Death of Cinema Part Three

Yeah, I wasn't around for Part One in the late forties and there weren't blogs in the 80's for Part Two when video tape was going to kill them. But we are around for the Internet. The death of theatrical releases still hasn't proven true.

(An off-side is that at the beginning of the rennaisance, they thought the same thing of the printing press in relation to books. Really it was about controlling content and distribution. Also Books were going to be killed off by audio recordings and later video recordings, but we have more books published now, than ever before.)

Of course if they keep raising the price of tickets dramatically, they will kill Theatrical release. Well, that and playing crappy movies. They need to slash prices at the theaters by at least a third and food by maybe half.

As for movies this past year:

They say that the economy will now kill movies and that the movies aren't making money. What most people look at are the biggest box office hits and major losers. But it's more interesting to see #11, #12 & #17 for the year, since they're not F/X or Animation oriented.

#11 Sex and the City
Budget: $65 million
World Wide Box: $415,129,126
DVD sales: $85,376,850
If you figure they take about 50% of all that, and subtract about $50,000,000 for advertising and prints; they made around $340,000,000 minus percentages for above the liners and residuals.

#12 Momma Mia!
Budget: $52 million
World Wide Box: $572,225,617
Figuring 50% of that, and subtracting $50 million for P&A; they made around $470,000,000 minus percentages.

Compare that to Dark Knight
Budget: $185,000,000
World-Wide Box: $996,889,925
DVD Sales: $158,737,619
Giving it a standard of $50 million for P&A. It did probably no better thatn Sex and the City around $340 million; though they'll get better merchandising.

By the same Calculations, Hancock did $250 million, IJ4 did $215 million, Kung Fu Panda did $195 million, Iron Man did about $135 million, Wally $105 million, Horton Hears a Who made $30 million, QOS, Mummy3 making up $ on the DVDs, Madagascar2 spent so much advertising that it will have to make it up in merchandising.

Twilight will be making a big splash, with a $37,000,000 budget and a box so far of $237,027,235 it's already in the black.

And not to forget #17 Juno at a tiny budget of $7 ends up with around $225 million.

Wanted turned around $110 million.

(Note all the above doesn't subtract above the line percentages of box nor residuals but also doesn't cover all other streams of income).

Point of the above, is that Big budgets sometimes equal smaller profits than lower budgeted films; which is not to say there aren't crappy low-budget films, or that there aren't great large budget films. But then there's sometimes ALOT of waste on large-budget productions and they aren't as challenged to be inventive to remain inside a smaller budget.

If you ever read on Hollywood accounting, it doesn't appear that any movies made money, but if they really didn't as often as Hollywood claims, the theaters would have closed years ago.

Star Wars: The Musical

At leat they didn't do 'Episode One'. Officially it's called Star Wars: A Musical Journey.

In the Christmas SPIRIT

Went and saw The Spirit tonight. Very stylized. Very comic-like. If you can appreciate the theatrics of 60's batman, then you'll enjoy this. I liked the noir look. I'll post more on this later, so I don't spoil it for anyone. Overall, an okay movie ... just nothing to rave about. There are a couple things in it, though, that I'll rave about later (in a good way). It's a Frank Miller film so it's not just stylized, it VERY stylized. Everything Frank Miller does is over the top, that's his style.

Hollywood futures

Taking the Hollywood futures to the next level.

I'm not sure that this will benefit much of anyone except the largest studios. Their design is too closed. What actually occurs on HSX is probably a better system. More importantly, the reporting systems would have to be overhauled.

Dream or Hallucination

I was up for way too many hours the last few days. I had a dream yesterday in my short sleep. I think it may end up as a comedic/fantasy. Y'know Princess Bride, Monty Python's Holy Grail, Willow ... that sort of thing. Now my keyboard is dying. It's ancient anyhow. The H and G keys are randomly not functioning. The N and M keys are almost worn away, with E being worn off soon.

Off to deliver the sister K to work.

Still Around

It's not that I'm not around, it's just that I haven't had sleep. And I need to take the dog to the vet today, and a dozen other things. I'm driving my sister to work because she hasn't had a vehicle for about 4 weeks. She was bad about protecting her information on the net, got her bank account cleared out ... twice, and then couldn't make payments on her truck. They repo'd it, and sold it, in under the time for state guidlines, so she can either find another vehicle or sue them for two years. Supposedly there's a good chance she'll have one by the weekend. But I've been running 2-3 times a day for that, plus runs for mom, plus meals for mom, plus trying to straighten things up.

*UGH*

It gets frustratingly difficult sometimes. One sister doesn't help, and just consumes, and is basically just a pain in the ass. The other is too consumed by her own problems, but at least she does dishes sometimes. I get to do the rest.

I know there's a contigent who wonder why I'm at home. I spent 10 years with my father and his cancer. It only was difficult in the last few years at the end. About a year after that, my mother went all Parkinson's and lost most of her vision. In between I went to school for computer technology. But then 9/11 happened and all the jobs went away, mostly outsourced to India. Then I was laid off, compounding multiple financial crisis. Et cetera, et al.

There were several other emotional roller-coasters in there, which I'm not blogging about right now. Basically, right now, I'm stuck. Stressed. Depressed. If it weren't for the internet, I'd probably implode.

Still Around

It's not that I'm not around, it's just that I haven't had sleep.

Buffalo

Was listening to NPR the other day. Steve Rinella was doing what he called a history of the buffalo. So he went to Alaska ... and shot one.

- shortly later in the show
(quote)
"We should all be glad that he's not an anthropologist."

Christmas Gifts...

