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Baseball Fans are Promoting Smile, a New Horror Movie, by Smiling Creepily
Smile is a horror movie. Apparently, the film features villains who smile creepily. Instead of promoting the movie in the usual way, Paramount placed Smile actors in the crowd of Red-Sox Yankees, Mets-Athletics, and Cardinals-Dodgers baseball games. These actors' creepy smiles were all caught on camera. This gimmick was done before the movie opened in theaters. The stunt was a social media success. Once people caught on to the creepy smiles in the audience they started looking for more creepy smiles at other games. Do you think that this is a great marketing tactic or was the tactic a little too scary?Image credit: @ErikDavis on Twitter#Smile #Baseball #Movie
Contenders for the 2023 Oscars
It seems kind of crazy to be picking movies to be in the running for Best Picture in 2023- even the nominations for the Academy Awards are still months away! But we are in that particular time of year when things start to take shape. The prestigious summer film festivals are over, the reviews are in, and we know what prestige films will be released the rest of the year. While October is full of horror films, November and December will see the release of the movies that the studios think have a good chance at an Oscar. That's when family holiday moviegoing happens, and those movies will still be fresh in academy member's memories when the ballots go out. The biggest films of the year still top come include Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, Avatar: The Way Of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Nope, RRR, Top Gun: Maverick, and a bunch of movies you've not heard of yet. The A.V. Club has a slideshow that will introduce you to twenty of them with release dates and trailers. If you don't care at all who wins Best Picture next year, you'll want to get a taste of what will be in theaters for the rest of the year so you can plan your cinema schedule.#film #movie #prestigefilm #Oscar #AcademyAward
A Look Back at Deliverance on Its 50th Anniversary
The movie Deliverance opened at a theater near you 50 years ago this weekend. Or maybe you had to wait until later in the summer to see it, because movie distribution was different in 1972. Deliverance become the fifth biggest film of that year and won two Academy Awards. In Deliverance, four men from the city (Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ronny Cox, and Ned Beatty) ride the rapids in a beautiful Appalachian valley that is doomed to be flooded by a dam. They encounter local people with varying levels of fear and violence. The two scenes that viewers remember best are "Dueling Banjoes" and the rape scene, at opposite ends of the scale. At its most basic level, it is one of many in the genre of "strangers encountering horror from the locals" movies.But the movie overall is an illustration of the violence done to nature and her revenge against man, layered with a metaphor for that struggle carried out by the people in the film. Read about those themes and more as we remember Deliverance, at BBC Culture. -via Digg #Deliverance #movie #anniversary
Cinema Twins: Near-Identical Movies Released Nearly at the Same Time
It happens over and over again: two movies will come out in the same year, or close to it, that have the same subject and often the same plot. The most memorable pairing was Armageddon and Deep Impact, which both came out in 1998 and told the story of destroying an asteroid/comet before it hits earth. Both movies were hits. A more common story with twin movies is that one vastly outshines the other, and years later we forget that they were actually different movies. Sometimes it's due to what's interesting to the audience of the time, sometimes it's one film trying to piggyback off the expected popularity of the other, and sometimes it's pure coincidence.NPR put together a list of 50 pairs of twin films, although a few may be arguable. While both Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer came out in 2012, they will never be confused with each other. And two movies about Christopher Columbus coming out in 1992, the 500th anniversary of his most important voyage, is not much of a coincidence. There are more such pairings in the discussion at Metafilter.#movie #twinmovies #Hollywood
Morbius Re-Released in Theater and Flopped Again
In early 2022, Morbius debuted to an anemic reaction, grossing just $74 million domestically on a $75 million budget. Thankfully, the international cume saved it from being a total bomb. Since then, the movie has grown a certain infamy on the internet, garnering a thousand memes and endless chatters. Motivated by that, Sony decided to re-release the Jared Leto-starring flick this weekend only to find that audiences remained cold on the vampire comic book movie.The re-release’s flop once again highlights how the internet popularity of a movie often doesn’t translate to actual turnout. We see this time and time again with more successful films: Snakes on a Plane, The Passion of the Christ, even the fiercely demanded Snyder Cut’s Justice League. With Morbius - scoring a tepid C+ Cinemascore and 17% on Rotten Tomatoes - the (bloody) writing was on the wall. Image: It's Morbin Time by rocketman#morbius #vampire #movie #meme
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is a Horror Film Starring Pooh and Piglet
Winnie the Pooh has long been everyone's favorite bear due to his cute and huggable physique, friendly personality, and warm story. However, for some, childhood was ruined when it was revealed that their favorite bear will be in an upcoming horror film called Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.The first look at the horror film directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield shows an opposite image of Winnie the Pooh: a scary, honey-guzzling bear in a morbid and bloody storyline. There was also a snapshot of the bear with another person in a mask that looks remarkably like Pig or Piglet Piglet, as most are aware, is another sweet and loveable character related to the original Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh first appeared in 1926, will it be possible for their now grownup fan base to be old enough to embrace this new frightening frontier? Or will they run screaming from this 100-acre of woods right back to the warm embrace of their soft and squishable teddy? Image credit: LAD Bible#WinnieThePooh #BloodAndHoney #Movie #Film #Childhood #Disney
With So Many Bad Movies, How Can We Name the Worst?
