Shame: Michael Fassbender’s NC-17 Sex in the City Thrill Ride

December 2, 2011

Deep, dark, gloomy and, dare we say, penetrating. That’s the feeling you get from the very beginning of the new thriller, “Shame.”

 

If you missed seeing the Irish born actor Michael Fassbender in “X-Men: First Class,” “Jane Eyre,” “Hunger,” or this season’s “A Dangerous Method,” you’ll never forget him as Brandon in the Steve McQueen directed “Shame.”

 

We first meet the handsome, brooding Brandon in bed at his New York apartment and within less than a minute, see him full-frontal– and then furiously masturbating in his bathroom and then in the men’s room in his office, where he also accesses porn on the company computer.

 

His exact occupation is left somewhat of a mystery – he may work at an advertising agency– but one thing is quite clear. He’s a sex addict who has difficulty connecting with himself or with other people as human beings. A soulless Manhattanite who needs the release of sex multiple times a day, whether it’s by himself, with a pickup at a bar or a prostitute.

Despite his uncontrollable urges and his lack of introspection about them, Brandon has his routines down pat. We see him showering in the morning, repeatedly listening to a phone message from what sounds like a desperate ex-flame that he’s blown off, commuting to work on the subway–where he often flashes back to his sexual gratification and gives the eye to attractive women. Then, his day involves dealing with his workload and his boss, played by a schlumpy (as we’ve never seen him) James Badge Dale– who’s more of a bar buddy wanting in on some of Brandon’s action.

 

And then there’s the joyless sex– on the street, in his apartment, or in the window of the Standard Hotel in full view of the street below. It’s not identified, but that’s where a lot of the action takes place.

 

As they used to say about “Sex and the City,” New York City is a character in this film and its aficionados will enjoy figuring out other sites where scenes were filmed.

 

All may be fine and good, as it apparently has been for years, until a big complication arrives at Brandon’s doorstep in the form of his sister, Sissy, in a stunning performance by Carey Mulligan. She is as emotionally open and needy as he is contained, demanding that she stay with him, where she proceeds to press all of his buttons in the wrong way, including walking in on a masturbation session.

 

It’s when Sissy– a nightclub singer with her own deeply felt emotional issues– takes up with the married boss that things get really out of control and start to spiral downward for Brandon, who already perceives the walls closing in.

 

Meanwhile, he’s trying to start an actual dating relationship with a coworker played by Nicole Beharie. They start off on an awkward dinner date and, well, we’re not going to spoil what happens.

 

The whole time, with shades of “American Psycho,” you’re wondering what Brandon is going to do next. Rape, murder? Assault? The journey involves a gay sex club, some seedy bars and a threesome– all through the lens of Brandon’s desperation and despair.

 

Shame, Rated NC-17

Directed by Steve McQueen, written by McQueen and Abi Morgan

Running time: 1:39

 

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Rampart: Harrelson at His Best as a Very Bad Cop

November 28, 2011

 

If you’re expecting another “Training Day,” in which Denzel Washington played a corrupt LA cop in the role that won him an Academy Award, you’re probably going to be a bit disappointed in “Rampart,” a much buzzed about film in limited release to qualify for awards.

 

Washington, you may recall, was riveting as a rogue cop running his own drug and cash enterprise within the LAPD, and nearly as mesmerizing, Woody Harrelson will definitely be on the Oscar shortlist for his portrayal of officer Dave Brown.

 

Set in 1999 in the scandal-plagued Rampart division, the square-jawed, self-proclaimed “soldier in the jungle” Brown hasn’t learned the lessons of the 1992 Rodney King beating and ensuing Los Angeles riots. He is caught on tape, single handedly and in broad daylight, brutally beating a suspect who has the audacity to crash into his patrol car.

 

The assault – which is played endlessly on the local and national news– forces Dave and those around him at work and in his messy home life (he has two ex-wives, sisters to each other, and a daughter born of each) to confront the demons it unleashes.

