Hollywood blames Halo 3 for its craptacular ticket sales
posted at 9:45 pm on October 15, 2007 by Bryan
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Here’s a thought, Hollywood: Stop making movies that depict the United States as the center of all evil in the world. American movie-goers don’t want to sit through two hours of Tommy Lee Jones in a film that depicts US troops as war criminals, or two hours of George Clooney portaying America as evil, or two hours of Matt Damon depicting America as evil.
People go see movies to be entertained, not banged over the head with ideology. Imagine that.
That might explain why Mr. Bean’s Holiday did surprisingly well in spite of the total lack of hype or marketing. It’s an entertaining film. Funny, even. Doesn’t get political, other than a quick swipe at narcissists in Hollywood. It just tries to tell a light story in a fun way.
Imagine that.
So Hollywood’s in a major fight with apathy, not their own, but the movie-going public’s apathy toward the product that Hollywood is churning out. Who do the movie men blame?
Many film executives are convinced audiences stayed home to play Microsoft’s carpal-tunnel classic, “Halo 3,” which went on sale on Sept. 26. The game sold an astonishing $170 million worth of copies on its first day, before going on to sell well over $300 million…
For Microsoft, it’s no wonder video games, and in particular “Halo 3,” are competing with blockbusters for opening weekends. “We marketed it like a film,” said Josh Goldberg, a “Halo 3″ product manager at Microsoft, adding, “and now, we’re just as big or bigger than film.” He said “Halo 3″ was marketed as an event film in terms of its partnerships, with beverage, automotive, fast feeders and mobile-phone companies all joining up.
“The audience on this game is the 18-to-34 demographic, similar to what you’d see in cinemas,” said Mike Hickey, an analyst at Janco Partners, a Denver research firm, adding that “this could last for several weeks.”
There’s truth in all of that to some extent, and it’s true that entertainment is undergoing a paradigm shift away from one-way fare to more interactive choices and that shift doesn’t help the film industry. But here’s a little more truth. By the time a gamer springs for Halo 3 and the system to play it, he could have seen about 40 movies. He picked the game instead, because he thought it would be more entertaining even if it cost more.
And given most of the movies that are being made and promoted nowadays, he made a good choice.
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I guess they got to blame something, but the fact is, Hollywood movies suck and have for several years now. According to Maureen Dowd women are currently in charge of Hollywood, so no wonder.
Maxx on October 15, 2007 at 9:49 PM
It’s a conspiracy by Microsoft to keep people from going to the movies.
Oh well.. that’ll be resolved with a lawsuit.
Mcguyver on October 15, 2007 at 9:52 PM
If this isn’t liberal Dialectic thought at its finest I don’t know what is
Our sales are faltering (thesis)
Other products are selling like crazy (anti-thesis)
The successful ones are causing us to fail (synthesis)
God forbid their movies are geared for everyone but a mainstream audience. 9/10 movies are poorly written and acted with anti-american plots and characters and insults the populace and the troops. But it can’t be what they did wrong, its the successful ones that are to blame.
Defector01 on October 15, 2007 at 9:52 PM
Objection: Jason Bourne kicks serious butt, and the bad guy isn’t “America,” it’s certain individuals within the American government. Did I mention that Jason Bourne is awesome? It bears repeating. ;-) In fact, I find a lot of similarities between Jason and Master Chief from Halo.
Mark Jaquith on October 15, 2007 at 9:53 PM
Video games have been around for decades now, starting with the rise of arcades, and moving on from there. And it’s just now Hollywood blames them for lousy tick sales?
JetBoy on October 15, 2007 at 9:56 PM
So Mark, is this review of Bourne Ultimatum accurate or not?
Bryan on October 15, 2007 at 9:58 PM
hilarious. Quality films do fine. Just look at ‘300′. They’re just mad that we don’t like the same movies they like.
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:00 PM
Heh. I just didn’t have the money for that one either. I used the $10 to roll a cigarette.
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:04 PM
Good point. 300 had a hawkish message, and it only did half a billion dollars worldwide.
Bryan on October 15, 2007 at 10:05 PM
300 was the last movie I saw in the theater. And they aren’t going to get me back in there with that kind of anti-American crap. Obviously I’m not alone. If I wanted to see liberals hate America, I can just turn on the TV for no extra cost.
ReubenJCogburn on October 15, 2007 at 10:05 PM
Which I don’t own and could care less.
