General Movie Discussion

Paramount CEO Brad Grey is going to resign as early as next week.

I guess tough luck for Paramount... after a pretty bad year in 2016, topped off by a horrendous bomb in 'Monster Trucks', lets hope they can work through this. Between Paramount flailing madly last year, WB's DC problems and Sony being... Sony, it makes me glad that Universal doesn't have any drama like this.

Angelina Jolie is in Cambodia to promote her new film "First They Killed My Father" which is based on how author Loung Ung, survived Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge.

I'm really happy that this movie got made. We rarely get movies that deal with the atrocities made by Communist governments. That and, I respect Angelina Jolie far more then I do with 70%-80% of Hollywood combined.

The Predator has started filming!

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/02/20/first-look-at-the-predator-cast-r-rating-confirmed


The Predator begins filming today, and director Shane Black has taken to social media to provide an early glimpse at the film's cast.

"Partial cast... beautiful human beings, good people. Also, killers. Cameras roll today," he said in a post on Twitter, which was accompanied by the following photo

In a subsequent post, the director confirmed that The Predator will be rated R in a roundabout way, saying, "And, just to be clear... PG-13 is for pussies. Spines bleed... a lot." Last June, Black told us he plans to bring mystery back to the franchise with his new film.




Sounds awesome!

Troyal1 wrote:

The Predator has started filming!

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/02/20/first-look-at-the-predator-cast-r-rating-confirmed


The Predator begins filming today, and director Shane Black has taken to social media to provide an early glimpse at the film's cast.

"Partial cast... beautiful human beings, good people. Also, killers. Cameras roll today," he said in a post on Twitter, which was accompanied by the following photo

In a subsequent post, the director confirmed that The Predator will be rated R in a roundabout way, saying, "And, just to be clear... PG-13 is for pussies. Spines bleed... a lot." Last June, Black told us he plans to bring mystery back to the franchise with his new film.




Sounds awesome!

I think a PG-13 movie would have still worked, but with that being said, I must admit that it is nice that the reboot of 'The Predator' is getting an R-rating. I honestly think the success of Deadpool is the reason for the R-rating.

Disney made $2.5 billion last year while Sony made just $440 million.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Disney made $2.5 billion last year while Sony made just $440 million.

2016 was a pretty damn impressive year for Disney! Warner Bros weren't slouches at the box office either, thanks to their profitable DC superheroes and the Wizarding World being a more suitable cash cow than Middle-earth. Plus something about J.K. Rowling still being alive might have had something to do with it. With that said, WB could have overtaken Disney if Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad were much better received; the former could have easily made over a billion if skeptical fans and casual audiences were coming back for second and third viewings and clearly most of them weren't.

While Fox and Universal made over $1.2 billion in profit, the one studio that did MUCH worse than Sony is Paramount. They sustained a loss that might be somewhere in the range of $300 million to $500 million after a string of flops or underwhelming releases, including the dead-on-arrival Monster Trucks.

BarrytheOnyx wrote:

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Disney made $2.5 billion last year while Sony made just $440 million.

2016 was a pretty damn impressive year for Disney! Warner Bros weren't slouches at the box office either, thanks to their profitable DC superheroes and the Wizarding World being a more suitable cash cow than Middle-earth. Plus something about J.K. Rowling still being alive might have had something to do with it. With that said, WB could have overtaken Disney if Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad were much better received; the former could have easily made over a billion if skeptical fans and casual audiences were coming back for second and third viewings and clearly most of them weren't.

While Fox and Universal made over $1.2 billion in profit, the one studio that did MUCH worse than Sony is Paramount. They sustained a loss that might be somewhere in the range of $300 million to $500 million after a string of flops or underwhelming releases, including the dead-on-arrival Monster Trucks.

Part of me wonders if Disney had such an impressive year just to show that Universal taking 2015 profit wise (Universal narrowly beat Disney when it came to overall profits) was just a rare occurrence. I'm actually surprised that WB did as well as they did all things considered. They better hope the upcoming DCEU movies turn out to be good. Otherwise, the future won't be as kind to them.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Troyal1 wrote:

The Predator has started filming!

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/02/20/first-look-at-the-predator-cast-r-rating-confirmed


The Predator begins filming today, and director Shane Black has taken to social media to provide an early glimpse at the film's cast.