Previously, we’ve been introduced to his M.O. on the job, intimidating his young female partner in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant by forcing her to eat some French fries in a game of mindfuck which he’s clearly going to win.

 

While Brown’s crooked cop is magnetic as the audience gets to know him through his multiple flaws and sexual magnetism– he has no trouble getting multiple women at his local bar sleep with him– that relationship with the partner is quickly dropped and you never see her again. Which is a shame, because she could have been a great storytelling device.

 

Instead of a tight, dramatic, suspenseful story like the aforementioned “Training Day,” or a period piece like “L.A. Confidential,” “Rampart” is more of an impressionistic, noir-in-bright-sunlight take on a deviant personality whose bad behavior within the LAPD is condoned until it can simply no longer be contained.

 The story, written by director Oren Moverman and crime lit maestro James Ellroy, left us longing for much more cop/corruption/detective action–the kind that nearly makes you jump out of your seat.

Instead, we got some additional suspense in the form of an excellent, heavyweight supporting cast including Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi, Cynthia Nixon, Anne Heche, Ned Beatty and Ben Foster, who also starred with Harrelson in Moverman’s ”The Messenger.”

Rampart, Rated R, Running Time 1:52

Directed by Oren Moverman, written by Moverman and James Ellroy

TAR Rating: 3.5 Stars

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Like Crazy: The Challenges and Joys of Long Distance Love

November 27, 2011

There’s a real life lesson in the big plot twist of the film “Like Crazy.” If you’re a foreign national, don’t overstay your visa in the United States to spend the summer – or any other season – with your lover. (Or for any other reason.)

 

That’s what puts a huge wrinkle in the fabric of the delightful, dynamic, wistful,poetic relationship of Jacob and Anna, charmingly played by the now no longer unknowns Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, who meet and fall in love as undergraduate students in Los Angeles.

 

She’s on a student visa from the UK, but when it’s time to go back to London for the summer, she opts to stay in the City of Angels, spending languorous days and passionate nights with her boyfriend. Cinematically, it’s a pleasure to watch as they eat ice cream, ride bumper cars and otherwise embrace the time they have together.

 

Anna’s impulsive decision has huge personal and legal repercussions that keep the couple oceans apart for the next few years, starting with her being held by immigration officials and not able to leave LAX, where Jacob is greeting her with a bouquet of flowers. It’s relationship interruptus across eight time zones.

 

Made for pocket change ($250,000), “Like Crazy” became an unexpected sensation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the top prize.

 

As the couple tries to resolve the visa issue, they grapple with much larger issues of love and loss.

 

Their quest to be together legally inspires a marriage that takes place in the UK, but instead of making them further committed to each other, it sends them into the arms of others (played by Charlie Bewley and Jennifer Lawrence).

 

Talk about pulling at the heartstrings. Both of those new partners have much to offer and the audience is left nearly as torn and twisted as Anna and Jacob are.

 

Will it be happily ever after, either in London or Los Angeles? Or was the relationship just a youthful fling to be learned from? Foolish romantics. You must see it to find out.

Like Crazy, Rated PG-13, Run Time: 90 Minutes

Directed by Drake Doremus, Written by Doremus and Ben York Jones

TAR Rating: 4 Stars

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The Descendants: George Clooney in a Way You’ve Never Seen Him

November 18, 2011

Savvy. Sophisticated. Sexy. Charming. All of these attributes described George Clooney, offscreen as well as in most of his movie roles– but not in his latest, “The Descendants,” in theaters now.

 

If you want to see Clooney as a hangdog husband who’s been cheated on, a dad of a couple of daughters who clearly don’t respect him, but someone who retains some integrity in the midst of family and financial crises – that’s his character as Matt King, tromping around Hawaii in board shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops, trying to make sense of the chaos around him.

 

The movie starts with flashbacks of his wife and you quickly realize that not only are they not together anymore, but something is seriously wrong with their relationship– and that their two daughters blame him.

 

“The Descendants” refers to a family dynasty in Hawaii, which in this case involves their ownership of a massive piece of land encompassing pristine beachfront territory, which may or may not have to be sold to developers who are sure to decimate its natural beauty.