I did however spent the dime to see The Simpson’s Movie.
Bryan, you are absolutely 100% correct. The crap out of Hollyweird is just that, Crap. I remember, as a kid growing up on Guam in the 60’s going to the base theater and watching entertaining movies. The short reels were the best, Buck Rogers, Zorro and Armed Forces news reels. That was entertainment!
Now, movies have commercials, I can watch commercials at home. I hate commercials! There hasn’t been a entertaining commercial since “Where’s the Beef”!
Kini on October 15, 2007 at 10:05 PM
Bryan on October 15, 2007 at 9:58 PM
Exactly right.
Zorro on October 15, 2007 at 10:08 PM
cmonn, u really think the “america is the enemy” movies are why ticket sales are terrible??
its because the movies people go to see besides the idelogical ones, also, in fact, suck.
ernesto on October 15, 2007 at 10:09 PM
i’m well into halflife 2 episode 2
jummy on October 15, 2007 at 10:13 PM
Or Mark Walhberg making movies portraying America, The Government and its TROOPS as evil.
Mazztek on October 15, 2007 at 10:13 PM
That’s right Dude, 300 is a perfect example of what happens when the good guys are the good guys and bad guys are the bad guys: Cha-CHING! $$$ Also see True Lies.
Tony737 on October 15, 2007 at 10:13 PM
Hollywood is going to blame anyone but themselves for their pathetic lack of original content. Typical…
eanax on October 15, 2007 at 10:14 PM
I’d blame TV. TV has all the good stars and shows these days. I’m much more excited for the next episode of House than any movie release, and I don’t have to wait three years for the next installment!
frankj on October 15, 2007 at 10:17 PM
Way to go Bryan. We knew you could find something with content to post unlike Allah: “I’m giving you this one against my better judgment, mainly because we’re strapped for content at the moment” LOL
Umm, Hollywood, with few exceptions your movies are just not worth $10. Deal with it.
On-my-soap-box on October 15, 2007 at 10:17 PM
This is a crock. The target audience for Michael Claymore did not stay home to play video games. The target audience for the George Clooney vehicle stayed home because they’ve seen that film several times before. It’s a legal thriller about soulless, evil corporations run by soulless, greedy men. Except that, unlike Silkwood, A Civil Action, or Erin Brockivich it’s not even loosely based on a somewhat true story.
It looks to be a sad autumn and early winter for movies. Rendition? Lions for Lambs? All this crap will sink at the box office. There’s nothing I want to see on the horizon until Iron Man, next May.
Thomas the Wraith on October 15, 2007 at 10:20 PM
We should charge Hollywood millions as consultants.
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:23 PM
Hell, I stopped renting movies because of the ideology the creeps into films. That and the fact the 3/4 of all movies are remakes and/or stupid slasher/torture films.
Oh, and because Dane Cook is not funny. I don’t get the Dane Cook phenomenom…
reaganaut on October 15, 2007 at 10:24 PM
300 was worth every penny. My wife even liked it. Not surprisingly. Wait a minute…
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:25 PM
‘Superbad’ and ‘Knocked Up’ were also worth it.
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:26 PM
I don’t go to movies very often anymore. But seriously best movie this year was a freaking remake of a cowboy movie – “3:10 to Yuma.” It was amazing.
And I completely agree that movies for the most part ain’t worth $10.00.
mjk on October 15, 2007 at 10:27 PM
I agree with Bryan’s thesis, but in fact I believe “Bourne Ultimatum” actually did quite well at the box office. I managed to enjoy it despite the lefty fantasia. The idea that the CIA is an omnipotent, murderous entity that can track people down in moments based on their cell phone conversations was comedy gold, and the “heroic Guardian reporter” was funnier than anything in a Hollywood comedy from the summer movie season. It was kind of odd to think the same director gave us “United 93″, but one could also point out that the evil-CIA theme of the Bourne films was groundwork laid 30 years ago when the novels were written. Rather than ending the movie series with “Ultimatum,” I’d really enjoy a Bourne movie where the newly-liberated Bourne runs afoul of jihadi terrorists and goes to town on them. I’m not holding my breath, of course. At least this weekend I have “30 Days of Night” to look forward to – a movie that places the blame for America’s ills right where it belongs: vampires. I suggest Allahpundit cut the “no God” line from the trailer and use it for his next few red-meat atheist posts, during the Halloween season.
