Weekend Box Office #166

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever greeting makes you happiest.

I'm heading to New York today to see my parents and freeze my butt off.

Opening wide this weekend:

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMONKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL (3656 theaters - opening today). Reviews have been solid, and the kids have to see something. $43.4 million for the 3-day weekend.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (3600+ theaters). They are doing a good job positioning this as something that people want to see, and it should do pretty well. $36.5 million for the weekend.

IT'S COMPLICATED (2800+ theaters). This should hit the underserved adult female audience pretty well, while it looks like something that men won't mind being dragged to. $19.5 million, but it should hold well.

UP IN THE AIR (expanding to 1895 theaters). Should do well. $17.8 million.

NINE (1500 theaters). Reviews have sort of been tepid. Call it $8.2 million for the weekend.

**********

Last weekend, AVATAR made $77 million, and look for it to continue to mint money.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? only made $6.6 million; it's nice to see that it and OLD DOGS are suffering because of their lack of quality.

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Weekend Box Office #165

So this week is all about AVATAR, which actually doesn't interest me all that much on a story level. But this is the kind of movie whose visual scale might just transcend that; apparently it's just pretty amazing to watch in 3-D, while the reviews have been solid enough to build a lot of interest.

Opening wide this weekend:

AVATAR (3452 theaters). I have no idea how much it might make. It does have to compete with a lot of last-minute Christmas shopping, while if people are smart they'll avoid the 2-D versions of the film, but the 3-D-capable theaters might be packed. Let's call it $52.7 million for the weekend, though I really have no idea.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? (2718 theaters). This is supposed to be terrible. call it $8.2 million for the weekend.

********

Last weekend, the PRINCESS AND THE FROG expanded and did a solid $24.2 million. INVICTUS did only $8.6 million.

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Up In The Air

So first things first, in non-spoilerific fashion:

This is a very very good movie. Go see it. Great characters, great acting, all in the hands of a director who knows what he is doing every step of the way. They nailed it.

Now my story.

In March 2001, I read the novel "Up In The Air" for George Clooney's production company.

Now understand that I have read way too much stuff over the last 20 years to remember most of it. I have been in the middle of watching a movie, when I realized that I read the screenplay somewhere along the line, which was usually at least 2-3 years earlier.

But I remembered reading this book. When I heard about the movie being made from the book, the synapse clicked in my brain that said, yes, you read it, it was memorable. Didn't really remember much about the plot, other than it was about a guy who lived most of his life flying around from city to city.

So I went to see the movie, liked the movie, and on some level felt proud that maybe, just maybe, I played a teeny part in putting the movie on George Clooney's radar.

So when I came home, I found the disk with my old coverage, and pulled it.

And found out that I gave the book a thumb's down.

Oops.

Except maybe not oops. because when I read the coverage, I realized that the movie "Up In The Air" and the novel "Up In The Air" are really pretty different.

Essentially, the creators took what was interesting in the book -- the guy living his life in the air, the fact that he fires people (though that was only one of a number of jobs he had in the book) and pretty much jettisoned the rest. Including a weird plotline about how he is forgetting a lot of things, thinks the airline is messing with him, and turns out to be having seizures. Which was a good cut, because it really didn't work at all.

What was added was pretty much everything. The movie's love interest is barely in the book. The main character's family plays only a tiny role in the book. The character that Anna Kendrick was just Golden Globe nominated for playing is not in the book at all; neither is that whole dynamic between her character and his which works so well in the movie.

The whole thing is actually a fascinating case study of how a movie can come together through development. The basic, primal idea in the novel that was interesting about the character was pulled out, and then a solid storyline was constructed about it.

At the time, George Clooney's production company wasn't doing a lot of that kind of development; as I remember, they were looking for stuff that was a lot closer to being ready. And this wasn't very close to being ready. So my "Pass" was valid.

But Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner sure got it there.

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Weekend Box Office #164

So this year's Black List came out today. I've read a few scripts on the list, both of which were solid. None of mine were on there; apparently I didn't perform nearly enough sexual favors.

Opening this weekend:

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (3434 theaters, up from 2). Solid reviews, but at the same time it's hard to really see this clicking with non-family audiences. Still it should open well; call it $21.5 million.