When the subject of the "worst movie ever" comes up, someone will always mention The Room, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Howard the Duck, Birdemic, Troll 2, and Manos the Hand of Fate. James Rolfe of Cinemassacre disagrees that any of these films are truly bad. Movies that are unintentionally funny because of their poor execution are still entertaining in their own way. Movies that were produced in order to be considered "bad," like Sharknado, don't count, either. The truly bad movies are the ones you've probably never even heard of, but Rolfe will introduce us to one movie that is so bad that you don't even want to read about it, much less check it out. But if you can't help yourself, you can read about Wavelength here.#movie #film #badmovie #goldenturkey
Scenes in the Trailer that Weren't in the Movie
You see a movie trailer, and it gets you excited for the full film. Then a month or maybe six months later, you get to see the movie. If you're impressed, you may even see it more than once. But even people who watch a movie multiple times hardly ever go back to see the trailer again. And by "hardly ever," I mean normal people. Super dedicated fans and entertainment journalists will, and sometimes they uncover the phenomena of scenes that grabbed us in the trailer but were never seen in the finished film. How does that happen?
An Honest Trailer for Moonfall
Moonfall is not a James Bond film. The name sounds perfect for one, though. It's a bonkers science fiction disaster movie involving the moon's orbit degrading to the point that it causes chaos on earth. So it contains conspiracy theories, space travel, aliens, artificial intelligence gone rogue, multiple unnatural natural disasters, dystopian survival tactics, and heartwarming family stories which involves at least three heroes sacrificing their lives for someone they love. Could they possibly have mashed any more disaster movie tropes in there? In any case, Moonfall was found to be so stupid that it grossed only about a third of its production cost so far. The overly-complicated story is presented in such a dumbed-down way on screen that Screen Junkies delivers this Honest Trailer in shorthand English for your listening pleasure.#HonestTrailer #Moonfall #movie #disasterfilm
If You Couldn't Follow These Sci-Fi Movies, You're Not Alone
The process of taking a science fiction story and putting it on the big screen involves compromises all along the way. There just isn't time to explain what's happening the way a book does, and if we wanted everything explained, we'd just read the book. Some science fiction movies translate the story better than others. Sometimes it's just a time crunch that demands more edits; in other movies the art or the action takes priority over clarity. What's the most confusing sci-fi movie you've seen? Does Inception confuse you more than Looper? Is it harder to follow 2001: A Space Odyssey or Primer? Screen Rant took suggestions from reddit and ranked the top ten most confusing science fiction films up through 2013. They don't explain their ranking calculations, but the movies are admittedly confusing. See how others' opinions rank against your own as far as incomprehensible movies go by checking out the list. The movie Zardoz is strangely absent. It could be that not too many redditors have seen it all the way through. -via Fark#sciencefiction #scifi #film #movie
The Movie That May Have Inspired the Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was an unidentified serial killer responsible for at least five murders in California in the late 1960s. The unsolved case has lingered on in pop culture, with at least parts of the mystery inspiring at least five movies, including the new film The Batman.But was the Zodiac Killer himself inspired by a movie? The 1939 film Charlie Chan at Treasure Island may have given the killer some ideas. The plot is confusing, but contains several things that resurfaced later in the real Zodiac case. They include a warning about Zodiac, a character named Dr. Zodiac, and enigmatic notes sent to the authorities. Although the real-world case has yet to be solved, one suspect was said to have loved the movie Charlie Chan at Treasure Island in his childhood. Read about the ties between Charlie Chan and the Zodiac Killer at Cracked. #movie #ZodiacKiller #CharlieChan
Father and Son Created an Epic Projection of Disney's Encanto for Their House
Disney’s latest chart topping movie, “Encanto,” seems to have hit home for many. One father and son duo, from Lehi Utah, loved the film so much that they literally projected an image of the film’s magical casa onto their own home. The projection transformed their real life house into the Magical Casa Madrigal. Jeff Baird, however, didn’t stop there. He also projected the film onto parts of the house. The end result is a fictional Disney home brought to life.Jeff Baird and his son created a truly enchanting and immersive experience. One can’t help but feel part of the film and present with the characters. This Encanto house lived up to its name. It was truly charming and enchanting. Image Credit: GMA; Jeff Baird#encanto #family #movie #projector #Disney
What the 1918 Flu Pandemic Did to Movie Theaters