Doctor Zero on October 15, 2007 at 10:28 PM
The only new movie I am interested in seeing is the next installment of the Harry Potter series. And I have already read the books. So I know how it turns out. Otherwise, so far, nothing I want to see.
I will watch, however, any of the Hope/Crosby Road movies again, White Christmas reruns, Lucy movies, and of course, John Wayne. My fav? Hatari.
CrimsonFisted on October 15, 2007 at 10:28 PM
blockbuster.com
There hasn’t been one single worthy movie to see out as of late. and usually if a company is doing bad, it loses money and they, if they’re smart, fix it. Not these morons.
Defector01 on October 15, 2007 at 10:30 PM
And don’t forget The Kite Runner. Hollywood idiots are soooo caring and kindhearted that they made a movie with a gay child rape scene that has driven the young Afghan actor into hiding abroad. But they’ll release it anyway. Because Hollywood is run by soulless greedy men (and women).
Thomas the Wraith on October 15, 2007 at 10:31 PM
This couldn’t be for the simple reason their movies suck?
Now im going to dig out one of my favorite movies of all time True Grit.
Mojack420 on October 15, 2007 at 10:33 PM
Come on, if any of you have ever worked for a large company when things go bad, you know how this works. Nothing is ever the fault of the people in charge. If you’ve ever sat in a project review meeting with the same management team that caused the project to fail, you will know that this excuse is really good in comparison.
Buford on October 15, 2007 at 10:34 PM
Reminds me of something Bill Cosby said to Chris Matthews. Apparently, one of Cosby’s friends writes pop music and hip-hop lyrics. Cosby said his friend was no kidding asked by some executive to write about rape because ‘rape sells’. I’ll see if I can dig up that link.
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:35 PM
The target audience for Michael Clayton was George Clooney.
The last fair medium for conservative entertainment is in videogames. Liberals have taken over Hollywood, television, comic books and the theater because they live in a hypothetical fantasy world. Fiction is how they think, and fiction is how they express themselves. But in videogames, soldiers are heroes, America wins, and nobody cries into their hat about a lack of low income housing. Libs haven’t fully discovered what a powerful medium games can be, so there’s still competition there. Buy a 360, buy a Wii, stop going to the movies, and give Hollywood a big old bird flip every time you boot up patriotic, morally outstanding games like Call of Duty IV, or Halo 3, or Medal of Honor: Airborne.
Savage on October 15, 2007 at 10:38 PM
And the cherry on top of the crapsicle is the Jimmy Carter Documentary that follows The Man from Plains on his tour for (wait for it) his book “Palestine:
SurrenderPeace NotSelf-DefenseApartheid”.Let’s see: anti-American, anti-Israeli, pro-Muslim terror proaghanda, all served with Southern fried self-righteousness and a side order of messiah complex. Useful idiots get your tickets now.
Thomas the Wraith on October 15, 2007 at 10:40 PM
Here we go:
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:40 PM
$/hr of entertainment, games beat movies hands down.
JohnW on October 15, 2007 at 10:41 PM
Hi, frankj:
The last films I went to the theater to see were “Batman Begins” and “Sin City”.
I bought “300″ the first day it came out on DVD. It’s a nice addition to my DVD library of mostly B&W, Noir and classics from the 1970s. The last great decade for film.
Jack.
Jack Deth on October 15, 2007 at 10:44 PM
One word: Transfomers.
(Why, yes, I will be getting the DVD tomorrow!)
Also: Yep, still loving MP3. =)
ZK on October 15, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Batman Begins and Sin City both rawked.
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Ugh, that should be “Transformers.”
PIMF
ZK on October 15, 2007 at 10:49 PM
In spite of the Hollywood political slant, I’ve wondered why there’s never been a movie about the 1967 Six Day War. It’s literally David vs Goliath.** And it would surely generate a great deal of anticipation from pre-production publicity and controversy. It’s practically a guaranteed blockbuster.
** Not only is it one tiny little country fighting for its survival against larger, bloodthirsty Arab neighbors. But as everyone knows, King David was the ancestral leader of Israel (hence, the Star of David on the Israeli flag), and Goliath was a Philistine, the ancestors of the Palestinians.
aunursa on October 15, 2007 at 10:52 PM
Halo’s lesson to Hollywood:
Ass-kicking cybernetic super-soldiers will beat arrogant leftist drum beating every day of the week. And twice on Sundays.