INVICTUS (2125 theaters). This seems a little too serious, but reviews are good. $13.5 million, though it should hold well.

*****

Last weekend wasn't a good one for new releases. BROTHERS only did $9.5 million. ARMORED only did $6.5. EVERYBODY'S FINE tanked with only $3.8.

And TRANSYLMANIA only did $264,000 from over 1000 theaters; contrast that with UP IN THE AIR, which totalled $1.2 million from only 15 theaters.

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Weekend Box Office #163

The second surgery is done, the eyepatch has been cast away, and I am seeing the world in three dimensions again. Too bad too many of the scripts I read are only one-dimensional.

Opening this weekend in theaters:

EVERYBODY'S FINE (2133 theaters). This is getting pretty good reviews, and the cast is solid, though at the same time it looks a bit small -- and like the kind of movie people will wait for word of mouth about. Figure $12.4 million this weekend, though it might hold steady through the holidays.

BROTHERS (2088 theaters). Solid cast in Maguire, Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman (my wife's future sister-wife), but the reviews have been underwhelming, and it has a sheen of genericness about it. $14.3 million, and it probably won't hold well through the holidays.

ARMORED (1915 theaters). Though it looks like a big b-movie heist tale, the script actually was a Nicholl winner a few years back, so hope is high. Still, the profile is a bit low. $8.1 million.

TRANSYLMANIA (1007 theaters). This is listed in opening, though I have no idea what it is.

Also opening in 15 theaters is UP IN THE AIR, which was just named by the National Board of Review as the best film of the year, and which is on my shortlist.

*******

The 5-day Thanksgiving weekend was better for the holdovers than the new films, particularly THE BLINDSIDE, which crossed the $100 million mark in only 10 days. That sound you hear is people dusting off old uplifting sports scripts.

OLD DOGS made only $24.2 million in its first 5 days. Word got around fast.

NINJA ASSASSIN did $21.2 million. FANTASTIC MR. FOX did only 9.4 million.

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Weekend Box Office #162

Back in the day when I was a theater manager, Thanksgiving weekend was one of the all-hands-on-deck weekends of the year.

It was a pain in the ass to get people to work, but I had to, because everyone goes to the movies on Thanksgiving. Probably to escape their relatives.

I remember one year my Thanksgiving dinner was a turkey sandwich from 7-11.

This weekend is looking like it'll be busy, with holdovers New Moon, 2012, The Blind Side and Precious being joined by these newcomers:

OLD DOGS (3425 theaters). Terrible reviews, but sadly people probably won't care, because this is the kind of mindless comedy that's an easy family fallback. $49.5 million for the 5-day weekend.

NINJA ASSASSIN (2503 theaters). Something for the action fans. $32.7 million for the weekend.

THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2033 theaters, expanding from 4). It'll be interesting to see if this clicks with a wide audience, because it's a strange-looking film that doesn't slot easily into any box. Figure it'll do a little something, maybe $22.2 million for the 5 days.

THE ROAD opened in 111 theaters, but is supposed to be depressing as hell. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG opened in a few theaters to good reviews.

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Okay, Ouch --

TWILIGHT: NEW MOON made $140 million over the weekend, the third best opening weekend ever, after setting a single day record on Friday.

Apparently there are a lot of teenage girls with a lot of disposable income, even in this economy.

Time for everyone to write teen vampire movies....

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Weekend Box Office #161

Theaters should be crowded this weekend --

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (4024 theaters). Apparently this has to do with vampires, or werewolves, or something. I don't have any interest, but teenage girls everywhere do, and this will undoubtedly do a ton this weekend. Call it $51.2 million.

THE BLIND SIDE (3110 theaters). It's getting good reviews, which will help a lot. Prediction: $17.8 million.

PLANET 51 (3035 theaters). Reviews for this aren't as good, while the aliens look like Shrek ripoffs. Still, the kids have to see something. $12.4 million.

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Computer Problems Suck, Especially For One-Eyed Men

So I missed a Friday posting last week for the first time in a long time, because my desktop died. Apparently it's the motherboard. I'm getting a new tower; should be delivered next week sometime.

Meanwhile I'm toiling on my laptop linked to the Internet, which doesn't have nearly the laptop my memory has. Which is a good thing; it means I'm spending less time on the Internet, which means I'm working more. And writing more.