The current coronavirus pandemic shut down movie theaters and film production for some time, but we were able to go home and watch TV. It wasn't so in the fall of 1918 when a flu pandemic swept the world. The film industry was gearing up for a record breaking season with veterans returning from World War I when their audiences began to sicken, and municipalities eventually forced theaters to close. While theaters were closed, a shakedown began to occur. Many smaller theater owners, distribution companies, and production studios couldn't survive the lockdown. They were bought up by larger interests, and studios began to build their own theaters as well -the better to control the product from the top down. The shakeup in the industry led to the "studio system" of the mid-20th century, in which a few wealthy companies held a grip on the entire industry. Read about the effect of the 1918 flu pandemic on theaters at Jstor Daily. -via Strange Company#movie #filmindustry #theater #pandemic #1918flupandemic
How the Opening Song in Encanto was Animated
On Instagram, Disney animator Jonah Sidhom revealed his process of animating the famous family scene in the opening song of the Disney film "Encanto."To avoid getting overwhelmed, he started with the most basic cubes to represent the various family members. Then, he figured out poses for everyone to land in. He emphasized the shape of the letter M to represent the Madrigal family. He mentioned that his reference is never 1:1 with timing, but he used it to determine movement and foot placements. At the end of his post, Sidhom gave a shout out to dance consultant Kai Martinez who helped him with the dance elements. Martinez also suggested the amazing idea of revealing Abuela with the mom's skirts which was immediately approved by the directors.Video credit: jonahsidhom on Instagram#Encanto #Animation #Disney #Movie
15 Controversial Casting Choices That Are Perfect in Hindsight
Admit it, when you heard that Nicolas Cage has always wanted to play Superman, you laughed. But then you recall how comedian Michael Keaton turned out to be an amazing Batman, although no one could see it at the time, well, until we saw it. Even those in the business get nervous about unconventional casting. Hollywood executives did not want to cast Marlon Brando in The Godfather because he was washed up, and they thought Al Pacino was too short. But now we can't imagine that anyone else would be better.
What Happened to Color in the Movies?
Emily VanDerWerff brings up the subject of the lack of color in movies and TV shows these days. I thought it was just my eyesight going bad, or my outdated media devices. No, everyone has noticed it, but no one knows why. Perhaps there are too many reasons. Digital filming, as opposed to old-fashioned film, offers a world of options for visual effects. One of these is simple color correction, which helps to make the project internally consistent. When half the action takes place on a sound stage and the other in a faraway setting, less color saturation makes the change more believable. Less saturation also allows for easier insertion of digital special effects. In other words, it's cheap and easy.Less color could be a case of being stylish for the sake of being stylish. When one movie is filmed in muted colors and is a hit, more filmmakers try it, too. Before long, it's just a trend. Have you heard the phrase "gritty reboot" too much in the last few years? A lack of color makes a film look more gritty. Or is it the subject matter? It's possible that moving away from bright colors is a statement that this movie, or TV show, is serious and made for adults (but not for adults with declining eyesight). However, lack of color does make one feel more doom and gloom, which some might see as a necessary element in stories about a world falling into dystopia. For all these reasons and more, the colors of movies and TV have become less saturated and more consistent, and ever darker than before. Take a deep dive into the phenomenon at Vox. -via Metafilter See also: Why Movie Dialogue Has Become So Difficult to Understand #movie #color #saturation
Movies by Comedy Stars That Were Never Made
Every actor has a vision of a pet project they want to star in, or even maybe produce someday. If you're good, and you work long enough to get clout, that sometimes happens. But Hollywood is fickle, and there are plenty of reasons a movie never gets made. First, you have to get the right people to believe in your project, then you have to get financing, and after that a hundred different things can go wrong, at each stage of the production. Another project gets in the way, people lose interest, and the worst thing might happen.
120 Years of Cinema in 120 Seconds
On December 28, 1895, exactly 126 years ago, the first professional cinema show was presented to the public. Auguste and Louis Lumière showed ten of their short films at Paris’s Grand Café. Moon Film made a compilation of the history of cinema in a a very short form. This two-minute video begins with a still picture, the very first photograph, taken in 1826. It quickly moves to early movies, and then gives us a glimpse of 75 films you already know that chronicle the history of filmmaking.