Master Chief ftw, n00bs.
Harpazo on October 15, 2007 at 10:58 PM
I totally agree. I think a movie about the 6 day war would be SWEET. Just talking to a guy who snuck up the Golan Heights hiding under date trees at 2am was so amazing. To understand the rest of it would be great. Of course, judging by the crap that was “Munich”, I don’t really think we want Hollywood the least bit involved in a movie about the Six Day War. The Israelis would be these big meanies who snuck attacked these sweet peace loving Egyptians, Syrians and Jordanians. And the Palestinians would just be these wide eyed little darlings who never did a thing wrong, ever.
And technically the Philistines were wiped out of existence a long time ago and the Palestinians are in no way related to them. But that’s just a minor little detail.
mjk on October 15, 2007 at 10:59 PM
I’m playing “3″ between postings. I’m on “The Way the World Ends”. It’s fun and challenging, with the usual confusing landscapes and going around in circles because it’s designed that way. And those directional arrows are very, very confusing. Still a great game though. But, I really liked Bioshock better. My favorite all time games were the Thief trilogy. The level in Thief: Deadly Shadows called the ” Shalebridge Cradle” was the scariest I’ve ever played. Even though I knew it was just a game, I was on edge the whole time and would jump every time one of the zombies or the ghostly staff members came around a corner. A true “out of body” experience!!!! Second favorite–Deus Ex with Half Life ranking #3. I started playing games to have something to do with my grandkids and got thoroughly and totally hooked. Never stops me from going to a good movie though. There’s nothing I want to see right now.
jeanie on October 15, 2007 at 11:00 PM
You should consider seeing the Kingdom. Americans are the good guys, and the last 40 is non-stop action. Awesomely awesome action.
BadgerHawk on October 15, 2007 at 11:02 PM
Hmmm.
The last time I went to a move in the cineplex was 2005 (Star Wars Ep. III). Before that was Pearl Harbor (2001). Both were a waste of a hard-earned $7.
Maybe if Hollywierd actually had good actors instead of Paris Hilton and a bunch of rappers, as well as talented drama writers as opposed to a bunch of drunken and drug addled chimpanzees with a formula sheet and a list of clichés, people might buy movie tickets.
I agree:
$80 for a game = months of enjoyment (years for some WOW geeks).
$15 ($7 admission + $8 for a Coke and stale popcorn, loaded with heart-attack inducing oil) = 72 minutes of disappointment.
Which would you choose? Heck, any movie I wanna see I can download off the Internet for free, frequently before it’s even released yet. Most are a disappointment that I wouldn’t have let them pay ME to see in the theater.
mojojojo on October 15, 2007 at 11:08 PM
And ditto some of the other comments, relating to the awesomeness of Transformers, 300 and Superbad.
BadgerHawk on October 15, 2007 at 11:09 PM
Not to nitpick, aunursa, but there is no evidence that the modern “Palestinians” have any connection to the ancient Philistines other than their geographical location — specifically, the Gaza Strip.
The Philistine line died out, moved, and/or comingled with other lineages long ago, so it is near impossible to try and trace any ancestry back to the actual Philistine peoples.
The area we know as Palestine today, aside from being WAY larger than the Philistine territory ever was, was named that way by the Romans after the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD as a way of purging the Jewish connection to the region. The Romans picked “Palestina” because it was the Latin name for the Philistines, one of the Israelites ancient enemies.
I agree that the Six Day War would make a great movie, tho. :)
Harpazo on October 15, 2007 at 11:16 PM
I have been corrected. I think I realized that that it was the Romans who snubbed the Jews by naming the land Palestina after one of their ancient enemies. Just a brain lapse on my part.
aunursa on October 15, 2007 at 11:26 PM
Hey man, don’t forget Team Fortress 2. Thats better entertainment than anything you can see at the theatre. In fact most TV shows are better than the movies these days.
BDavis on October 15, 2007 at 11:26 PM
Any movie bashing of the US Military in any form,
I ain’t watching it,period.But I did watch The Atomic
Bomb Movie/Trinity and Beyond on U-Tube for the tenth time
last night and it always deliverse.
canopfor on October 15, 2007 at 11:39 PM
Hello.
