I really hate to admit that I know the box office for Batman Begins on its opening weekend was 48.8 million, however the sites I read keep spouting this number so I do. We all know the quality of a film has nothing with its box office - but we cannot be naive enough to not realize that box office is why studios make pictures. The reason I alert you to what you already know today, my dear reader, is this weekend, at least to me, raises an interesting debate to who will win the box office. While Batman Begins will probably have enough momentum to win again, among the new pictures you have Herbie, Bewitched, and Land of the Dead. With the recent successes at the box office like Boogeyman (though admittedly during the "dead season"), 28 Days Later, and the Dawn of the Dead remake, I think Dead will have enough juice to barely pull it out with Herbie second and then Bewitched because those two are splitting a core comedy/kids audience and I discount that either is enough of a draw to force people to go to the movies twice this weekend. My Hollywood insider firmly believes in a Herbie, Bewitched, and then Land finish. This Reuter's article says all signs point to Bewitched, Herbie, and then Land in a distant third. Get your bets in now!
Even more! At a first google, the best site devoted to box office is the-numbers and they even have a convenient horror section. Two interesting, and opposing, trends. Of the last 3 American horror movies, 2 finished first (The Ring 2, Amittyville Horror) with the other finishing second (House of Wax). Also no one ever releases horror films in the summer. It will be interesting.
Clarification I do believe Batman will ink out first place (heaven forbid I placed it fourth!), but the new movies intrique me. Though I would bet there is an inverse relationship between how well Batman and Land of the Dead perform.
The Winner Reuters / AP with their insider information did get the weekend correct - minus Mr. and Mrs. Smith placing 3rd. I actually realized shortly after I posted I was in trouble because a) Dead was on 900 less screens, which is to be expected for a R flick and b) I personally didn't see a commercial for the movie until Sunday night - though I don't see many commercials nowadays anyway.
Larry Lessig gave a shout out today to the Duke Law journals for participating in leading the Open Access Law Program. If only some recent editors of Duke Student Law journals who read this site would chime in with their take on this development. Though Larry's lack of an antecedent does leave me wondering whether he believes North Carolina, Durham, Duke, or the law school is responsible for these freedom movements. Any recent graduate of Duke and/or the law school can tell you freedom isn't so free.
I'm not sure what is most amazing about this study on Marijuana usage rates.
1. That everybody in New England is getting high. I just never knew.
2. That there is such a thing as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
3. That no matter where you are in the U.S., over 2% of the people there over the age of 12 are tokin' up.
We need to legalize this shit. And make Half Baked 2. The money to be made!
Does anyone else think it is more than coincidence that on the day Michael Jackson is acquited on all charges, TNT premieres a show called The Closer, that they have been advertising for months, which is about an outsider taking over the LAPD's Murder squad because they are incapable of convicting celebrities (yes, MJ has not been accused of murder ... not yet). I don't know by what sinister means you accomplished this TNT or how deep it goes, but well played, well played.
Oh, yes, the master of the teasing headline strikes again. Just a quick note to mention the "new" movie coming out this weekend, High Tension (always link to the imdb page), though I have no idea how close it will be coming to me. To show you how I stay on the pulse of cinema culture, I just heard of the film (or saw ads for it on the web) this week, though it was made in France a couple of years ago. Though I have managed to see the Lions Gate's "scariest film of the year" for at least the last couple of years (Saw, Cabin Fever), I had no real plans to see this film. Then the Salon Review had to bring up Jeepers Creepers, an extremely well-done if not original flick, and now I'll have to see it. Though it will be interesting to see if the film does have parellels with The Last House on the Left, since strictly from the title one might believe the house (and/or the people in it) are the ominous thing.
Update: I won't bother with a brand new post, but a look at the opposite of the heroines in High Tension - one person's Top Ten Dumbest Chicks in Horror Movies. What I like about the list is that I've seen 6 of the films mentioned and wouldn't have any great qualms in seeing the other 5 (yes, 11 films were mentioned). Plus number 4 is one of my favorite scenes/characters in horror movie history - though I disagree with the stupidity being attempting to go through the pet door (yes, stupid, but if memory serves her physical atributes didn't prevent her from making it halfway through), but that a garage door could lift someone up with enough force to kill them I find hard to believe. Now that could be someone's science fair experiment!
The latest news is that Shavlik Randolph is leaning towards coming back to Duke. I hope he does comeback and contributes to the team. Besides, it could only help his draft stock. Unfortunately, he might be the poster boy for not going to college if the people who predicted he'd be drafted right out of high school were correct - though they are much more likely to be insane.
It's not too late to be Carmen Wallace (or Casey Sanders), and that is not a bad thing.
I do have to say that I am proud to root for a team whose workouts are designed to "break" people. Btw, who the hell would draft Chris Taft?
every phillipino i have ever met has been a scam artist or straight thief they make mexicans look straightThis seems like a job for the Technorati cosmos, but there is no joy there either. However, this did lead us to discover that the famous Tucker Max has rung in on the subject with the confident guess of Elizabeth Berkley. While IMDB does mention she was a finalist for Annie, it doesn't list her grandfather as a director, a famous dead uncle, or any television appearances at the age of 9 (though perhaps the auctioneer is referring to commercials). Oh well, I fear the money will never be paid and we may never know the identity of this mystery star. More developments to follow as they are exposed.
P.S. Btw, the registrant for mysterycleavage.com is a S. Bernabe at 8031 Sunset Suite 303 in Hollywood if that helps.
P.P.S. Looking at the auction again, I realize a lot of people have been talking about this contest, but I'm not going to spend the time looking at guesses on their sites - at least not yet.
After reading this ESPN article about a Niner's in-house video which featured racial slurs, topless strippers, and a public official taking bribes, I have to agree with everybody else: where can I get a copy of this video -- or how can I become mayor of San Francisco?