 

Based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’ novel, the story unfolds across the islands with a clear look at what it’s like to live in what many consider a tropical paradise, but for Clooney’s character– around which everything revolves– a place that could also be a living hell.

 

Directed by Alexander Payne, “The Descendants” doesn’t have the droll humor of his “Sideways” from a few years back, and it certainly isn’t a buddy road trip movie.

 

When we first meet Matt, his wife is in a coma after a boating accident and he’s taken over parenting. The two girls, 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and rebellious 17-year-old Alexandra, played by Shailene Woodley, are obviously distraught about their mother and acting out in self-destructive ways that their father must mitigate.

 

No spoilers here, but the plot takes an unexpected twist when infidelity rears its ugly head in the King marriage and the kids, including Alexandra’s slacker boyfriend, whom she insists comes along for the ride, become involved in a revenge scenario that involves stalking someone to a Kaui retreat from their home base in Honolulu.

 

The multi-million-dollar piece of property that family members are battling over is also on Kaui and it becomes a key motif. Matt’s one ace in the hole is that he’s the guy in charge of it– and the legacy of the family, descended from the union of a Hawaiian princess and the banker son of white missionaries.

 

Instead of his witty conversations in films like the “Up in the Air” and the “Ocean’s Eleven” series, Clooney here is stripped of his usually slick surface and able to lay bare a range of emotions from heartbreak to resentment to love. It’s quite something to see, and “The Descendants” is a worthy journey that should be taken.

 

“The Descendants,” directed by Alexander Payne, written by  Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, Rated R, Run Time: 1:55

TAR Rating: 4 Stars

 

 

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The Rum Diary: Only for Die-Hard Depp Fans

November 15, 2011

It sounded good on paper, Johnny Depp playing a fictional Hunter S. Thompson in his pre-gonzo formative years in an adaptation of a Thompson novel set in early 1960s Puerto Rico.

 

Depp is no stranger to this territory, having played the late journalist in 1998 in another filmic adaptation of one of his iconic books, “Fear and Loathing inLas Vegas.”

 

But it’s the execution that fails, with the exception of Depp’s performance as Paul Kemp– and a couple of supporting turns from Amber Heard as the vampy love interest and Aaron Eckhart as a smarmy PR guy who greases all the right wheels to line his own pockets.

 

The story has all the makings of a Mad Men-esque, boozy romp through San Juan, starting with Thompson’s hugely hung over arrival to take a job as a newspaperman at the city’s daily paper, run by a tough but corruptible editor in a newsroom populated by misfits who couldn’t find work anymore in the States.

 

So far, so good, until those co-workers start to play a key role in the story and take up way too much screen time. One of them is a beyond alcoholic Giovanni Ribisi in a horrendous acting job as an embittered, crazed religion reporter; the other is a sloppy photographer whose entire performance seemed like a bad homage to Danny DeVito.

 

Both characters take you out of the somewhat engrossing story of how the Eckhart character tries to seduce the Depp character into promoting the island’s pristine oceanfront areas as prime locations for mega-resorts that tear up the environment and displace indigenous people.

 

All the while, Heard is playing games with both men’s affections and lust in another subplot that brings to life the vivid social scene on the island for statesiders in the early 60s. Throughout, there’s stunning cinematography that could serve as both a travelogue and a fashion and automotive history of the time. Little red Corvette, 1959 version, is enough to make anyone long for one.

 

As one of the few people who’s seen this film—and Depp has said he doesn’t care about its failings at the box office—you walk out of it really wanting it to have been better and to have more resonance. Instead, it’s more like the morning after having too many Bacardi and Cokes, when you just want to shake that feeling and clear your head.

 

The Rum Diary, Rated R, Running Time: 2 hours

Directed and written by Bruce Robinson

TAR Rating: 1 Star

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Leo is Oscar Bait as J. Edgar Hoover, As Is Clint

November 13, 2011

When the Oscar nominations come out, it’s a sure bet that you’ll see “J. Edgar” racking up a slew of them, starting with Clint Eastwood as best director, Leonardo DiCaprio as lead actor, Armie Hammer as supporting actor and Dustin Lance Black as screenwriter for the sweeping biopic, in theaters now.