I have to third Transformers. The only Michael Bay movie I actually like. I saw it three times in the theaters, and one of those times was at an IMAX screening. Good stuff. (And yes, I will be buying it in the morn as well.) I also have to give a shout out of luuuuuuuv to Hot Fuzz.
Chike ex Machina on October 15, 2007 at 11:39 PM
They don’t. The Philistines were a red-headed Aegean sea people.
A movie about the 6 day war would be awesome. It would definitely be a Zionist conspiracy worth paying to see.
PRCalDude on October 15, 2007 at 11:43 PM
Please. I’m not a gamer. I don’t own anything other than a few card game programs. But I haven’t been to a movie since… Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. No, wait. The Simpsons Movie.
There’s mostly crap out there. It takes a lot to get me out of renting a movie instead of going to the theater. I’ll step out for the Iron Man movie, for sure. Not too many others.
Meryl Yourish on October 15, 2007 at 11:53 PM
Last movie I saw in the theater was Invincible…not because I’m a Wahlberg or an Eagles fan, but because I love football..and my parents were paying. Anyway, I’ve pretty much given up on the movies because I just got fed up with brain dead comments I kept hearing from actors…I think what did it for me was seeing that tousle headed tool that played Aragorn in the Lord of the Ring movies doing a big anti-war interview. I pretty much quit going to movies after that..wasn’t really a conscious decision. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’m a voracious pc gamer. Just finished Half Life 2 Ep. 2 this evening…been playing it since it hit last Wednesday. Wow. No moral ambiguity; no ‘one man’s headcrab is another man’s freedom hat’ You have the good guys, humans, versus the bad guys, horrible creepy crawlies from another dimension. Now some games, like Bioware RPG’s (Neverwinter Nights, Baldur’s Gate, ect) introduce moral choices, allowing you to play as good or evil; different quests become available, or companions to travel with depending on the path you take. So, you can have a rousing bit of action story telling, or play outside your normal moral code. All in all, it’s infinitely more entertaining than being preached at by some coke addled Hollywood scumbag trying to squeeze a few dollars out of bashing the country that allows them to live in luxury that would humble a Roman Emporer.
austinnelly on October 15, 2007 at 11:56 PM
Hot Fuzz is the last movie I watched…I still need to watch 300.
Bad Candy on October 16, 2007 at 12:12 AM
Yeah, it’ll be awesome when we get to pay ten bucks to sit through 2hrs of Gweneth Paltrow’s Oscar-caliber performance as the voice of the reality-based majority who changes the mind of the guilty and personally tortured industrialist Robert Downey Jr. to use his weapons to fight against Jeff Bridges as the e-e-e-e-evil Republican-voting unrestrained capitalist billionaire selling Geneva-convention breaker weapons to the Republican baby killer generals in the U.S. Army that sends the poor and the minorities to fight illegal wars against the citizens of a developing nation to prop up the soulless American military-industrial complex.
Can’t wait…
ScottMcC on October 16, 2007 at 12:27 AM
…that’s easy for you to say!
*nice response lol
SilverStar830 on October 16, 2007 at 12:55 AM
The only movie on the horizon that I’m looking forward to seeing.
Mike Honcho on October 16, 2007 at 1:19 AM
I hope it’s not another craptastic “biological vampire” movie where some asshole director feels the need to give “his vision” of the vampire myth and remove all the mysticism from it (like Blade). I want a vampire movie where shoving a cross in a vampire’s face torches his face off like in the old days.
Darth Executor on October 16, 2007 at 1:22 AM
I’d like to see a thoroughly depressing End Days movie.
With these parameters:
Just show the first half of it or most of it.. dont have to go to the 2nd Coming
No rapture
The Mahdi is the Antichrist
Islam forms its Caliphate and launches it’s offensive global jihad
Savagery on a massive scale
Left wingers control America/Europe.. show the utter ruthlessness of the Antichrist forces to compell all religion to be only Islam.
The utter isolation of Israel as the US is either destroyed or somehow no longer able to do anything to help it.
The Islamization of Jerusalem and the Mahdi’s take over of the Temple .. meaning the worst is still to come.
VinceP1974 on October 16, 2007 at 1:25 AM
hmm… the craptacular movies that Hollywood is putting out lately couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this?
Lawrence on October 16, 2007 at 1:30 AM
Hollywood…..Billy Gates doesn’t deserve the blame…..it is all those 4000 calorie hamburgers. At home I can make em for about a buck. At the theater they are $12.95.