Marvel's Eternals Cast Staring Contest: Who Will Win?
As a video posted by Marvel Entertainment’s YouTube channel on November 2, 2021, the cast of the latest Marvel Studios’ movie “Eternals,” literally faced one of the most “intimidating” and respected actresses in the history of film - the main actress of the movie, Angelina Jolie.The goal is for the cast to win the “Stare Off” or staring contest against her.In the video, all of the main cast were introduced and then seated to their respective seats one by one in front of Angelina Jolie.Some of the actors were obviously intimidated, tried to do their best, but eventually lost the game.
The Seven Biggest Comedy Stars Who Added Drama to Their Repertoire
There are quite a few stars who spend a lifetime rehearsing their comedy chops for a break in the movies, and when they do, they want to expand to other things like drama. Why? In some cases, it's what they always wanted to do, but took a left turn into comedy first. Other times, it's just a matter of wanting to do something different, or even possibly the knowledge that you're never going to win an Oscar in comedies. The success of these transitions varies. Many young folks can't even imagine Michael Keaton as a standup comedian, while older people were astonished they cast the funny guy as Batman back in 1989. You have to be pretty big in the business to be offered an entirely different genre of work. It happened to Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Steve Carell, Robin Williams, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, and Will Ferrell. It may have taken many years after landing as an up-and-coming player on Saturday Night Live, and for some it worked out better than for others. Even when it works, some actors decide to go back to his roots. Read about the transition from comedy to drama and how it worked out for all seven of these stars at The A.V. Club. (Graphic compiled by Allison Corr)#comedy #drama #comedian #movie
Tom Hanks' Favorite Tom Hanks Movies
Tom Hanks has 94 acting credits listed at IMDb. While it includes a few TV shows and shorts, that leaves dozens of movies, most of them well-received. In fact, you can make a party game out of getting people to list as many Tom Hanks films as they can remember. On a recent podcast, Hanks was asked for his top three favorite Tom Hanks movies. He won back-to-back Oscars for his performances in Philadelphia (1994) and Forrest Gump (1995), but neither appeared in his answer.“I would probably say No. 1 would be ‘League of Their Own’ because all I did all summer was play baseball,” he said.You see, it can be a completely different experience behind the scenes. An actor commits a lot of time, sometimes months, creating a production that may or may not affect audiences for two hours. Based on his reasoning, which movies do you think came in at numbers two and three for Hanks? Find out at Today. -via Digg#TomHanks #movie
The Foo Fighters Made a Movie
The Foo Fighters are always up for doing something out in left field, like trolling the Westboro Baptist Church, recording a disco album, or interacting with corporate mascots. So when you hear the band members are all starring in a horror-comedy, all you can say is, "How like them." The upcoming full-length feature film is titled Studio 666. The Foos will play themselves, as they try to record an album in a haunted mansion, which opens the door for supernatural shenanigans, a la Scooby-Doo. Dave Grohl, of course, will save the day... we think. After all, he wrote the story. Yeah, it sounds like something the Beatles would do, and in fact did, with movies like Help! and Magical Mystery Tour. Studio 666 is directed by by horror filmmaker BJ McDonnell, and will land in theaters on February 25.#FooFighters #movie #horror #comedy
Maine: the Go-to Setting for Horror Films
Why is Maine such a scary place? The USA's most northeastern state is famous for lobsters, being the most northeastern state, and horror films. Aha, you say, that's because Stephen King lives in Maine and writes stories set in the state. That no doubt accounts for a lot of horror films set in Maine, but you might be surprised at how many scary movies are set in Maine that have nothing to do with Stephen King. Could it be that King's books have given the state a reputation? Maybe it has to do with success breeding success. Lake Placid (1999) was set in Maine and it got five sequels! And who knew that Collinsport, the town of Dark Shadows (2012), was in Maine? The Bangor Daily News has a list of ten horror movies set in Maine that are not based on Stephen King stories. Some of them were even popular. -via Fark #Maine #horror #movie
A Preview of This Fall's Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Movies
Last fall there were hardly any movie theaters open, and as it got cold, even the drive-ins closed. This year, the chaos of pandemic production and release schedules combined to give us an embarrassment of riches. Summer movies got delayed until fall, horror films have two years of productions to rush out, and the release buildup runs them into the late-in-the-year prestige movies looking for awards. If it all sounds confusing, you can consult a list of 43 films at io9, with a synopsis for each and a trailer when available, all arranged in chronological order so you know when a movie will come to a theater near you, or in the case of highly-anticipated streaming movies, a home screen near you. #movie #horror #scifi #fantasy
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