It traces Hoover’s rise as a young investigator in his 20s through his increasingly powerful perch as head of the FBI through his 70s, and chronicles the changes in America throughout those five decades.

After a pre-release screening at LACMA, the first New York Times Talk held in Los Angeles, the three principals were interviewed by the newspaper’s Charles McGrath.

“J. Edgar Hoover was the most powerful man in the 20th Century, and what a shame that we really don’t understand the man,” said Black. “It’s fascinating to me how he held onto power for nearly 50 years. He replaced love with fame and adoration in didn’t allow himself to love.”

Even though Hoover died in 1972, some of the themes in the film have particular resonance today, in the decade after 9/11. DiCaprio said the film was actually inspired by actions the Bush administration took in the war on terror.

After playing a man who delighted in bending the rules in his own favor, DiCaprio tried to sum up Hoover’s character. “He didn’t adapt with the times,” the actor said. “He equated the civil rights movement with communism, and was a political dinosaur who did deplorable things. He was eccentric, and lived with his mother until he was 40. His obsession was fighting communism, but eventually, he was proved right on that.”

In doing research for the film, DiCaprio and Black took a road trip to Washington, DC and visited Hoover’s home, the Mayflower Hotel, where he had lunch every day with trusted aide Clyde Tolson and talked to FBI agents who had worked with the men. Hammer said he had 600 pages of research and photographs to pull on for his role as Tolson.

Although the film does not depict the two men having physical relations, it makes clear the love they had for each other, dining together every day and vacationing together in Del Mar.

“Both men were men of service,” said DiCaprio. “The FBI was their church and they lived a life in the priesthood, with no families. It was a great partnership on many levels.”

As apparently was the relationship between DiCaprio and Eastwood – the first time they had worked together.” Clint relies on his own instincts without advisors and works on a gut level with an elite unit of people – and he pushes you as an actor,” said DiCaprio.

For his part, Hammer first said it was “terrifying” to work with Eastwood at the beginning.

As each man ages through five decades, their youthful looks shift and degrade with the help of a talented makeup team. For DiCaprio, it was six hours in the makeup chair and for Hammer, seven to eight hours to get the look of a man in his 70s, who at one point, also suffers a debilitating stroke.

“I was always in the old man makeup,” Eastwood joked.

Black, who won an Oscar for his “Milk” screenplay, talked about Hoover’s brilliance in using the media, both to gain power and influence for himself and for the FBI and to fan the flames of fear in the public. “That’s where it became dangerous,” he said.

Hoover started to gain national fame when gangsters and outlaws held a powerful place in the public imagination and began to shift a positive image to the good guys with films like 1935′s ”G-Men,” starring James Cagney.

“Before there was an FBI, outlaws were going state to state to avoid the law,” said DiCaprio. “Hoover was a pioneer in forensics, creating a national fingerprint registry where there had been none.”

But with the social revolutions, the antiwar movement and the civil rights movement of the 60s and 70s, everything began to look frightening and different to him, and he went after people like Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy, bugging their rooms to document their promiscuity.

When it came to sexuality, the film depicts Hoover’s frightening and powerful mother, played by Judi Dench, as having a deep impact on his by telling him, “I’d rather have a dead son then a son who is a daffodil.”

After she dies, DiCaprio as Hoover is shown trying on one of her dresses and jewelry, an allusion to rumors that he was a cross-dresser, which are never otherwise addressed.

When he is a young up-and-comer and clearly destined for greater things, as his mother has ingrained in him, Hoover is portrayed as being attracted to the woman who becomes his lifelong secretary, Miss Gandy, ably played by Naomi Watts. She rebuffs his advances– yet stays by his side until the very end– when she is shown keeping a promise and shredding his infamous personal files.