Limerick on October 16, 2007 at 1:32 AM
I’ve heard good things about it–some here on Hot Air–so I’m sure I’ll see it sometime even if I don’t catch it in the theater. Frankly I’m amazed that movie got made–there’s been a deliberate effort to bury all of the numerous Al-Qaeda attacks prior to 9/11 in order to keep them out of the public consciousness. And we all know why.
I’ll definitely see Transformers at some point, and the Simpsons movie, and Hot Fuzz looked funny too. I just haven’t been in a hurry about it because I have stacks of DVDs that I haven’t even watched (or in some cases re-watched) yet. Plus my g/f has tons more DVDs than I do, and I haven’t seen a lot of those yet either. But any hot woman that owns the 1964 Jonny Quest series is a keeper in my book.
ReubenJCogburn on October 16, 2007 at 1:37 AM
Hell yeah. A vampire is a disgusting, cursed, undead leech.
ScottMcC on October 16, 2007 at 2:00 AM
I want to see a non pc movie like the jerk or blazing saddles.
Mojack420 on October 16, 2007 at 2:37 AM
I thought it was the pirates who are responsible for all of Hollywierd’s ills.
Or maybe its Pirates who sit at home and play Halo 3 instead of copy (not steal) Hollywood’s swell….
CrazyFool on October 16, 2007 at 2:53 AM
As for myself. I have been adding so many acters and actresses to my boycott list I can rarely find a movie to see.
TheSitRep on October 16, 2007 at 6:19 AM
Disagree about comic books. If you are a good artist and can write interesting/original narratives your comics will be picked up simple as that. Frank Miller is currently working on Holy Terror, Batman! wherein Batman and Robin go up against the al-Qaeda network. It’s already gotten a couple bad reviews even though no one has actually read it. It seems some of Miller’s fellow artists object to the concept as childish. CAn’t wait for it to come out myself.
aengus on October 16, 2007 at 6:30 AM
Even Broadway has to turn to old Mel Brooks movies for creativity. Currently on Broadway….Young Frankenstein!
From the same article on Fox..
And one more thing: Hidden in the lyrics of the cast’s curtain-call song is the promise/threat of a “Blazing Saddles” musical next. I hope it’s true!
kiakjones on October 16, 2007 at 6:38 AM
…300….now there’s a movie!!Aside from thrilling and awe inspiring;it’s THE BEST Chick Flick I have seen…EVAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regney on October 16, 2007 at 7:06 AM
You got it right. Most of hollywood’s movies suck pretty bad. The industry did a survey last year of their target demographic, who told them why they don’t go to the movies anymore.
They don’t waste their money on crap! btw “3″ is about $57 not $80!
I hope Microsoft makes a billion on it.
dogsoldier on October 16, 2007 at 7:13 AM
People still go to theaters? That’s like going to someone elses’ oversized basement to watch a movie.
Coronagold on October 16, 2007 at 7:17 AM
When was the last time you actually saw a creative and unique movie out of Hollywood? To be honest, watching many of the opening cinamatics on some of these games,, not all but many,, are like incredibly well done mini movies. The old Mech Warrior games had incredible openings to them. You wanted to watch them over and over. No politics,, just action and adventure.
JellyToast on October 16, 2007 at 7:44 AM
What’s Halo 3? For that matter, what are Halos 1 and 2?,
Signed, Apathetic Movie Goer
mugged on October 16, 2007 at 8:13 AM
I can’t believe you totally forgot to mention Lambs for Lions.
Clearly, Tom Cruise’s character will be evil.
1. He believes in the War on Terror
2. He sees things as black or white
3. He’s wearing a FLAG PIN!!!!
BohicaTwentyTwo on October 16, 2007 at 8:32 AM
Uh, are you sure about that? Looks like it did ok to me.
That came out during the summer. A four billion dollar summer.
SouthernDem on October 16, 2007 at 8:45 AM
Aw c’mon. I really do see your point about In The Valley of Elah and Michael Clayton, but the CIA has been a boogie man in movies for decades now.
SouthernDem on October 16, 2007 at 8:49 AM
Here’s the problem with those stats:
(a) Hollywood advertised the crap out of everything – that ain’t free and most of it was pretty manipulative. It’s certainly up to them to do that and for the best, but sometimes they don’t include that in the total of what it was to make the movie itself.