15 ideas:



1. Pistol Hand Dryer - Talking about blowing your hair...


2. Two-Way Watch Radio - Just like Dick Tracey.

3. Darth Vader Tie Fighter Webcam - Look into the dark side.

4. Anime eye contacts - Now you too can look like manga porn!

5. Bloody Serial Killer Shower Curtain - For your favorite horror script writer!

6. Kickboxing Plug-N-Play Video Game - get that video game junkie some exercise.

7. Superhero Bobbleheads - For your lovable comic geek.

8. The Naughty Knot - let someone in on your Christmas cheer.

9. Knuckle Duster Mug - Don't get between a coffee lover and the pot.

10. Monty Python Killer Rabbit Slippers - The most foul, cruel,
and bad-tempered rodents you ever set eyes on.


11. Shooting Silhouettes of your Ex - Because keeping that anger in is bad for your health.

12. Yoda Backpack - Act like Luke Skywalker without making out with your sister.

13. Control Your Man / Woman Talking Remotes - Better than ESP.

14. OhMiBod - Getting off to the beat - MP3 music player vibrator adapter.

15. Kama Sutra : Oil of Love - Chocolate Mint - a tasty way to go down on you partner

Star Wars

Star Wars (now known as A New Hope)
Classic story structure put into a sci-fi setting. Because of this, it is the best of the bunch.

The Empire Strikes Back
Overall, a good movie. With the best cliff-hanger in the history of episodal movies.

Return of the Jedi
Meh. Incestous relations revealed, Wookies downgraded to Ewoks, and lots of other lackadaisical writing. Worst of the original three. Special effects never trump story. Probably the best thing was Leia in the slave-girl outfit.

- - -

The Phantom Menace
Just when you think the series couldn't get more provocative than incest, lucas goes for pedophilia with a nine-year-old Anakin(Jake Lloyd) and a seventeen-year-old Padme(Natalie Portman). Jar-Jar Binks who made C3PO look cool(not even touching the Jar-Jar french kiss candy). About the best part of this was the pod-races, as it made for a good video game. In fact, all the flying seems to be specifically to sell video games. That's not bad for the bottom line, but only if it doesn't detract from the story.

Attack of the Clones
Terrible Title, good action, but lucas had lost a huge amount of the crowd with his error in judgement for phantom menace. Now the main 'romnce' players are at least the same age(apparently using Star Trek Continuity). Zam Wesell rather than padme was the strong female. Padme's parts were missing the complexity that leia had. If Jango were a mandolorian, and storm-troopers were his clones, then genetic drift must have taken place by the time of episode IV as the troopers then were easy to knock-out and kill. Overall the best of the newer trilogy.

Revenge of the Sith
Lots of good points on this movie. Wookie warfare instead of Ewoks. The big battle scenes are cool, but lack the individual perspective that makes people love movies. Significant over-evilling of Anakin with the padawan scene. The worst of this movie is Padme. I died from heartbreak for anakin, rather than love my children. That's pathetic on a new level, and what makes this one a bad apple.

The Clone Wars
This one came down to small screen video game graphics for a big-screen movie. It should've just been direct to dvd. Again, this is directed more at selling video games and related merchandising rather than telling a great story.

- - -

So what could have been better? Well, I'll focus on the new movies since he was not limited by budgetary concerns.

The Phantom Menace
The kid should have been at least on the verge of teenager-dom. Age twelveor maybe a small thirteen would be a good figure. Remember, kids want to grow-up to be the hero ... Always. I would have probably used a younger Padme and an elder matriarchal advisor.

Attack of the Clones
Instant title change, not sure to what, but something better than this. I would have killed off the previously added elder advisor with the Padme deception. Given Padme a more girl-power role, and kept the focus on character rather than huge battle scenes. Make Anakin start the gradual descent to the dark side here.

Revenge of the Sith
Probably a different approach to Anakin's descent into the dark path. Padme should have died in child-birth, probably from injury rather than a broken heart. And the whole mention of midi-chlorians should have been avoided.

The Clone Wars
Live action or at least they should have invested in at least SHREK type of graphics. It's like sitting next to the X-box while someone else plays.

This is not a digg against Lucas as a whole, but he seems a tad out of focus with the movie-goer now. This is also shown by IJ4, but I'll save that movie for another post.

Happy Thanksgiving 2008!

More or less...

Family wasn't too horrible, the food was good, no major disasters. All in all, a pretty good Thanksgiving.

How to deal with a Telemarketer

Telemarketer Revenge

Have a Nazi Christmas???

WTF?

Let's see:
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - Playing Now
The Reader - December 10th
Valkyrie - December 25th (A christmas release?)

Three movies about Nazi Germany in 2 months over the holidays?

While I don't mind films set in WWII, there's a time for release, and I'm not sure that these are the right time.

Missing The Good Movies

A Christmas Tale - not playing locally - But is in New Salem, MA. I might just hit this one, even with subtitles (it's in French).

Religulous - Just found out that I can get to this one ... I'll have to check it out.

Slumdog Millionaire - not playing locally - though if I were really motivated, I could see it in NY or Boston.

The Wrestler - Missed it ... apparently played at NY Film Festival. I've got to start hitting festivals. Hope it plays somewhere nearby.

Black Dynamite - Hope this plays nearby.

I guess I'm tired of the same old movies, not to say there aren't any selections from Hollywood, just I think I need something to break up the monotony.

Charity

Since the last episode of life was sponsored by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. It got me thinking about a few charities, I'll add this one to the list.

Some others are Habitat for Humanity, and Hunt Of A Lifetime. I used to also do the Make a Wish Foundation, until they got in a tizzy about a hunting trip. Hell, if the kid's dying, give him his wish if it isn't illegal somewhere. But no ... we have to be politically correct. Cancer sucks, dying before you've had fun sucks, people being all P.C. when your dying need to experience a chemo treatment.

-If you aren't in the scraping for money category, at least donate what you can write off your taxes, preferably more. Hell, I don't even care if it's just for publicity, but if your sincere, it will help fill that void that you try to fill with drinking, drugs, or both.

On final charitable note:
This is a link for orphanages and their needs. You can actually see what needs doing and where. Lists include both regular needs and special projects like fixing the heating system or just having food. See, most people in America tend to take certain things for granted: food, clean water, heat, clothes. But when you don't have family, and you don't live where there are craploads of excess, then your pretty f****d. So before you drop $5 on a magazine that will be outdated in a few weeks, or on a coffee that will be gone in an hour, consider instead on donating that much to kids who really need it. Click on the Orphanages we sponsor and then you can look at their regular needs or special projects (which are often what we consider needs rather than wants).