Yes, had those survived, they would probably still be held under lock and key. Eastwood, DiCaprio, Black and company have brought new insight to some sordid chapters in American history and done their best to humanize the man at the center of them.

 

J. Edgar, Rated R, Running Time 2:17

 TAR Rating: 4.5 stars

 

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50/50: A Great Chance to See a Good Picture

November 6, 2011

It’s pretty rare that a poignant story about battling cancer, based on a real-life situation, is out and out funny, but humor is definitely one of the assets of “50/50,” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston.

 

The story is based on the screenwriter Will Reiser’s own experience with cancer and going through it with Rogen, his best friend, whose character isn’t that far off from the loud and brash ones he played in “Superbad” and “Knocked Up.”

 

As Kyle, Rogen sees the out-of-the-blue cancer diagnosis of his friend Adam, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt– who took over the role from James McAvoy– as a chance to pick up women and to get them to have the sympathy sex with him.

 

Let’s back up a few steps. Both guys, in their late 20s, work at aSeattlepublic radio station, where Adam is clearly the more serious of the two and enmeshed in producing a documentary series on whales. He has a girlfriend, an artist played by Bryce Dallas Howard named Rachael, who we find out is not the loyal, trustworthy type when it comes to dealing with a serious disease and standing by her man. She substitutes real caring by presenting him with a thin, mangy dog by the name of Skeletor, who looks as bad as Adam is beginning to feel.

 

Adam’s cancer diagnosis is the shocking result of going to the doctor to check up on some pains he’s had in his back. It turns out to be a rare and unpronounceable form of the disease, which requires first chemotherapy and then surgery.

 

Along the way, the audience is treated to an hysterical head shaving scene–and you’ll never guess where Kyle has used the shaver. In service to their best buddyship and his hatred of Rachael, he nails her in the act of being unfaithful at a gallery opening that Adam is too ill to attend. That leads up to a priceless showdown, complete with cell phone pictures as evidence, where you realize just how deep Kyle’s loyalty to Adam runs.

 

In addition to dealing with his deceptive girlfriend, Adam has to contend with his overbearing mother, in a brilliant turn by Anjelica Houston as a maternal force to be reckoned with, who in turn is also coping with an Alzheimer’s stricken husband, Adam’s dad.

 

And then there’s his medically appointed therapist, Katherine, played by Kendrick, who is so new to the job that he is only her third patient. You can feel your heart strings being pulled as the two spar with each other, even as Adam’s condition worsens and as his therapist quickly steps over the bounds of professionalism.

 

It’s these pivot points that give the film an emotional depth infused with humor that is probably only possible because we know that Adam is going to pull through.

 

In the end, it’s a life-affirming story for Reiser as well as for the audience—and a chance for Gordon-Levitt, best known for his roles in “Inception” and “(500) Days of Summer” to truly shine.

 50/50, Rated R, Running Time 1:39

 TAR Rating: 4 stars

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Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen’s Sleeper Hit of the Summer

July 11, 2011

Much has been made of the fact that “Midnight in Paris” is Woody Allen’s most successful film in more than a quarter of a century, with a box office take of about $35 million to date, chugging away to surpass the $40 mil that “Hannah and her Sisters’ garnered in 1986.

But forget those figures that have industry analysts standing up and taking notice – and just be happy that the movie is still playing at the box office, where it opened in late May. For if you haven’t seen it, and you have any inclination toward a light comedy set in the world’s most beautiful city with a unique literary history, you must.

Many of your fellow audience members will be repeat viewers, present company included, as we saw the film early in its run and feel the need to do so again.

Not necessarily a huge Woody Allen fan of late, because with the exception of “Match Point” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” a few years back, he seems to be just cranking out the same material with slightly different faces and locations.

MIP is different. A story that actually goes back in time and transports the modern-day version of Woody – in this case, a somewhat nebbishy but very successful screenwriter played by Owen Wilson – to a glorious and riproaring time in Paris history, populated with literary and artistic icons like Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

We don’t think it’s a spoiler to simply say that he gets away from his superficial, materialistic fiancé– played by Rachel McAdams– every night at midnight. In fact, her character was the one element that we found less thanperfect about the film. She’s a complete one-note with very predictable, annoying behavior and frankly, McAdams really brings nothing to the role.