(b) the biggest hits of the summer were escapist, fun movies like Transformers.
(c) the majority of Hollywood’s preachy boring garbage bombed (hello, A Mighty Heart).
(d) most movies with any sort of anti-Bush, Anti war stuff, however subtle (for Hollywood – like a hammer to the head), were either ignored or were simply watched without los of analysis.
The simple fact of the matter is that if Hollywood studios didn’t make simple escapist movies, they would be continuously in debt. Those simple movies keep their heads above water so they can fool themselves into believing that the boring, preachy crap they make is relevant or important to the movie-going public. However much Hollywood talks down to the “rednecks” or the “flyover country morons”, they need us. But as it’s becoming frighteningly obvious to them, we don’t need them. (that’s why I have DirectTV and thus, can watch whatever the heck I want and that certainly isn’t the latest Hollywood “hit”)
mjk on October 16, 2007 at 9:04 AM
Well, news of the film’s anti-Americanism certainly influenced me not to go see it, or even to go back and rent the first two so I could get caught up before going to see the third one.
Bryan on October 16, 2007 at 9:22 AM
Yes, the escapist fare will always do better than genuine movies. That’s why I think Bourne did so well. Granted, I have not seen the third movie, but watching the first two, I never once thought about political implications, it was total escapist action for me. I’m not arguing Bryan’s overall point (I actually agree that there is a lot of crap coming out), but I thought the Bourne series was unfairly singled out. But I’ll shut up about it’s merits till I see it. =)
One more thing to expand on your list: Movies cost a heck of a lot more to make than ever before as well. What was it for Transformers? Like a quarter billion or something? Crazy.
I completely understand, but like I stated above, I never thought about serious issues while watching them (I enjoyed the first much more so than the second). Really, you should at least give the Bourne Identity a try. It’s great fun.
SouthernDem on October 16, 2007 at 9:33 AM
I gotta agree. Having just reentered the “gaming” world, I’m stunned by the scope of these games. I can drop 20 bucks on an old Gamecube disc with a storyline that takes 40-80 hours to play through. And the storyline’s good too… usually classic good vs. evil.
I’m not at all surprised Halo has pwned Hollywood.
saint kansas on October 16, 2007 at 9:39 AM
This is Year 6 without movies for me.
mymanpotsandpans on October 16, 2007 at 9:48 AM
3:10 to Yuma should be the movie to break that drought ;-)
Classic heroism/triumph/redemption themes…kicked off with a Gatling gun shootout chase
Ochlan on October 16, 2007 at 10:11 AM
Maybe the BEE movie will change things
Drtuddle on October 16, 2007 at 10:15 AM
I don’t think anyone is arguing that Bourne didn’t do well at the Box office. On its face, it’s a pretty good high action flick. The problems start when you dig into the narrative. Bourne is a created assassin; mind control, hypnosis, whatever. All of the treadstone guys are. It’s what makes them so single minded and deadly. But who created them? America! America brainwashed young innocent soldiers into cold hearted killers…and now, the CIA is going to PAY! I’ve watched the first 2 several times..and they’re pretty good, but I guess I got tired of the toilet pie that he kept digging into and finding dirty intelligence officials to kill. Why couldn’t they come up with a CIA operative that goes after terrorists ruthlessly? Why not a rogue agent who decides his government isn’t doing enough on the war on terror so he wages a little terror war of his own…put some moral ambiguity in there; make him careless of civilians when he focuses on getting the terrorists. There are a lot more things they could have done to the Bourne series to make it appeal to more people. As it is, it’s a ‘corrupt government’ movie at its core and like other Hollywood preachiness, gets old after the 2nd one.
austinnelly on October 16, 2007 at 10:47 AM
Meh…the Bourne trilogy was cool.
Sinister BlackOp covert conspiracy plots are staple stuff…old hat…I enjoyed seeing the genre being given a fresh coat of paint.
Ochlan on October 16, 2007 at 11:05 AM
Every movie nowadays has to have the gay character, the anti-social character, the empowered woman character, the anti-american plot line, and of course all movies has to have some gratiuos sex scene or sex inuendo and profanity for profanity sake. It just boggles the mind. It’s the same story over and over again. This is one reason the Lord of the Rings did so well no swearing, no nudity, and no anti-american crap.