More on Life

Just watched the last couple episodes ... I can never seem to watch much TV anymore. Other than the Dove commercial that really got annoying. Perhaps that should be a hint for advertisers. If you want us to see your ad over and over again, you might want ... oh, say three variations. Even an interesting commercial wears thin after 5 times in a row.

WGA Negotiations

I know I'm out of date, but this was funny.

Thanks to all

Thanks to all those who respond to the meme. It gives me movies that I haven't seen to my list of movies I want to watch.

Review: Dark City - Pt1

Dark City.
I caught the end of this some time last year, on TV. A friend handed me the DVD. I just watched it last night for Holloween. It was a pretty good selection for the night. Definately Noir, if a Sci-Fi Noir. I'll add more since I'll be going through the extras tomorrow.

Holloween

Since I won't be going out on Holloween. :(

I decided to post a Meme.
Top 10 Holloween Movie List.
List your top 10 selections and reasons for the selections.

Mine are:

1) Return of the Living Dead
Zombies, not scary at all, and funny as hell
2) Holloween III
Probably the best of the Holloween series, though it wasn't particularly related to the others.
3) It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The original 1966 version, not the modern dialog version.
4) From Dusk Till Dawn
Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino pair up to make a great movie.
5) The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Not that scary, but a good story line.
6) Dracula 2000
A nice take on the Dracula tale.
7) The Lost Boys
A good fun vampire flick.
8) An American Werewolf in London
Great Pre-CGI werewolf flick
9) Split Second
Monsters and Automatic Shotguns(the only movie I've ever seen them in) - What more could you ask for
10) The Ninth Gate
A book collector and Satanic Ritual

As you can see, more on the lines of Horror or Halloween story lines, but not slasher messy. Honestly slasher flicks don't do it for me, if I want that, I'll listen to the news. It also reminds me I have several horrors to do more on:
Very violent and offensive Werewolf script.
Vampires and zombies with christian overtones.
Vampire Science flick

I'm sure there's more ideas on the list, but those are some I have some work completed on.

Do not pass go, Do not get my business.

Went to ABC after finally getting a chance to watch the first episode of Life on Mars and then it turns out that I'd have to up?grade to XP or Vista to view. Ummm.... No.

CWTV as above.

FOX wants me to install software. Umm ... No.

All of the above are with Move Networks

I've use Windows 2000 or Linux (Kubuntu). Can't support that? Then I'll watch CBS, or NBC via Hulu.

Star Wars - Luke & Leia

Reading through old entries I came across:

Kid Sis said...
I already need therapy for picturing Luke and Leia together for six years before Lucas effed with all our heads. thanks for the incest complex, george.
8/30/2005 02:49:00 PM

And I'd like to point out what I've said several times. Let's see. You've got Rebels, with American accents, and you're suprised that brother and sister are making out? Okay, so maybe it would have been more obvious what was coming if they had southern accents, still...

And if that wasn't enough to scar you, then the first book Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster in 1978 definately shows an inclination between the (as yet unknown) siblings. Bits from the book:


Moistly parted in sleep, her lips seemed to beckon to him.

and

Luke felt the warnth of the body next to him, lowered his gaze. Framed in the faint light from above, the Princess looked more radiant, more beautiful than ever.


and

At the same time, the Princess grew aware of how tightly she was clinging to him. Their proximity engendered a wash of confused emotion. It would be proper to disengage, to move away a little. Proper, but not nearly so satisfying.She was utterly drained, and the comfort she derived from leaning against him was worth any feeling of impropriety.
They stood like that for a timeless stretch. Luke slid his arm around her and she didn't resist. She didn't look yearningly up at him, either, but this was enough for him, for noew at least.

Scenes of the Seasons.

There are lots of issues with shooting outside. Also you want to schedule certain things at certain times, but that may take you from one season into the next. You can fudge a certain amount of time. This is for seasonal areas rather than those that don't significantly change throughout the year.

Late autumn - winter - early spring.
If snowless, these look almost alike, though in the early-spring, buds appear on branches, but this is only noticeable in close-ups or when you have people go frame-by-frame looking for asynchronous events. If the temperatures are below freezing, it is relatively easy to make a snow-making machine and turn the scene into winter. If you need a slushy mess for a scene, late autumn and early spring allow for you to snow it at night when it is freezing, then let the morning sun make it go all slushy.

Late spring - early summer
These look similar in green leaves. Make sure that if you want certain flowers in bloom in a scene, you know when they're going to bloom and for how long in the location you're shooting.

Late summer - early fall
You can shoot some late summer for fall with the use of foral spray dyes. Quickly add color to leaves cut a some off and leave them on the ground. Instant autumn. This I noted back when they had shot the live-action Charlotte's Web and they freaked out because the corn-field had gone yellow. Spray dye green could fix this in several hours with bunch of people out there.

Late autumn - if you're shooting anywhere besides a complete evergreen forest, it will be obvious as all the trees are colored and leaves are falling.

The other thing to remember is that the sun falls at different angles through the year. High sun in the summer and low to the horizon in the winter. Also there are color temperature differences due to those angles. If you're shooting night scenes, generally the only obvious item is the moon, which is constantly changing. Also the direction / apparent size can change from night to night. Also if you're far enough from civilization, the stars might be obvious, not to mention that you have to keep on aeroplanes and satellites if they become obvious. Try to limit the times that the sun or moon is present in a shot, and when they are, try to match the angle and color by shooting them together whenever possible. Also try to shoot them as quickly as possible. If you're actors want to crack each other up on set, these are NOT the scenes to be wasting time screwing around.

Knight Rider (the next generation)

Just Hulu'd the last episode. Better action-wise than the first, but still kind of flat; especially in regards to the military. Apparently the writers were never military. If a friend had betrayed your country and your friendship and nearly killed you intentionally, you wouldn't try to save him. You certainly wouldn't feel bad they were dead, though you might feel bad that they had gone bad. Doubly so since he had punched the woman he loved in the face and was going to dispose of her as well. Please, Dave Andron, at least consult with someone who is military. Okay, first interesting thing I've seen with the new K.I.T.T. is the object replicator. I'm still trying to figure out where they stashed the fusion generator. Don't they know how much energy that would take? Bah . . . I gave it a couple chances . . . maybe some other time, when I'm doing the insomnnia thing again.