"Partial cast... beautiful human beings, good people. Also, killers. Cameras roll today," he said in a post on Twitter, which was accompanied by the following photo

In a subsequent post, the director confirmed that The Predator will be rated R in a roundabout way, saying, "And, just to be clear... PG-13 is for pussies. Spines bleed... a lot." Last June, Black told us he plans to bring mystery back to the franchise with his new film.




Sounds awesome!

I think a PG-13 movie would have still worked, but with that being said, I must admit that it is nice that the reboot of 'The Predator' is getting an R-rating. I honestly think the success of Deadpool is the reason for the R-rating.

Disney made $2.5 billion last year while Sony made just $440 million.

A movie like Predator can work with the R rating.

Dead2009 wrote:

A movie like Predator can work with the R rating.

That's what I basically said when I mentioned that it's nice that reboot will be rated-R.

Keanu Reeves Willing To Return For Another Matrix Movie

Hellboy 3 100% never happening.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/02/21/hellboy-3-100-will-not-happen-says-guillermo-del-toro

And another Sony head honcho is leaving.

This time, it's Tommy Gargotta, the president of Worldwide Creative Advertising.

The rats are fleeing the ship or getting whacked by the cats onboard it.

Rambo is no longer an All-American hero anymore...

Man, for a movie that has managed to avoid being rebooted for such a long time, the situation keeps getting worse for Rambo.

Here's a You Tube video about how much power China has had over Hollywood.



I find it disgusting that a country that supports rouge nations like Iran and North Korea controls so much of our entertainment industry. I find it more so that all these leftists in Hollywood complain about how America sucks, yet before this, very few of them were critical of China since the Tienanmen Square massacre back in 1989, let alone talk about the fact that Mao killed at least 45-50 million and at most 80 million. If all these actors and actresses do speak up, then it's going to be far too late and they only have themselves to blame for not speaking up before all this happened.

The ratings for the Oscars were worse then they were last year.

If they keep up this PC/SJW anti-Trump crap at the Oscars, then the ratings are going to down to the mid-low 20 something million. Even liberals and center-lefters are getting sick of this trash.

To be honest, the last time I cared about the Academy Awards (I refuse to call them the Oscars, especially now that they've become such a joke) was back in 2004, when The Return of the King won every award it was nominated for, tying with Titanic and Ben-Hur. Since then, it's been a fairly ho-hum or downright aggravating affair, with occasional spikes of interest.

BarrytheOnyx wrote:

To be honest, the last time I cared about the Academy Awards (I refuse to call them the Oscars, especially now that they've become such a joke) was back in 2004, when The Return of the King won every award it was nominated for, tying with Titanic and Ben-Hur. Since then, it's been a fairly ho-hum or downright aggravating affair, with occasional spikes of interest.

It's safe to say that Millennials-i.e. people our age-know that the Oscars are pretty much drawer pieces. Nice to have, but no big loss if you don't have them.

I wouldnt say it's not a big loss if you dont have one, I mean it's kinda sorta the Super Bowl of film and people take that sh*t seriously.

Dead2009 wrote:

I wouldnt say it's not a big loss if you dont have one, I mean it's kinda sorta the Super Bowl of film and people take that sh*t seriously.

Except that the Super Bowl, everybody knows who the two best teams are. Not only that, but at least people know they are good. With the Oscar nominated movies, half of those that are nominated the GA has never really seen or care about. And those that do usually lose or win Oscars for positions that nobody has heard or sadly, care about.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

If they keep up this PC/SJW anti-Trump crap at the Oscars, then the ratings are going to down to the mid-low 20 something million. Even liberals and center-lefters are getting sick of this trash.

Again, would you kindly keep the political opinions to yourself, thanks.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

I find it disgusting that a country that supports rouge nations like Iran and North Korea controls so much of our entertainment industry. I find it more so that all these leftists in Hollywood complain about how America sucks, yet before this, very few of them were critical of China since the Tienanmen Square massacre back in 1989, let alone talk about the fact that Mao killed at least 45-50 million and at most 80 million. If all these actors and actresses do speak up, then it's going to be far too late and they only have themselves to blame for not speaking up before all this happened.

Disgusting? What in the actual ??? Sure China has dirty dishes, many of which are still unclean, but let's not pretend US is in some other untouchable level.