Whatever happened to films like Patton and Father knows Best? Live Free or Die hard was a good movie, the bourne superemcy sucked goat’s testicles.
unseen on October 16, 2007 at 11:34 AM
side note Halo 3 is a great game. It has good guys and bad guys, a little swearing, not much blood but a great stroy line and a true Hero. It also allows children/adults to compete, form teams, and improve, it measures success and failures, it raises the bar and punishes quiting.
So is Halo 3 so big because of the marketing or because of the foundation of the game? The game could have sold 1 million copies without any advertisment IMO.
unseen on October 16, 2007 at 11:38 AM
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it
Ochlan on October 16, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Ochlan on October 16, 2007 at 11:05 AM
The Bourne trilogy was a pure anti-CIA, anti American crap machine. The action was good, the story was good but they could have as easily made the bad guys a KGB splinter cell or a MI5 splinter group. But NOOOOO it had to be anti-american.
unseen on October 16, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Bourne has that standard hollywood plot that if the good guys fail to live up to their moral code while fighing evil, they become evil themselves. Think A Few Good Men. COL Jessup is the bad guy while the lawyer (heh) is the good guy. It all starts with a few Code Reds, the next thing you know you are torturing and killing prisoners (Anyone here watch The Unit) and doing false flag operations. That’s how Hollywood sees it.
BohicaTwentyTwo on October 16, 2007 at 12:36 PM
The Simpson’s Movie ROCKED!
Wingo on October 16, 2007 at 2:00 PM
Maybe the plot for Halo 4 is that the Master Chief realizes that the In Amber Clad was actually destroyed by Cortana in a false flag operation and he has to take her in for trial on war crimes while opening dialog with the Covenant and the Flood to negotiate a surrend– I mean, withdrawl from the war.
Then we’ll see why Hollywood movies are tanking at the box office.
phelps on October 16, 2007 at 2:27 PM
My recommendation: Asian films.
Yea you’re still going to find a lot of the lefty stuff in there but honestly I don’t think it comes across nearly as bad as we have it here. Might be the translation. But anyways when you have a film like A Bittersweet Life and The Twilight Samurai you can’t help but be impressed by what they offer (both story wise AND artistically. I’ve seen more incredible displays of cinematography in Asian films then I’ve seen in every English movie I’ve watched combined.)
Note: There is crazy s**t out there so be cautious but know not all the incredible films out there are in English.
CTDeLude on October 16, 2007 at 2:48 PM
Maybe Hollywood is annoyed at Halo 3’s portrayal of the Earth military. I mean, I played all the way through Halo 3 and I didn’t see ONE Marine eating and/or raping a helpless baby!
That must really bother them.
In all seriousness, though, there’s a lot of leftism in videogames, too. Bioshock, while a very good game, was very critical of Objectivism and could easily be seen as also being critical of Conservativism. Certain audio files the player can find point to the “horrors” of having a free market (waaah, the rich are oppressing the poor) and of fighting back against terrorism (innocent people rounded up, killed). But in truth, the game constructs a straw man and proceeds to beat the living daylights out of it with such criticism.
Then there’s Raze’s Hell, which I haven’t played, but I do know the premise: A race of extremely cute (but racist) creatures, called Kewletts, decides to invade other peoples and make them cute, too. However, an ugly creature called Raze (controlled by the player) starts a revolt to overthrow them. Doesn’t that sound EXACTLY like how the left likes to characterize the war against Islamofascism? And yes, the game has you play a metaphorical Iraqi insurgent and tasks you with killing metaphorical US troops. Nice, huh?
R. Waher on October 16, 2007 at 5:28 PM
SouthernDem,
What the article doesn’t mention is that ticket prices went up, not sales. As someone who is sitting in the belly of the beast (Show East) even as I write, I can attest that the industry is in a panic. I truly feel for the theater owners, they get such a bad deal from the studios (they make most of their money from tickets sold after a 3 week period, when no one goes to see the movie anymore – which is why popcorn is $15) If you look at the product that they are trying to shove down the theater owners throats, you can see why. Only two movies look interesting and I’m not talking about A Man from Plains either…
Ann NY on October 17, 2007 at 6:42 PM
BTW, World of Warcraft has 8 million monthly subscribers that paid $50 for the game, $50 for the expansion and a $14.95 monthly fee. Do the math…
Ann NY on October 17, 2007 at 6:45 PM
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