Deadlines? What Deadlines?

41 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

It seems there's a lot of fear that HBO Max is going to get gutted and they'll be doing less original content. So the canning of Batgirl may just be the beginning. I worry that we're going to lose some pretty decent to good shows like Peacemaker, Doom Patrol and Superman & Lois. I think Peacemaker did well enough and benefits from enough star power to go another season at least, but not sure about the other two. Doom Patrol has filmed its 4th season (I don't know if they actually wrapped) but apparently that doesn't mean a lot.

It's always a compromise between budget and ratings. S&L is doing somewhat better than recent Arrowverse shows but the production values are also somewhat better. That suggests the level beneath which it's not viable is higher.

According to Nielsen ratings, there was a slight decline in season 2, but not enough to be really concerned. However, if that decline continues in the established arrowverse pattern, I wouldn't expect it to last beyond season 3 or 4. 

And yes, I realize what's shown on that chart is not comprehensive, but it's probably not an outlier either. There's a reason why Batwoman was cancelled. Note the decline in 18-49 demo viewers from season 2. 

3 hours ago, DaveSumm said:

When I went from Superman: The Animated Series to Justice League, I was gutted that Tim Daly didn’t still voice him anymore. But I know the new guy had fans to. Tim Daly was just perfect as both Clark and Superman for me.

TBH, I didn't even notice. Newburn and Daly sound reeeeeealy similar. Daly did return for a few of the animated films.  

35 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Anyway, I think the major issue was that it was just this weird mid range size movie that WB don't know what to do with right now, as they want to create more tentpole big screen releases and less on streaming. That they could just write this down for tax purposes is kind of sad, though I'm more sad they have cancelled the latest Scooby Doo movie as well.

...and after Birds of Prey failed and WW84...happened. 

This might also be Zaslav putting his foot down. I speculated (and I don't think I'm the only one) that the reason several DC projects were being developed right before the spinoff/merger was because WB execs were concerened about justifying their jobs to their news bosses a year down the road.  Maybe this is his way of saying he refuses to be pot-committed because of decisions made by the previous regime. He's like Jack Kennedy at the Bay of Pigs, he is. 

Either way, I think he needs a change of scenery. Fortunes can change very quickly in this sport, but McLaren has a lot more ground to make up than Alpine does if they want to be competitive. 

1 hour ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

Yet the DC animated department is usually great...

If I was retroactively elected Emperor of the universe, I'd use my time machine to go back and re-cast the super pets movie with the voice actors from Justice League unlimited. That would have generated buzz. 

No offense to the other actors who have voiced those roles over the years, or the A listers they cast in the film, but there is only one animated Batman: Kevin Conroy. There is only one animated Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.

Maybe I'm showing my age, but this isn't a nostalgia trip. Those are the voices I have seared in my brain when I think of those characters. Anyone else just sounds wrong.

That said, Peter Weller for TDKR was an inspired choice. I also really liked the voice cast for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Justice League: The New Frontier. 

23 minutes ago, sifth said:

So are they going to cancel the Flash movie? Miller is looking more and more like a pedo these days. Heck he might still be on the run from the law, I've not heard about any major updates from him, since early July.

The most recent thing I heard about him was a police report that proves at least some of the stuff that was reported about him in the press was bullshit. Truthfully there was so much I got confused by it all. 

4 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

What has DC done that's generated much energy these days? I've been getting into their comics over the last year and Idk why they can't make some better shit.

Outside of Batman, not much. Like I said before, Super Pets wasn't trending on google or twitter 10 days before it hit theaters, and it's a great IP with a pretty stacked cast. That movie is probably going to need $200-$250 million world wide to break even and that's looking pretty questionable right now. For some insane reason, I visited Rotten Tomatoes and looked through the review blurbs. With a few exceptions, the positive reviews were all middling and the negative reviews were kind of brutal.

All the Batgirl and Blue Beetle news seems to fall down the memory hole within a day. And the sense I'm getting is that neither Shazam 2 or Black Adam are generating much hype. I could be wrong. The Rock's star power will likely carry Back Adam more than love or recognition of the character. But I'd be very worried for Shazam 2; given that it opens after a year of superhero content and a week after what is likely to be the highest grossing film of the year. 

ETA: the one recent thing that stands out most to me in terms of generating buzz were reports that Henry Cavill was going to show up at Comic-Con. Take that for what it's worth. 

3 hours ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

Conversely, no one was talking about this film (most DC projects in general) was there ever any indication that there was issues with the Batgirl movie?  

DC just can't find people who can do their material justice...no pun intended...

This is not new. They screwed up Batman in the '90's. WB was trying to get a superman reboot off the ground since they got the rights back from Cannon films in the early '90's. McG and JJ Abrams were both attached at one point, with one McG project getting *that close* to starting production when it was cancelled.  Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern film was in development for 15 years, and was going to star Jack Black at one point. Plus look at the dozen or so projects they've announced in the last decade that never saw the light of day. This is a huge topic.