I'm currently turning my Nicholl Fellowship into a one-hour pilot. It's keeping me off the streets.

Also keeping me off the streets is the fact that I had cataract surgery on my right eye two weeks ago, and I'm having the left one done in two weeks.

For anyone as unfamiliar as with cataracts as I was, it's a clouding on the lens of the eye, that usually hits much older people. I was getting it really bad on my right eye, and noticably on my left. It may be because of genetics, or the fact that I'm a type 2 diabetic, or maybe just from looking into a computer screen a lot, or a combination of them.

The surgery was quick and painless, and the right eye is doing great, while after taking a couple of says off it really hasn't curtailed my reading any.

But in this 4-week one-eye-done, the-other-not period, my eyes don't work together. because the lens they put in the right eye makes everything look about 10% bigger. Which is cool, but it makes my brain hurt to use both eyes, and there's no sense forcing my brain to learn how to deal with it if it's just temporary.

So I've been wearing an eye patch, which I switch back and forth from eye to eye during the day. Arrrrrr. Pain in the butt.

And I can't drive. So I sit, and toil.

Though when my other eye gets done, things should be great.

*******

2012 made $65.2 million over the weekend, and like $250 million around the world. I have to admit that I'm not that thrilled about seeing a movie in which the world ends and I die.

PRECIOUS made almost $5.9 million in only 174 theaters, to finish third. Nice to see movies doing well because they are supposed to be good, though it'll also be interesting to see if it means agents and producers will be dusting off more sad tales of unhappy youth and trying to get them made.

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Weekend Box Office #159

It's November, so the movies should be getting better. Theoretically.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (3683 theaters). Do we really need yet another version of the same old story, this one with not-particularly-thrilling looking computer animation? It's an awful lot of screens, but I don't think it's going to be huge, especially since Christmas isn't for 8 weeks yet. Figure $18.6 million.

THE BOX (2635 theaters). I read this screenplay once upon a time for someone, and I don't remember much about it, other than it was okay. $12.4 million.

THE FOURTH KIND (2529 theaters). Reviews have not been good. $6.5 million.

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS (2443 theaters). Interesting title, good cast, decent reviews, could do a little something. $15.6 million.

********

Last weekend, MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT made $23.2 million.

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Weekend Box Office #158

The only movie opening this weekend actually opened Wednesday: MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT, on 3481 theaters.

Despite decent reviews, numbers so far are lower than the lofty numbers predicted, and Halloween being on a Saturday won't help. Figure $19.4 million for the weekend.

And I think the title is an empty promise: we're going to be getting lots more Michael Jackson stuff, as long as they can figure out how to make lots of money from it.

******

Last weekend, SAW VI stumbled and only made $14.1, finishing second, well behind PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Everyone is looking for cheap horror movies now.

ASTRO BOY fell short with only $6.7 million for the weekend, THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT did only $6.4 million, and AMELIA really tanked with only $3.9 million.

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Weekend Box Office #157

The days are just flying by. Crazy.

I haven't been to a movie in months, though tonight the wife and I are going to see something. Not sure what, yet.

Opening wide this weekend:

SAW VI (3036 theaters). Number 6? Really? Isn't the string played out yet? Haven't they already killed off everyone? Does its audience even know what "VI" means (and how sad is it that if they do, it's the one thing all that Roman numeral education was good for). Figure $18.7 million for the weekend.

ASTRO BOY (3014 theaters). I don't see a huge amount of adult crossover here, though I suppose kids will see it. Prediction: $17.5 million.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT (2754 theaters). I've seen commercials for this, and nothing about it grabs me, while John C. Reilly's presence gives it an odd tone. Given all the other vampire projects around, and all the scarier movies, who is going to see this? Prediction: $4.6 million.

AMELIA (818 theaters). Something for adults, though this isn't very many theaters. $9.8 million.

*********

Last weekend, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE made a solid $32.7 million.

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN did a nice $21.0 million, while THE STEPFATHER managed $11.6 million.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY did $19.6 million, so I was close on something.

