The force was with “Avatar” this weekend.
The James Cameron blockbuster rocketed past “Star Wars” to become the No. 3 movie of all time at the North American box office.
Category: Movies
Los Angeles features shoot down 30% in 2009
On-location feature filming in Los Angeles plummeted 29.9% last year — and would have been higher if not for a 13.6% hike in fourth quarter shoots. …
https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118013859.html?categoryId=13&cs=1
‘Spider-Man 4’: What went wrong?
… The blogosphere buzzes with the collapse of “Spider-Man 4” — and the decision to turn the origin story that had loosely been called “Spider-Man 5” by some into the next movie (sans Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and many others associated with the franchise heretofore). …
Our take? Look at the trend–cheaper is more profitable. See what you think.
https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2010/01/spider-man-4-sam-raimi-collapse.html
2010 movie preview
… The only downside to Hollywood cracking $10 billion at the domestic boxoffice is that if it doesn’t gross more in 2010 the doomsayers will start dusting off their soapboxes.
Can the New Year live up to what was a rotten old year for everybody but the movie business? …
Sleeper Watch 2010! Do you know where your surprise hit is?
… After last year’s unexpected boxoffice runs by Warner Bros.’ “Gran Torino” ($148 million domestic) and Fox’s “Taken” ($145 million) early in 2009, it’s tempting to look for potential surprise hits in early 2010. …
Avatar, Star Trek nominated for best … writing!
Here’s something different: Two sci-fi blockbusters are nominated for coveted writing awards, not visual effects. Who saw that coming?
B.O. of the ’00s: The Top Grossing Independent Films of the 2000s
… The term “independent film” is essentially impossible to define in this kind of situation. Does it refer to any non-traditional studio film? If so, “The Lord of the Rings,” “Twilight” and “Chicago” would all be near the top of this chart and arguing any constitute the definition of “independent film” is quite challenging. The lines between studio and indie began to blur in the 1990s, when through mergers and/or acquisitions, indie institutions like Miramax and New Line started to look more and more like studios. In the 2000s, if one were to include either distributor in a list of the top grossing “indies,” they would dominate 15 of the titles – few of them “indie-like.”
So, for the purposes of arguable fairness, unless a studio or “mini-studios” like Miramax, New Line, Lionsgate, and recent Summit Entertainment acquired a truly independent production (like Paramount did with noted “Paranormal Activity,” for example), it will not be included on this list. What will be included, again in arguable fairness, are studio specialty divisions. Fox Searchlight, Focus Features, Sony Pictures Classics, and now defunct Paramount Vantage and Warner Independent Films, have released some of the most notable independent films of the decade, even if they are associated with studios. …
https://www.indiewire.com/article/b.o._of_the_00s_the_top_grossing_independent_films_of_the_2000s/
B.O. of the ’00s: The Top Grossing Sundance Films
…top grossing winners of the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Narrative (which “Precious” won in addition to the audience award), and the top grossing films that simply competed for that prize (which is an impressive batch of films).
It’s a somewhat surprising list in that of the ten winners, only two – Kenneth Lonergan’s “You Can Count on Me” and Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s “American Splendor” -managed to gross over $5 million, and half the list didn’t even manage $1 million. …
https://www.indiewire.com/article/b.o._of_the_00s_the_top_grossing_sundance_films
‘Flying Lessons’ to launch Santa Barbara fest
It’s the first film shot in the Santa Barbara area to open the fest.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i7d41666c039b61afa2e658b951809057
‘Avatar’ reaches $1 billion worldwide
Sci-fi epic earns $68.3 million in U.S. to remain top box-office draw
https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34677374/ns/entertainment-movies/