Life ... or something like that

Mother is out of hospital. Seems not all there sometimes. Not good.

Found Jango on the webb and am listening to music again. I apparently miss music. Who'd have thunk it? Guess I need an emotional out. Music does that for me. Does it do that for everyone? I never really considered the impact of music on the rest of the universe.

TV ... sort of...

Watched the new KnightRider on Hulu. Ugh. That was enough of that. Not at all impressive. OTOH, I won't need to watch anymore. It isn't horrible, but it isn't enough to make me want to continue watching.


Caught The Mentalist on CBS.com. Much like Sherlock Holmes ... yet also egotistically flawed. Might see if it develops.

Saw Heroes on Hulu. Sadly, looks like season 1 revisited. Honestly, can a main character die and stay dead. Friggin feels like a Marvel comic where almost everyone comes back.

Watched the rest of New Amsterdam on Hulu. Not sure if this one is worth following. Interesting and not at the same time.

More to come as I sum up the new seasons.

The best movies aren't

Huh?!

That's the usual response to deep thoughts.

I began thinking about the best TV and movies I've liked, and most of the reason that they were above-average is that they weren't about the genre; they were only set in the genre.

Mister Roberts is a WWII film taking place on a naval vessel, but is NOT about war.
The Shootist is a western, but not about shoot-outs.

I'm sure you can add to the list, it's a long list.

Good-bye Television ... It was great while it lasted.

Today I started listing all the movies I've ever seen. Thousands. Well that aint too bad ... maybe 5% of my lifetime.

Then I started on TV. Holy $#!+. I spent how much of my life on TV hours?

I just gave it up. I will now make a list of TV shows to buy when I retire. Until then, I'm going back to living life.

You might think that I watch too many movies, but that 5% also includes movies that I've seen on TV/Cable, but doesn't include reruns, and neither did the TV listing.

I'm going to allow myself one new movie, and one old movie per week MAX. That'll be about 3%.

Of course that will not include any time I'll be writing. I've become disconnected from the real world and it's time to hop back in.

12 Movie Meme by Lazyeye via Emily of Bamboo Killers

Monday
Braveheart
Dune
Epic Bodycounts

Tuesday
Lawrence of Arabia
Saving Private Ryan
WWI & WWII Epic movies.

Wednesday
Five Deadly Venoms
The Sholin Temple
Martial Arts Movie Classics.

Thursday
Pale Rider
The Quick and the Dead
Heroic Gunslinger Westerns.

Friday
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Mummy
Archeological Action Adventure Movies.

Saturday
The Last Starfighter
Star Wars
Science Fiction movies that show the little guy can win.

Key scenes from Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” have been rediscovered

This is great news, hopefully they'll make it available on DVD for us.
Article

Review: Buster Keaton Collection

A collection of 10 short talky comedies starring Buster Keaton.

General Nuisance: Rich man enlists to impress a woman.

His Ex Marks the Spot: An ex-wife, alimony payments, and a shotgun wedding.

Mooching Through Georgia: Brothers enlist on opposite sides and do anything neccessary to keep each other alive.

Nothing But Pleasure: Trying to save a few dollars on shipping fees, a couple goes to detroit to buy their car.

Pardon my Berth Marks: A novice reporter goes to follow a story and gets caught up in it.

Pest from the West: A hapless millionaire falls for a two-timing (or three-timing) woman while vacationing in Mexico.

She's Oil Mine: An honest plumber duels a charlatan nobleman for the heart, and checkbook, of an oil heiress.

So You Won't Squawk: a lowly employee gets a taste of respect when people mistake him for the big-shot gangster, Louie the Wolf.

The Spook Speaks: New caretakers are hammered by an onslaught of spooky illusions as an old apprentice searches for new tricks.

The Taming of the Snood: A hatmaker almost gets killed when he becomes accidentally involved with a jewel-thief and her drunk maid.


Each has at least one great gag, so worth a go-through. More so if you love slapstick.

DVD Review: Buffalo Soldiers

A decent film, didn't really get me emotionally, but was okay. I was suprised at the rating of G on the box. Seems to me it would be more accurately rated PG. Danny Glover stars as a First Seargent in charge of an all black unit of federal soldiers who are in charge of the new mexico territories. They have to put down an indian uprising. Interesting topic, and worth a gander.

DVD Review: CASABLANCA

I have to leave it to Howard Koch, Philip G. & Julius J. Epstein; they know how to write a witty screenplay. So I finally got around to watching the entire thing. I was suprised. I had previously only caught snippets. There's alot of witty dialog in there. I don't know who put in the real witty bits, but I think I'll track down some of the writers other titles to figure it out. The pacing is relatively slow compared to today's standards; for those who haven't watched it. This is one of those things that, whether it was due to writers, actors, director, or the combination thereof, just worked wonderfully. I hope they won't try another remake.

Here's Looking at you, kid.

Film Review - WANTED

At first I was going to go because the digital effects shots (or some of them) were filmed with a RED ONE, but after seeing the trailer, I decided it might be worthwhile to catch bigscreen.

On the action, digital effects, I wasn't dissapointed. The rest was an Okay movie as far as action movies are concerned. But as a whole, the plotline is good for a video game, but not for a movie. I am suprised, in fact, that a video game isn't readily available.

I think this will do well, especially among the disenfranchised people in America. There were some flaws that keep it from going really long term in the theatres. But if you want some boom, bang, and digital effects this weekend, then go out and see it now.

Most people either Love it, or Hate it, with only a few in between.

Death of another Icon

George Carlin died.

:(

Unanswered question Meme...

Questions not answered by the UNKNOWN SCREENWRITER.

Should I type FADE IN: at the beginning of my screenplay?
You should use BEAM IN when writing for Paramount.

Should I number my scenes?
yes and use the word SCENE before it; you should also give each one a title.

Generally speaking, about how many parentheticals should I have in my screenplay?
One less than you put in.

Can I just type FIN at the end of my screenplay?
WTF? Are you Quebecois or French?