Wilson can also be a little bit predictable, pretty much playing the same character with different names in many of his recent films, but this is different – and he shines here. We’re feeling Oscar nomination.

But some of the most fun is seeing legends like Hemingway brought to life by character actors and well-known faces like Adrien Brody, who plays Dali– and the beautiful muse epitomized by Marion Cotillard, the perfect brunette counterpoint to McAdams’ ditzy blonde.

We must raise a glass of the finest French champagne to Woody for a beautiful piece that has already become a classic.

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What do Annette Bening and Katie Holmes Have in Common, Aside from Star Husbands?

June 20, 2011

Warren Beatty was there, Tom Cruise wasn’t as their illustrious wives took center stage at the Women in Film 2011 Crystal + Lucy Awards in Beverly Hills.

Hosted by Melissa McCarthy of “Bridesmaids” and the CBS hit show “Mike and Molly,” the gala event honored Annette Benning with the Crystal Award, Katie Holmes received the MaxMara Face of the Future Award, CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler, “How I Met Your Mother” director Pamela Fryman and cinematographer Reed Morano.

The memories of trailblazing women in entertainment industry were never far from hand as the entire evening was dedicated to producer Laura Ziskin. Ziskin created the television fundraiser “Stand up to Cancer” in response to her own diagnosis, produced the Academy Awards telecast in 2002 and 2007 and was producing the latest “Spider-Man” film, her fourth, when she died of breast cancer on June 12.

The evening had started off with McCarthy serenading Annette Bening and doing a funny spiel  thanking Tassler for hiring her in a rap that also gave a shout-out to Holmes, Fryman and Morano.

The incomparable Annette Bening, who last wowed filmgoers and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for her role as Nic in “The Kids Are All Right,” was the evening’s top honoree, taking the stage to a standing ovation after an introduction from Martin Sheen, who joked that it was difficult not being the president anymore, referring to his lengthy term on “The West Wing.”

“I feel like I’m entering a new phase and finding real internal freedom reflected in my work now,” she said, referring to a stellar career that includes “Bugsy,” “An American President,” “American Beauty”  and “Being Julia,” for which she also won a Golden Globe Award. Many people may not realize that one of her very first acting jobs was a bit part in the 1980s hit series “Miami Vice.”

It being a Women in Film event, Bening said it was only appropriate that she thinks her main man in film, husband Warren Beatty, who beamed his approval from the audience.

Holmes’ career started off in television before she moved into motion pictures, and then she became even better known Cruise’s wife and the mother of Suri. She’s making her mark again in TV with a recent role as Jacqueline Kennedy in the miniseries “The Kennedys.” She’ll next be seen in the thriller “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” opposite Guy Pearce and the film comedy “Jack and Jill” with Adam Sandler and Al Pacino.

In accepting the Face of the Future Award from the Italian design house MaxMara, which dressed many of the women for the show, Holmes thanked a team whose commitment to work and family has inspired her, including her husband.

The Lucy Award for Excellence in Television was first handed out in 1994– joining its sister, the Crystal Award for Excellence in Film, which was instituted in 1977. It is named after Lucille Ball and is presented in conjunction with her estate to those whose creative works follow in the footsteps of Ball’s extraordinary accomplishments, particularly in enhancing the perception of women through the medium of television.

Recipient Tassler was named president of CBS entertainment in September 2004, and it’s been an uphill ride ever since. Reporting to president and CEO Les Moonves, she never fails to give him credit for the Eye’s success, and her acceptance speech was no exception.

“I stand here as a representative of the gifted women I’m thrilled to work with every day,” said Tassler. “We’ve shared it all, from births to bar mitzvahs.” She talked about her upbringing, marching with her parents against the Vietnam War, and taking to heart their admonition to make a difference. Tassler, who oversees the network’s entertainment program for prime time, late-night and daytime as well as program development for all genres, concluded by urging women to continue to tell stories and reach for the stars.