3 hours ago, Rhom said:

I never got around to watching the Justice League… but the only reason I want to watch Flash is to see Keaton as Batman again.

That's the thing that turned me off it. I loved the two Burton/Keaton films. I still love them. Batman Returns blew me away when I first saw it. But Keatons return is an expression of nostalgia in CBM's that just rubs me wrong. It's yet another thing that suggests to me the genre is creatively tapped out...

...ETA...

And this is the endgame.  "We demand shitty movies." I'm not commenting on the reports about the film being good or bad or whatever, but "we don't care if it sucks just give us content."; yeah, I'm out. 

Also, I'm not a corporate so-and-so, but if you're a studio trying to build a streaming service, you don't want that service to be seen as, "the place where one dumps things". The CW is where one does the dumping.  

3 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

My thoughts as well. Not releasing it at all is baffling assuming it's done. I didn't care about it at all and this makes me actually want to check it out.

That might have worked if there was a fan campaign to support it, but this movie hasn't really generated much energy until today TBH. 

1 hour ago, Werthead said:

Warners have canned the Batgirl movie after it finished filming. $90-100 million gone in smoke. No HBO Max release, no home media release, no anything.

On the other hand, releasing the film would have meant an additional $100-$120 million spent on Marketing and distribution. 

I'm not saying it isn't a baffling move, but there's more to consider than just the production cost. 

10 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Commentators have drawn comparisons with the Button dispute of 2004...

...Or the Alesi dispute in 1990. If the numbers I've seen published are to be believed, that whole Tyrell-Williams-Ferrari shamozzle made Alesi's Ferrari contract one of the most expensive in F1 history; second only to Senna's salary for McLaren in 1991. 

11 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Warners have canned the Batgirl movie after it finished filming. $90-100 million gone in smoke. No HBO Max release, no home media release, no anything.

Holy shit.

They've graduated from announcing projects that never happen to making films that never get released. What a fiasco. They couldn't hammer it into an HBOMax miniseries or something? 

I had little awareness of this move aside from the fact it was being made, so I don't really have an opinion about it. I feel sorry for Leslie Grace. 

Riccardo returning to Alpine sounds like a good idea. I doubt another season at McLaren is going to do him any favors. Also, between the two teams, Alpine is more likely to be the ones closer to the front IMO. 

1 hour ago, RumHam said:

I love the show but the fact that that movie got a theatrical release at all is ...odd. I never hear anyone talking about it, I didn't think the show was that popular.

I would have gone to see the movie in theaters but covid killed all three mainstream theaters near me. I'm still hoping one will eventually re-open and be able to survive now that it's the only one.

I've only ever seen clips but it looks like one of those things I need to get around to seeing. I like that kid. The eccentric little psycho that has her own meme.

6 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Surely animated movies are really only there to suck up audiences from school holidays. No kids are going to watch Bobs Burgers. I sense a tax scam.

They might more concerned with streaming content and merchandising than pure box office. Such is the way of things these days.

Also, I need to revise my previous statement about Lightyear. According to sources from the inter webs, that movie had a production budget of $200 millions. After 45 days in theaters, (and the exclusive theatrical window about to close) its worldwide gross is a smidge under $215 millions. It's not just underperforming; it's Pixar's Green Lantern. Like, it's exactly Pixar's Green Lantern.

5 minutes ago, Werthead said:

He had two shots with Ferrari. He was also offered a Red Bull seat in 2008 but refused to take it, not believing they would be competitive any time soon, so they gave it to Vettel instead. That's at least 4 WCs right there, and he may have been closer to Button in 2009 as well.

Bear in mind, Red Bull didn't exactly have banner seasons in 2007, 2008. More broadly, conventional wisdom at the time was  that to be competitive and to have a future, teams had to partner with a major auto manufacturer. Not just an engine supply deal, but to actually have them take an ownership stake in the team. Then the GFC happened and everyone conveniently forgot about that noise.

In 2008, if you told the F1 commentariat that they'd soon see the pinnacle of racing dominated by a soft drink magnate with a privateer team running customer engines, they'd have laughed you out of the room.    

How times change.

5 hours ago, Werthead said:

Fernando Alonso moving to Aston Martin

Well, when you're at the bottom the only way you can go is up. They've got some great personnel there and a bunch of money so who knows? The question is, why are they so far off this year? Aero? Engine? Drivers? Combination of the three?

Fernando Alonso would be a nine time world champion if he wasn't a master of wrong place / wrong time. 

He goes to McLaren at a time when they're quite competitive only to find a super talented rookie team mate who's less than thrilled about being number two driver. They do an excellent job of taking points off each other which allows Kimi to finally win a title.

He goes back to Renault when they are absolutely not competitive.

He goes to Ferrari when their fortunes are on the wane. He gets tantalizingly close to a 3rd drivers title in cars that had no business being that close.

He goes to McLaren only suffer 5 years of terrible Honda engines and clawing for just the chance of finishing in the top ten. Then he gets to see another team benefit from those years of development when Honda starts winning races with Red Bull.