Do you use Celtx?
Yep, but that probably has to do with being near Boston.

If I use Celtx to write my screenplay will I have a better chance of selling it?
Yes, but a crayon is better and cutting words from newspapers and pasting them onto paper is the best.

Should I sign my screenplay?
Yes, with a quill.

Should I include my email address on my screenplay?
You should use paper watermarked with your E-mail address.

Why do I have to put my character’s name in caps througout my screenplay?
The other option is to give each one a unique color.

What do I do with my screenplay when I’m finished with it?
Use it to line the birdcage.

Can you take a look at page 69 of my screenplay and tell me if it’s correct?
Is that the one with your gay oral sex scene?

Should I send my screenplay to you in a box or an envelope?
Aluminum case with a lock. Keys should be mailed seperately.

If I pay you $5000, will you help me sell my screenplay?
Of course. I guarantee it.

If I pay you $10,000 will you help me sell my screenplay?
Again. I guarantee it. It will happen twice as fast.

Will you marry me?
I'm willing to take offers from any female millionaire nymphomaniacs.

What font should I use to write my screenplay?
Battlestar Galactica Font.

Can I just write my screenplay in Word?
Most screenplays are longer than one word.

How many pages should my screenplay be?
Depends on what genre it is.

How long should each act of my screenplay be?
Depends on what gender it is.

Is it okay if my hero and villain both have the same name?
And I'm sure someone someday will think that's brilliant.

Is it okay if my Protagonist is Hillary Clinton?
Only if it involves a strap-on.

Is it okay to thank my Mom in my screenplay?
You can thank her by getting her the part of a street walker.

Is it okay to thank my husband in my screenplay?
You can thank him by having him star against Hillary with her strap-on.

Is it okay to thank YOU in my screenplay?
If you do, I have lawyers available.

Do you accept credit cards?
If your credit limit is high enough.

Do you live alone?
Only when my luck holds.

What’s your favorite color?
Greenbacks.

What’s your favorite food?
Weinkraut

What’s your favorite drink?
Non-alcoholic : Venti White chocolate Mocha with whip cream
Alcoholic : Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against The Wall

Do you smoke?
three cigarettes a day, but going to quit soon.

Do you drink?
Only about twice a year now.

What color are you eyes?
Ice Blue

When’s the last time you had sex?
Four times today, all by myself.

DVD Review - A History of Violence

The public Library has been good to me. Currently it is saving me alot of money I don't have by being able to check out DVDs.

My latest borrowing was A History of Violence. Overall, not a bad movie. The ending was inconclusive, but is otherwise good. The pacing of the movie is somewhat slower. The nice thing about watching this on DVD is getting the extras. The featurettes are worth watching, the Director's commentary is very similar to what you'll get out of just watching the featurettes. If you're in a hurry, skip the commentary, and just do the featurettes.

Personal notes:
I like the rough 'street-fight' style of fighting that was done. Real fights tend to toss out pretty styles for what works. No 'Rambo-isation' of the Protagonist, he gets injured almost as much as the bad guys. About the only thing that felt missing from this is a father-son talk. There occurred at least twice in the film where I expected it. It was well shot, with only one scene that I really disagreed with the lighting.

Underated flicks

There are several older good films to catch, and since the ones in the theaters have been pretty lame. I'll post on these.

Ladyhawke - A relatively well known flick, based off medieval french romance, about the only thing that truly ruins this movie is the helmets at the end. They look appropriate to sci-fi not medieval history. You should see this.

Flesh+Blood - More medieval and less romanticized, the criticisms are a DaVinci-esque siege engine and the plague that works too quickly. But it is worth seeing.

Wanted: Dead or Alive - A film that is appropriate to today's audience: going after terrorists. A grenade scene near the end makes it more than worthwhile.

Blind Fury - White guy learns from oriental master and kicks ass. Popular genre of the time. Good flick.

Split Second - Automatic shotguns?! YES! that makes this film alone worth watching. The story is okay also.

I Come in Peace - Seems listed as Dark Angel on IMDB now. Drugs, aliens, and a bad-ass cop.

The Last Starfighter - I was annoyed at the time that they did not come up with this as an arcade game. Merchandising cross-marketing was not what it was then. Good flick.

Escape from New York - good action of anti-hero Snake Pliskin.

Mad Max - The beginning of the Mad Maxx series. Great car.

Dune (1984) - I still like most of it better than the more modern version.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai - Still a classic.

The DEATH WISH series - Bronson killing badguys, a vigilante classic.

First Blood - The best story of the rambo series, though later ones have a higher blood and guts ratio. Alot of the younger crowd haven't seen the first one.

Dirty Harry, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact -and all the Dirty Harry movies with clint eastwood, though some are better than others.

Red Dawn - WWIII flick, america invaded.

Streets of Fire - urban action-adventure. Check it out.

The Dirty Dozen - WWII behind enemy lines, killing nazis

RAN - japanese medieval war scenes with lots of colorful armies.

Big Trouble in Little China - action comedy.

The Five Deadly Venoms - Foreign Martial Arts flick.

Better Off Dead - teen love comedy of the eighties, not as well known as others.

My list of films for the next 6 months

A list of films I'm considering and why:

April 4th
Nim's Island: hearing mixed reviews, but sounds interesting.

April 18th
Forbidden Kingdom: Jackie Chan AND Jet Li ... no more needs saying.

May 2nd
IRON MAN: This looks good, though they really should have done the suit in aluminum or used a metallized paint, it looks plastic in the stills, maybe it'll look better on screen. But since I've read the comic as a kid (though my best friend at the time was more into it), I am going to see it. Then again I liked Ghost Rider.

May 16th
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian : Big special effect film which (due to DFX not being finished) was pushed to summer release from this past christmas. I hope they kept a bit truer to character than the last one. Then again it's been Disney-fied.

May 23rd
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: I've watched the first three, and I might as well finish it, though we've been told that it will probably piss us off how they finish it. Like that's something new in Hollywood?

May 30th
Sex and the City: Yes, I am going to see this. Either I am going to be on a date, or looking for more sexually liberated women. We'll have to see. Yes, there is a difference between sexually liberated and slut. Way too many male and female sluts out there as opposed to sexually liberated.