As the director and executive producer of “How I Met Your Mother,” Pamela Fryman has guided the multi-camera show for six seasons. Cast member and recent Tony Awards host Neil Patrick Harris presented her with the directors award, introducing her as the “greatest person ever” and relating her generosity to the cast and crew.

The Dorothy Arzner Directors Award she accepted was named for the first female member of the DGA. In her speech, Fryman recalled starting out as a production assistant getting sandwiches for actor John Davidson and thinking that things didn’t get much better than that.

Cinematographer Reed Morano has been shooting documentaries, features, television series, commercials and music videos for the past 14 years, including the acclaimed  film “Frozen River,” which was nominated for two Academy Awards and seven Independent Spirit Awards. She is currently in preproduction on several features shooting this year.

In her acceptance speech, she cited several past winners of the Kodak Vision Award as inspirations to her, which include Joan Churchill, Mandy Walker, Petra Korner and Cynthia Pusheck.

The legendary Elizabeth Taylor was bestowed posthumously with Women in Film’s Norma Zarky Humanitarian Award, which was accepted by her granddaughter Naomi Wilding. “She was an inspiration in using her celebrity to champion a cause,” Wilding said in lauding Taylor for her groundbreaking work in raising awareness and funds for AIDS research.

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Would You Pay $30 to Rent a Movie–For Two Days? A Month Before Its DVD Release? Didn’t Think So.

April 21, 2011

Thursday was the first day of an experiment in home entertainment that is likely to fail, at least the pricing element of it. You probably know that box office receipts and sales and rentals of DVDs are way down—as much as 40%–so the movie studios are looking at other ways to maximize their profits. Some of them banded together with satellite provider DirecTV to launch premium video on demand.

The first offering: the Adam Sandler – Jennifer Aniston comedy “Just Go with It” that opened in theaters 69 days ago. The deal is that consumers have to pay $29.95 for a two-day rental of the Sony Pictures film.

Why? For those not familiar with the system that is been in place for decades and decades, there are “windows”– windows of exclusive profit-making opportunity– that a film goes through from the date it’s released theatrically to years later when it might be sold to broadcast television.

That theatrical window lasts for about three months, even though most movies make the bulk of their money within the first six weeks in theaters and then peter out. Of course that doesn’t hold for major blockbusters that pack them in for months and offer theater owners huge moneymaking runs. Their trade organization, NATO, has been extremely powerful in keeping things the way they are, so this is the first shot over the bow that might break the system.

In addition to the Sandler film, three other films are scheduled for premium VOD on DirecTV. They are Universal Pictures’ thriller “The Adjustment Bureau,” Warner Bros. comedy “Hall Pass” and the Fox Searchlight comedy “Cedar Rapids.” Exact release dates have not been set, but DirecTV’s agreement with the four studios signed on calls for them to provide additional movies in the future. Of the rental fee, the studios will receive $21-$24.

Meanwhile, a month later said films come out on DVD for sale or rental for just a few dollars.

Hmmm. As consumers navigate a still rugged economy, we predict not many are going to jump on board this rather costly train.

In fact only about 6 million of DirecTV’s 19.2 million subscribers have high-def digital video recorders that are needed to access premium VOD. The most likely target demographic is families with young children for whom it’s difficult and costly to take out to the theater, but this first slate of films isn’t exactly kid fare.

The powers that be at DirecTV and the studios have been quoted as saying they aren’t really expecting much. But at the same time they’ve aroused an outspoken A-list of directors and producers, including James Cameron, Gore Verbinski and Peter Jackson who have criticized the initiative and taken the side of theater owners– not exactly brethren in creativity.

They contend that encouraging people to watch movies at home rather than in the theater cannibalizes movie business revenue. Meanwhile, it’s already getting ugly inside the theater. Top chains said they won’t show trailers from movies released on premium VOD and/or will negotiate for a larger cut of ticket prices for such films.

 We’ll be staying top of further developments, after we get back from movies.

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