Gods, what I'd give to see him in a competitive car again just once. 

That's the right answer. 

I can't decide if this guy is trolling or if he literally has never produced an insightful or interesting take. Maybe he's someones nephew.

The Super-Pets soft opening isn't a surprise to me. It just didn't seem to generate or sustain much buzz. It certainly didn't generate much discussion here .

trailer views on Youtube were decent, but a week or so before the thing came out I took a look at google trends for various "super-pets" related search terms and, worldwide, it barely registered. If people were interested in seeing this film, they weren't using the worlds largest search engine for showtimes and tickets. Shazam 2 and Black Adam were significantly higher and this was before the comic-con trailers.

or,

Maybe 2022 just isn't a banner year for big screen animation.

Paws of Fury bombed and Lightyear and Bob's burgers both underperformed (Bob's Burgers hit streaming about 2 weeks after its theatrical release). The Bad Guys did pretty well, thanks mostly to its performance overseas, but expectations were lower for that one. I expect break-even for Super-Pets is somewhat higher.

Minions 2 is an unqualified success. It's likely to beat Minions domestic cume but it's global box office won't get anywhere near the $1.15 billion first Minions movie did. Part of that is a lack of a China release for Minions 2, but no matter how you slice it, the international box office is off by a lot. 

7 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Aside from the Schumacher era, they’ve been inept for decades.  They’ve had good cars and very good drivers at other points in time without really bringing the whole combination together.  Vettel and Alonso were let down by them too.

6 hours ago, polishgenius said:

To be fair, while Brawn obviously had a lot to do with it because he's a fucking genius, Schumacher was always known as both a great developer-driver communicating with the team about what the car needed through the seasons, and a guy with a great feel for a situation able to help his teams make strategy calls (also, helpfully, an insane ability to up his game if a risky strategy needed him to run on the very edge for a bit), and it's pretty clear as gifted as he is none of those things really apply to either driver now.   

If I recall, part of the reason there was strain with Alonso was that he wasn't as good at working with the team to bring and keep the car in line. I might be making that up but I have that recollection.

Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne (all transplants from his Benneton championship winning seasons), Jean Todt, a mandate from the Fiat top brass to do what it took to win, and an absolute mountain of cash from Marlboro. 

By the time Alonso showed up the personnel had changed.

4 hours ago, Werthead said:

Certainly in 2017 and 2018 they had, at least in parts of the season, the best car on the grid. The problem is that their development couldn't keep up with Mercedes and also that they had serious strategy errors and Vettel managed to implode at some point each season and just couldn't recover his form.

Was that the car that was illegally consuming oil to increase usable power in race trim?

-

anyway, this guys stuff is amazing. 

12 hours ago, Spockydog said:

Nolan's latest movie Tenet was accompanied by a score that was composed by Ludwig Göransson, who revealed that he made use of the director's own breath in the creation of the movie's soundscape.

Good grief. 

 

Well, who's breath would you use? 

There was some discussion on another thread that the reason Tenet has such a weird sound mix is that the home release wasn’t mixed with factory television speakers in mind. I think there’s something to this.

I’m watching it on a flatscreen with a proper sound bar and subwoofer combo and the dialogue is definitely more audible.

or

the movie is so mind-warpingly weird that you have to see it multiple times to get it anyway, so making out the dialogue works the same way. Philistines and film Twitter weirdos completely missed the point. Pfft. “Dialogue.”

As I type this the top of my now blown-off skull is hanging by flap of skin next to my stunned face. The dogs in my care are unimpressed.

My film reviews on the watching threads will be haikus from now on.

I saw this trailer in a non imax screening of Nope yesterday. Fine, fine.

Sirico had a bit part in Goodfellas as I recall. He’s present in one or two scenes from Henry Hills adolescence.

4 hours ago, TheLastWolf said:

Here's your Reginald, James Hunt (F1, Rush, rhymes with c-, not that guy, he dead cracka)

Right-O, 

At least he's honest

he has a particular love of Star Wars (The Last Jedi was great), Game of Thrones (season 8 was good), and Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling...never mind)

That explains everything

Wow. His name really is James Hunt. Ok then. I don’t know where “Reginald” came from. For some reason that title made me think of Eddie Izzards, “the difference between English and American movies” and it just came to me.

So, does this mean Christopher Nolan will become a nuclear power, or does that honor go to Universal Pictures? I guess it was going to happen eventually. 
 

Look, I get it. The movie business has been pretty lean the last few years and that’s been hard on the commentary business. It’s fine.

Although, I’m convinced more and more that these guys read this forum for nuggets of inspiration.

7 hours ago, TheLastWolf said:

Yeah right

And they're being serious...

I read the title and rolled my eyes. I read this…

Quote

As it stands, Spectre holds the record for the largest explosion in movie history…

And I started laughing. That whole paragraph is comedy gold. 
Is he “Bold Enough”? Yes, I rather think he is, Reginald.

I want off this planet.