And in any case, those things shouldn't have any bearing when it comes to films industry.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Dead2009 wrote:

I wouldnt say it's not a big loss if you dont have one, I mean it's kinda sorta the Super Bowl of film and people take that sh*t seriously.

Except that the Super Bowl, everybody knows who the two best teams are. Not only that, but at least people know they are good. With the Oscar nominated movies, half of those that are nominated the GA has never really seen or care about. And those that do usually lose or win Oscars for positions that nobody has heard or sadly, care about.

Obviously, but my point was the Oscars are THE awards to strive for, kinda like how the Grammys are for music or the Emmys are for TV.

Mistral wrote:

Rhedosaurus wrote:

If they keep up this PC/SJW anti-Trump crap at the Oscars, then the ratings are going to down to the mid-low 20 something million. Even liberals and center-lefters are getting sick of this trash.

Again, would you kindly keep the political opinions to yourself, thanks.

He's got a point though, these award shows the past few months have been pretty political and they dont need to be. Nobody wants to tune into one of these to see every A-list celebrity taking a shot at Trump and his policies every chance they get. There's a time and a place for it, and one that's supposed to be about film isnt one of them.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

I find it disgusting that a country that supports rouge nations like Iran and North Korea controls so much of our entertainment industry. I find it more so that all these leftists in Hollywood complain about how America sucks, yet before this, very few of them were critical of China since the Tienanmen Square massacre back in 1989, let alone talk about the fact that Mao killed at least 45-50 million and at most 80 million. If all these actors and actresses do speak up, then it's going to be far too late and they only have themselves to blame for not speaking up before all this happened.

Disgusting? What in the actual ??? Sure China has dirty dishes, many of which are still unclean, but let's not pretend US is in some other untouchable level.

And in any case, those things shouldn't have any bearing when it comes to films industry.[/quote]

Oh, so you want pro-Chinese propaganda in your movies from now on? No chance of a Tiananmen Square massacre documentary? Because within a few years, that's what's going to happen. I'm not going to deny that the handling of the Native American population and the Japanese internment isn't a blight. It is. But that pales in comparison to what Mao did in his reign, which I mentioned above. To say that and our blights are the same is moral relativism at its worst.

This is like letting in German filmmakers into America in the late-1930s and doing nothing but make pro-Nazi propaganda or letting in Soviet filmmakers in America in the mid-1950's and having them make pro-Stalin/pro-Russian propagandea.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Oh, so you want pro-Chinese propaganda in your movies from now on? No chance of a Tiananmen Square massacre documentary?  Because within a few years, that's what's going to happen. I'm not going to deny that the handling of the Native American population and the Japanese internment isn't a blight. It is. But that pales in comparison to what Mao did in his reign, which I mentioned above. To say that and our blights are the same is moral relativism at its worst.  

This is like letting in German filmmakers into America in the late-1930s and doing nothing but make pro-Nazi propaganda or letting in Soviet filmmakers in America in the mid-1950's and having them make pro-Stalin/pro-Russian propagandea.

You're highly polarizing it and squeezing the truth by bringing up just the most radical examples. If we started counting all the terrible things both countries have done - and are still doing - the list making would go on still next year even if stayed online 24/7 writing things down.

Also, if you moan against bringing domestic US politics to the film industry, why do you want to promote hostilities even further here by criticizing international politics in relation to films?

I'm not a fan of nationalism and blind faith/admiration/responsibility for specific countries. Hell I almost went to prison for not wanting to do mandatory 6-12 months of national labor for males in my country - army conscription or civilian service - because I don't feel any national identity or responsibility for anyone (in the end I did perform the civilian service though for practical reasons). Nationalism is man made concept and only few centuries old, before that there were many national identities yes but most lands were kingdoms or empires tied up together for other reasons.

I try look at the different regions of the world with some sort of objectivity based on things that have been done, and are currently ongoing, but without becoming too attached to them. That being said, I am kind of forced to be "engaged" over the direction US takes world because they are essentially the world leaders and direct the way everything flows, whether that is economics, environment, culture or war. Yes even nuclear war.

There's actually a very interesting book by Thomas F Madden called the "Empires of Trust", which draws similarities between the ancient pre-Imperial Roman Republic and United States. It argues that just like pre-Imperial Rome, US is not only isolationist republic state built upon foundations of other older cultures, but it also does alliance structures around the world in order to push the barriers of "outside world" ever more far away from the home land.