June 6th
Kung Fu Panda: Animated safe flick, maybe get my mother out for a change.

Mongol: I generally don't go for films in other languages, but they're haven't been alot of Mongol films since the John Wayne version flopped.

June 24th
Wall-E: Again safe family film, probably will take my mother out in the second week.

WANTED: Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman ... nerdy nobody gets trained to be superhero and saves the world. Always a popular theme. Some scenes shot with Red Camera and I want to see how it looks.

July 11th
HB II (Hellboy 2): Not high on my list, but if I need to do something.

July 18th
The Dark Knight: It's a batman flick ... which means usually good. I expect alot of Heath Ledger fans will propel this one to #1 even if it is bad.

August 1st
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (a.k.a. The Mummy 3): Well, again the first two went well, so I'll give 3 a shot.

August 15th
Star Wars: The Clone Wars I'll catch this because I generally like Star Wars and because I can get someone else to pop for the ticket for my birthday.

August 26th
Babylon A.D.: Vin Diesel, Action, Sci-Fi ... enough said.

September 12th
Punisher: War Zone: Punisher flick, it had better have a good body count, or it can't be considered a Punisher flick.

September 26th
Death Race: Remake based on the 70's film. pretty low on the list of things to do. Might improve as we get closer.

October 3rd
Valkyrie: WWII film ... depends ... have to see when it gets closer.

October 10th
City of Ember: Family Adventure flick ... we'll see as it gets closer.

October 17th
Max Payne: Based off video game. Depends on how much big-screen action over small-screen action ... not high on list.

November 7th
Madagascar sequel: maybe ... day out with mother or something.

November 21st
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: As the books get worse, the movies will probably be better. Since the first four books that were good were badly hacked to make mediocre films.

November 26th
The Road: I got out of post-apocolyptic films years ago, but Viggo Mortensen & Robert Duvall, hmmm .... might be interesting, I'll keep an eye out as it gets closer.

December 12th
The Day the Earth Stood Still: Remake of the classic 50's film. I personally think they'll screw it up, but then again it might be fun.

--------------------

You might notice that most are fantasy/sci-fi and not much comedy or drama or romance, etc. Now if I add in DVD to this, it would have plenty. At least FX can make it worth paying the exorbant fees that they want at the theaters. If I were dating regularly, there might be some rom-coms and drama tossed in, but where I'm not, I go for what is most visually spectacular. That's why I've put films that are not as large in story but are action heavy, and sometimes both. I also have alot in the fantasy because they don't put enough money into it as compared to sci-fi, though there is a definate market for it.

Part IV - Book Review - The Big Picture by Edward Jay Epstein

You might want to begin with my first, second and third posts on The Big Picture : The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood by Edward Jay Epstein.

This is on the Social Logic of Hollywood.
Chapter 22 About the difference between only making movies for money, and those for social reasons.
Chapter 23 Hollywood community vs. the outsiders
Chapter 24 about the Elites of Hollywood (categorically)
(Stars, Directors, Agents, Writers, Producers, Execs, & Gurus)
Chapter 25 Reasons for work
Chapter 26 Hollywood Deceptions (Psuedoheroes, Psuedorealism, Psuedoyouth, Psuedoacting, Psuedopraise, Psuedo credits, & Psuedonews)

Political Logic of Hollywood
Chapter 27 Shaping the views of people watching
Chapter 28 Politics & social pressure groups and Hollywood
Chapter 29 Politics that affect Hollywood globally.

Epilogue The Future of Hollywood and movies.

I'm off to the library to get the book I read years ago that just arrived by inter-library loan, and there's another few books that I'll probably read next week, plus maybe a DVD or two.

Quotation Meme

I have been Tagged by Fun Joel for this meme.

Also quotes by
Emily Blake of White Board Markers
Maggie of Bootstrap Productions
Christina Ferguson of Developmental Hell

Original Rules:Look up 15 of your favorite films on IMDB and take a quote from each. List them below. When someone guesses the quote correctly, cross it off the list. NO CHEATING.

Hugo's Rules:Either look up 20 of your favorite film quotes on IMDB OR look up your the movie scripts online and take a favorite line. Only theatrical release movies. List them below. When someone completes information on the quote correctly, cross it off the list. NO CHEATING.
1 point for each of the first three categories (+1 point for each correct writer involved):

1. Movie Title
2. Actor/Actress who said it
3. Character Name
4. Writers

A little bit more difficult, but much more entertaining.

AGAIN ... No cheating.
I admit, sadly, that I can only occasionally get the writer(s) but can get the films, characters, and actor/actress quite a bit.

1) Do you know that the harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing? Nothing that has meaning is easy. Easy doesn't enter into grown-up life."

2) Ah, experience has conditioned you into thinking that all hearts are red and all spades are black because their shapes are similar. It's easier for your mind to interpret them based on that past experience instead of being open to the idea they could be different. We see what we expect to see, not necessarily what's really there. Children who have never played cards always pass this test. Makes you wonder how many other things are right in front of you - sights, sounds, smells that you can't experience because you've been conditioned not to. The good news is, if we do the test again, you'll pass. Once you're aware that there can be black hearts and red spades you'll be able to perceive them. Our brain's wiring is like the interstate highway system. It's easier to go from one well-traveled place to another. But the places in between, off the highway, even though they're there, most people zip right past them. 3) You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is "Never get involved in a land war in Asia." But only slightly less well known is this: "Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line."4) Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

5) I don't like warriors! They're too narrow-minded, no sublety. Worse, they fight for hopeless causes...for honor! Honor has killed millions of people but hasn't saved a single one.(pause)You know what -- do I like though, I like killer. A real dyed in the wool killer. Cold-blooded. Clean. Methodical. Thorough.

6) Yeah, I believe in love; I also believe in cancer.

7) Well Satan is in deep shit.

8) And there is no such thing as a no sale call. A sale is made on every call you make. Either you sell the client some stock or he sells you a reason he can't. Either way a sale is made, the only question is who is gonna close? You or him? Now be relentless, that's it, I'm done.

