right, I’m sure Universal paid off Pitt his $20 milion just to stay in his good graces.
Good Grief.
@ jill: hbo put on the wire and russel simmon’s def comedy jam and cw had girlfriends and the game. not exactly whites only.
@ lisa: as far as cross dressing movies go, that’s an indie franchise with grass roots success. not exactly the studios’ fault
@ jen: who says no actors of color in it when EVERYONE wants a diverse cast? can you name me one cast recently without at least the “token” actor if not more than that? i think it’s more probable that the talent pool has simply not grown large enough yet. idris elba is an amazing actor with the wire and the office (arguably the greatest contemporary drama and comedy) bearing witness to his phenomenal skill. dave chappelle certainly succeeded. who will be next?
i agree that the african-american community has been insulted by these sorts of movies where a successful previous film is remade for the “urban” demographic – “are we done yet” and “the honeymooners” being other unfortunate examples, though since “guess who’s coming to dinner” was mentioned in a previous post it’s worth mentioning the remake with the racial roles reversed.
this weekend, obsession made a lot of money. that’s something to celebrate, though worth recognizing that things can go further. there’s always next weekend
Dixon Steele, I stand corrected on Body of Lies. I’ll respond without resorting to the unnecessary insults you seem to enjoy.
I don’t have much feeling for Crowe one way or another. He did give a great performance in one of my favorite movies of all time, L.A. Confidential, and I’ve enjoyed a number of his performances. Granted not as many recent ones. I think Pitt has grown as an actor in recent years and I like to see actors exploring new and different roles and directors. I don’t personally know or party with either. Oh, yea, I’m not a fan of some of Crowe’s “incidents” in real life but, hey, that’s just me.
Body of Lies not withstanding, Crowe has not been much of a BO draw. That is not news. It’s a reality. I hardly think you can entirely credit Crowe for AG’s BO which hadn’t even been fully realized by the time he signed for SOP. Though its domestic BO was pretty much exhausted by that time – so the studio knew they had barely recouped only half of just the production costs with their domestic take. I would certainly argue that Denzel is just as big a draw in the foreign BO as Crowe and maybe more so. AG had a huge budget – a ridiculous $100 million for that kind of movie.
I think we can safely assume neither you nor I have seen Pitt’s SOP contract. I think we can also assume that it was finalized and signed by the eve of the shoot. It is hardly naive to assume that Pitt gets the very best kind of pay or play rights in the business. As I am sure you are aware, not all actors get the same pay or play rights. As Pitt also had script approval rights his pay/play rights were triggered when the studio did not deliver an approved script. It was the studio that was in material default of the contract not Pitt. The pay/play rights compensate the actor for reserving his time and foregoing other work and not for his services in the production.
Why do you think they spent so much time trying to cajole, plead, embarrass, threaten Pitt into going forward with it? I would bet anything it was because they knew they had to pay him. We are not talking about the average actor who would never get this type of pay/play clause. It is complicated here only because THIS actor (like a small number of other actors) can extract such favorable contract terms. Don’t confuse the issue by comparing Pitt with the average actor. You must know that’s not how it works.
You’ll note that Universal kept trying to spin it once he made his decision to leave the production by putting it out there that they “might” sue Pitt. Well, what do you think the law suit would have been about? Again, I am sure it could have only been about a threat to challenge the pay/play rights. Despite their spin about the threatened law suit, they never did sue did they? No, they didn’t because they didn’t challenge his contract. IMHO.
Pitt stated that upon leaving the film he was angry because he felt that some people (and he emphasized “some”) at the studio had behaved less than honorably. I obviously don’t know what he was referring to specifically. He also said he was over it and he and the studio were fine by the time of the interview. But I love reading how you don’t think someone could be angry at a greedy studio for deception. Funny.
While I didn’t say that the reason they paid Pitt was just to keep in his good graces – rather than that they had contractual duty to pay him – yes, I do think that Universal would rather give Pitt his $20 million – chump change to studio moguls – than have to argue a losing case in a jury trial of Greedy Studio Bosses vs. Brad Pitt in Los Angeles. Good grief is right.
Speaking of films,Spike Lee produced a mockarementry call CSA. I watched it on IFC channel and it took a unique look what would’ve happened if the South won the civil war. It was interesting alternate look at history. It’s satitirical in many ways. But if I had written it it would’ve been more interesting too.
U know there are lot people I believe who would love to see the Song of the South return. People are sick of political corrrectness and historic revisionist. Facts can’t be changed.