Mistral wrote:

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Oh, so you want pro-Chinese propaganda in your movies from now on? No chance of a Tiananmen Square massacre documentary?  Because within a few years, that's what's going to happen. I'm not going to deny that the handling of the Native American population and the Japanese internment isn't a blight. It is. But that pales in comparison to what Mao did in his reign, which I mentioned above. To say that and our blights are the same is moral relativism at its worst.  

This is like letting in German filmmakers into America in the late-1930s and doing nothing but make pro-Nazi propaganda or letting in Soviet filmmakers in America in the mid-1950's and having them make pro-Stalin/pro-Russian propagandea.

You're highly polarizing it and squeezing the truth by bringing up just the most radical examples.

Also, if you moan against bringing domestic US politics to the film industry, why do you want to promote hostilities even further here by criticizing international politics?

That being said, I am kind of forced to be "engaged" over the direction US takes world because they are essentially the world leaders and direct the way everything flows, whether that is economics, environment, culture or war. Yes even nuclear war.

Then shouldn't you be engaged over what both a resurgent Russia and a more aggressive China is doing as well? After all, both those countries wanted, and still do want to replace the US as world leaders. Why else would China want to be a player in Hollywood? I'm just pointing it out.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Mistral wrote:

Rhedosaurus wrote:

Oh, so you want pro-Chinese propaganda in your movies from now on? No chance of a Tiananmen Square massacre documentary?  Because within a few years, that's what's going to happen. I'm not going to deny that the handling of the Native American population and the Japanese internment isn't a blight. It is. But that pales in comparison to what Mao did in his reign, which I mentioned above. To say that and our blights are the same is moral relativism at its worst.  

This is like letting in German filmmakers into America in the late-1930s and doing nothing but make pro-Nazi propaganda or letting in Soviet filmmakers in America in the mid-1950's and having them make pro-Stalin/pro-Russian propagandea.

You're highly polarizing it and squeezing the truth by bringing up just the most radical examples.

Also, if you moan against bringing domestic US politics to the film industry, why do you want to promote hostilities even further here by criticizing international politics?

That being said, I am kind of forced to be "engaged" over the direction US takes world because they are essentially the world leaders and direct the way everything flows, whether that is economics, environment, culture or war. Yes even nuclear war.

Then shouldn't you be engaged over what both a resurgent Russia and a more aggressive China is doing as well? After all, both those countries wanted, and still do want to replace the US as world leaders. Why else would China want to be a player in Hollywood? I'm just pointing it out.

China wants to make money.

Also I think Americans need to understand, that just like they have certain... anxiety against some other countries, it's the same for outside world in relation to them. No not in religious or racial or cultural terms, I mean in relation to the power of US. As US basically controls the "fate of the Earth" currently, but only the citizens of US can actually influence that fate and the rest just have to watch in sidelines, there is frustration over the situation. And I'm talking on grassroots level here. Of course on actual national level there are usual political and economical agendas, obviously post-Soviet Russia and emerging China want to get foothold on control (just as US does), but that's just usual power play that's been going on since the birth of major civilizations thousands of years ago.

But this is now political discussion and it must end. If this forum doesn't tolerate religious discussion (even though the one thread you had locked up some time ago wasn't even trying to bash it really) and if politics is supposedly just as forbidden topic by forum guidelines, then this discussion should fade away as well.

China wants to make money, sure, but also they hold power over the US companies they bought...they can easily tell their distributors what they can and cant show in their films because it may or may not offend the Chinese and it's really going to hit the fan.

Also, I would say that discussions involving the future of the movie industry due to outside influence is allowed to be discussed as long as it sticks to that topic and doesnt go off on a tangent about our president, the other country's president or this that or the other. Since China controls their media, it would be a matter of time before they tried to slide some of that here.

Here are 2 articles about how China's involvement in Hollywood is a dangerous thing.

http://deadline.com/2017/03/hollywood-china-selloff-caution-peter-bart-1202034644/

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/wanda-lawmakers-raise-questions-about-chinese-investment-in-hollywood-1201868250/

Reminds me of when North Korea freaked the f*ck out when they found out about The Interview and they couldnt release it in theatres because of it.

Hollywood made a movie about the Armenian Genocide. This was basically the proto-Holocaust done by Turkey during WW1. Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac, and Angela Sarafyan are in it.

Good. This needs to be talked about and recognized.