9) I still maintain that he kicked himself in the balls.

10) Hello Peter. What's happening? Um, I'm gonna need you go ahead and come in tomorrow. So if you could be here around nine, that would be great. Oh, oh, yea…I forgot. I'm gonna also need you to come in Sunday too. We, uh, lost some people this week and we need to sorta catch up. Thanks.

11) Oh, absolutely I believe in God. And I absolutely hate the fucker.

12) Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never met, never had a no problem with get killed. Now the politicians are sayin', "Oh, Send in the marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And of course the oil companies used the skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back of course, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and fuckin' play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the fuckin' job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. I figure fuck it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.

13) Some of the best things in life are total mistakes.

14) If a friend borrows a twenty bucks and you never see him again, it was probably worth it.

15) We can't shoot a dog. People? Okay, but not dogs.

16) If I were dead and you were still fighting for life, I'd come back from the darkness. Back from the pit of hell to fight at your side.

17) Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, don't fail us now.

18) Summa cum laude. Magna cum laude. The radio's too laude. Adeste fidelis.

19) This isn't the state of California, it's a state of insanity.

20) To a New Yorker like you, a hero is some type of weird sandwich, not some nut who takes on three tigers.

Busy week : Reviews: Books, DVDs, ETC.

I'll be posting Part IV later on The Big Picture by Edward Jay Epstein. Meanwhile, I finished Hype and Glory by William Goldman. It's a good look into the behind the scenes on film festivals, in this case, specifically Cannes Film Festival. Though dated, I doubt much has changed in regards to judging for the festival.

I watched 10 epidodes (on 3 DVDs) of IFC's "FILM SCHOOL" which covered NYU students making their 10 minute shorts and all the problems they encounter, and how they overcome many of them. It's good for anyone trying to make a short for a film festival. My only real peeve was they did not include the entire 10-minute films that these people finished. It would have been enjoyable to watch them in complete after seeing the work put into them.

I 'I.L.L.'ed a book I read 19 years ago, that I could remember neither the author of, nor the title to, but since I remembered the storyline, I managed to discover it. I use the library to read it again, and see if it was as good as I remember it to be. If so, I'll get a copy, if not, I'll save a few dollars.

I am now on disk 3 of EDISON: The Invention of the Movies. I also managed to get this one at the local library. I had it on my wishlist, which I can now remove. It does have several things I'll note when I get done. For those who are interested, It's 4 Disks, costs about $80, and is available from Kino Video. I figure, to make a film above average, I should make it understandable without dialog or sound, those should only enhance it. Therefore, I'm researching quite a bit of the silent era. Also, some of their low-budget techniques could still be used today.

More later, hope you all are well.
-H.F.

Part III - Book Review - The Big Picture by Edward Jay Epstein

You might want to begin with my first and second post on The Big Picture : The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood by Edward Jay Epstein.

We start with Production aspects.
Chapter 6 - details Developmental Hell.
Chapter 7 covers getting the green light.
Chapter 8 is a short synopsis of pre-production work, post-greenlight.
Chapter 9 is a synopsis of production shooting.
Chapter 10 is a synopsis on CGI and sound in post.
Chapter 11 covers editing and the costs of getting it caught up in a clearing house.

We move onto creating (or finding) the audience.
Chapter 12 covers the basis to create an awareness of a movie.
Chapter 13 covers the publicity and marketing campaign and costs for a film.
Chapter 14 covers theatrical release dates.

On to the economics of hollywood.
Chapter 15 deals with how theaters make (or lose) money, ratings, length of stay for a film, etc.
Chapter 16 deals with foreign market distribution and advertising.
Chapter 17 covers the the home video revolution (in all formats).
Chapter 18 covers television distribution.
Chapter 19 covers basic merchandising.
Chapter 20 covers why violence, or nudity may be added or subtracted to fit the audience, regardless of the story.
Chapter 21 talks about winning rough formulaes, especially those in relation to the billion-dollar-earning movies.

That's about it for now, tune in for part IV.

Earthquake

Apparently there was an earthquake here in Connecticut last night. I only found out about it this morning. It was 2.0 on the richter scale. This is only noteworthy as I had posted about feeling the 2.5-2.8 one in 2001, after the latest 2.0 had occurred but before hearing about it. Strange but true. Apparently Maine also had one a couple days ago. Looks like the lands getting lively on the east coast.

Part II - Book Review - The Big Picture by Edward Jay Epstein

In my first post on The Big Picture : The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood by Edward Jay Epstein, The first chapter covered 60% of the old system and 40% of the new system.

Then it moves into Part I: The New System which consists of chapters 2, 3, 4, & 5. Chapter two is about those who created the new Hollywood entertainment conglomerates and how they did it. Chapter three is on the problems with moving product into foreign markets, and how they overcame them. Chapter four covers the "Big Six" in entertainment. Detouring around problems, and creating the various axis of controlling the market. Chapter five covers, in a nutshell, how they make money while rarely making a profit.

It's truly interesting stuff, and while I can understand their wish not to pay the gluttonous governments of the world their over-taxation beyond the minimum due. It also serves to fill their greedy pockets. Well, if they avoid paying most of the taxes, the government raises business rates across the board to compensate, thus further burdening other businesses often most detrimentally, small businesses. Second it provides that they can shelter themselves from paying much in the way of back-end to anyone. Now I'm not against anyone making a profit, nor even a big profit. However, when it doesn't help your workers who are helping make that profit, or worse, you screw them to make your profit, then you are really just a greedy bastard.

Part of this can be stated because they are publicly traded companies & that their bonus' are paid in stock. Therefore rather than concentrating on dividends, they focus on raising stock price. Of course, the fact that the government always wants more in taxes, rather than coming up with ways to reduce spending, means that they are at least as much of the problems as the companies themselves.

Bah, anyways, 5 chapters down, 24 to go, plus epilogue, notes, acknowledgements.

I'm going to I.L.L. Planning the Low-Budget Film by Robert Latham Brown on Tuesday and probably be able to pick it up later in the week. If you haven't heard of it or him, I'll sum it up. He is a well known line-producer who doesn't go over budget. His book, contrary to it's title, covers budgeting any movie, regardless of budget, and is basically the industry bible as far as books on the subject go.

Film Review - Jumper

This is a pretty good escapist film, kind of a immature super-hero thing. Basically, the young protagonist has the ability to jump space. The antagonists are a group of religious zealots who kill any jumpers they find. Toss in love intrest, lost mother, drunk father, a bully, and stir. I'm still wondering why he has a passport, considering he can avoid customs anytime he wants.

DVD review - Waiting

I watched Waiting, which is both sick and funny, if you've ever done any kind of food service, and had to deal with people who existed to make others miserable, then you'll get the humor. Of course some of it is still pretty disgusting. Mainly about someone who finds themselves in the common rut of working in food service.

DVD Review - Cashern

I Watched Cashern on DVD. It's a good film, which is moderately unusual for a japanese film. Doubly so, when you consider that it only had a $6,000,000 or so budget. Sci-Fi anime that was turned into a live flick.

Part I - Book Review - The Big Picture by Edward Jay Epstein

I stopped by the library. I decided to invest some time in books. Mostly will have topics on either Film or writing. So for the first installment: The Big Picture : The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood by Edward Jay Epstein. The first 60% of chapter one is on The origins of Hollywood and the creation of the 'Studio System'. I figure this is about six hours of reading, but I'll be breaking it up over the next two three days before flipping it for another. I also have to put in some more time writing scripts.

DVD Movie Review - Daredevil

Daredevil was a great flick. The copy I had was 2 disks and had lots of behind the scenes and commentaries. Good stuff.

DVD Movie Review - "O"

Modern retelling of Othello. Actually pretty good. I passed it to a friend and will listen to the commentary later. It's definately worth a watch, especially if you're teaching Shakespeare at the high school level. Maybe your students will get this version easier.

DVD Movie Review - Monster's Ball

Watched Monster's ball. Starred Billy Bob Thornton, so had less than high expectations for it. His acting wasn't too bad. The movie was somewhat deep, but the pacing killed me. Way too slow, english ending. I'll probably listen to the director's commentary sometime, but it's not high on my list of things to be done.

DVD Movie Review - Shrek the Third

Watched Shrek the Third. Not a bad story, but not nearly as good as 1 & 2. They put alot more into the computer graphics end though. That looked great. It just didn't do enough for me in the laugh department. Made some French Toast. Not sure what I'll eat now.

They complain about what they pay writers, but still have enough to buy

Warner Bros. to absorb New Line

Something to think on writers...

They say if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. But world will only do that if they know the moustrap exists.
-Stan Lee

Every time someone says, but if I put my script out, then somebody can steal the idea. Yeah ... it's a possibility ... but even if you have the world's greatest script, until people READ it, they won't come asking to buy it ... will they? So pop a few bucks to the WGA & to the copyright office in DC. Then GET IT OUT THERE or stop whining.

End of Destiny

Had to move more snow from the storm this morning, ran a movie out to my niece. Can you believe that she's never seen Raider of the Lost Ark? I found out when she wanted to see the fourth one, and then her mother tells me she hasn't seen the other three. So I ran across the first one and got it to her, and I'll pick up the The Last Crusade later in the week. Temple of Doom can wait until I come across it on discount some time. I finished the first disk of Daredevil, and am now on the second one. At the store today, I saw an extended version with more commentary. It will have to wait for now. Haven't done any writing for the last couple of days, so I'll have to put some time in tomorrow. Monday I have to go to the bank, then pay the cable bill.

Destiny Sucks!

Okay, so they named this storm Destiny. It's been snowing, and it seems likely that it will continue until ... TOMORROW. That's a long time to snow, and it means I'll be running out at least twice to remove snow. Ugh!

I suppose that gives me a couple hours before I make my first run. So I better get to it. Also watching Daredevil DVD with multiple commentaries, 6 featurettes, scene-studies, music videos, and a bunch of other extras. That's what made me pick up a copy of a movie I have already watched. Studios take note, that's what sells a DVD now. Had someone ask me whether to buy Blueray or HD-DVD the other day. My answer was, I was waiting to see whether VHS or Beta would win, or if 4-track tape or 8-track cassette would win. They got my point. One will eventually win, one will lose. If they get the cost of HVD disks to affordable, then both those standards will go bye-bye in favor of the MUCH larger HVD (Holographic video disk).

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

I completed a basic outline of my Romeo & Juliet variation. Took awhile to, figure out who was who and what sex, what occupation, what age, etc. Then of course there's the challenge of not just offing them both. Sorry, Hollywood doesn't often make money on tragedies.

I finished
Breaking In: How 20 Film Directors Got Their Start by Nicholas Jarecki. Read most of the directors, skimmed a few that I never heard of, and I knew none of their works, so the ability to make their knowlege work for me wasn't there. I still skimmed them looking for and finding the inner workings of the Hollywood system.

Anti-Piracy

So I picked up a direct-to-DVD flick and am now just popping it on. "The Circle" is the name of it. I picked it up because on the back cover it lists:

"Shot in one uninterrupted take with no edits, the approach is not a mere cinematic device, but a thematic extension of the story."

So it sounds like it may be interesting visually, even if everything else sucks ... I'll post more after watching it.

As to the Anti-Piracy Title, this DVD has a great Anti-piracy message. Much Better than the you wouldn't steal a pocketbook or a car one. I'll credit Hart Sharp Video for it until I know otherwise.


"GIVE ME A BREAK.
I downloaded some movies for free.
SO WHAT?
Now big-time Mr. Moviestar can't the really big boat?
He can only have nine cars instead of twelve?
BOO FREAKIN' HOO.
Actually, if you bought that DVD, the sale would've hit a milestone in the actor's contract, which kicked in a nice bonus, which he used to buy that car, where the paparazzi took those embarrassing pictures, that were posted by the mysterious blogger StarClops, who got interviewed in that magazine you get, but your creepy neighbor keeps stealing yours, so you knock on his door, but he moved away, and now a very cute girl is standing in front of you.
Watch Movies Legally.
It's good Karma."