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Weekend Box Office #156

The big question this weekend is how much WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE will do. It has been a roller-coaster ride for this movie: early production work said it was a mess, too dark for kids. But they've done a great job advertising it in the last few months, and I think a lot of kids will want to see it, though I'm not sure how many adults-without-kids will seek it out.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (3735 theaters). I'm going to guess $42.4 million for the weekend, though it could do a lot more -- or less.

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (2889 theaters). It looks okay. Maybe $14.5 million for the weekend.

THE STEPFATHER (2734 theaters). Is this a remake anyone was crying out for? Hard to see it garnering much real interest. $4.1 million.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (expanding to 760 theaters). This made an astounding $7.9 million last weekend, in only 160 theaters. Prediction: $19.5 million this weekend.

*********

Last weekend, COUPLES RETREAT made $34.3 million. I'm dumbfounded. If there's any sign that the economy is rebounding, the fact that people have disposable cash for a poorly-reviewed comedy like this is it.

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Weekend Box Office #155

Quiet weekend this weekend, with only one movie opening wide.

COUPLES RETREAT (3000 theaters). As much as I like Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau together, I have yet to hear an actual funny joke in any commercial for this film, and it's hard to imagine what's going to hook audiences. Prediction: $8.1 million for the weekend.

*******

Last weekend, ZOMBIELAND did a very solid $24.7 million.

TOY STORY/TOY STORY 2 did $12.5 million. THE INVENTION OF LYING did only $7.0 million, and WHIP IT stumbled in with only $4.6 million.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY did only $4.4 million.

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Weekend Box Office #154

So I didn't make the Nicholl Finals. Still not a bad run though.

Opening wide this weekend:

ZOMBIELAND (3036 theaters). This looks a little too offbeat to really be huge, but it should make some good money. Prediction: $17.8 million for the weekend.

TOY STORY/TOY STORY 2 (3D) (1745 theaters). The running time (and the fact that everyone owns them) will cut down on the box office a little, but the 3D will help. $14.6 million.

WHIP IT (1720 theaters). I read the script and generally liked it, though I don't think they are selling it very well. $8.1 million.

THE INVENTION OF LYING (1707 theaters). I also read this and liked it, though I don't think they've figured out how to sell it either. $6.5 million.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (expanding to 962 theaters). I'm not sure people are really in the mood to watch this. $5.1 million.

********

Last weekend, SURROGATES opened with $14.9 million. FAME did $10 million. PANDORUM tanked with only $4.4 million.

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Weekend Box Office #153

Late September: the dumping ground for all sort of movies.

Opening wide this weekend:

FAME (3096 theaters). The problem with remaking this movie is the original was good, plus between GLEE and all the dancing shows on TV, there isn't exactly a huge need for a film like this. It seems aimed firmly at teens, but it's hard to believe they'll care much, while the reviews I've seen haven't been glowing. Figure $8.7 million for the weekend.

SURROGATES (2951 theaters). The hook for this is vague, while reviews haven't been great either, and Bruce Willis isn't all that critic-proof any more. Figure $12.5 million.

PANDORUM (2506 theaters). I'm really not all that aware of this film, so it's hard to think it'll be that huge. $9.3 million.

********

Last weekend, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS did a surprisingly-solid $30.3 million.

THE INFORMANT did $10.5 million, LOVE HAPPENS did $8.1 million, and JENNIFER'S BODY stalled with only $6.9 million.

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Weekend Box Office #152

Another week has flown by. It's nuts how fast time is slipping through my fingers.

This weekend's wide releases.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (3119 theaters). I don't know. On the one hand, it's family friendly, but on the other hand it just doesn't seem to have that intangible something that is going to make people flock out to see it. I could be wrong, but I'm going to lowball guess $16.7 million for the weekend.

JENNIFER'S BODY (2701 theaters). Reviews have been underwhelmed, but it's Megan Fox, and that might be enough to do okay. $15.1 million.

THE INFORMANT! (2505 theaters). This was high on my list, until I skimmed the terrible review in the LA Times today. Still, they are advertising the hell out of it. $10.2 million.

LOVE HAPPENS (1989 theaters). This looks a little too generic. $7.7 million.

***********

Last weekend, TYLER PERRY's latest did $23.4 million. 9 did $10.7 million.

SORORITY ROW only did $5.0 million, and WHITEOUT limped in with $4.9 million.

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Weekend Box Office #151

So life ambles on. Weeks have been flying by; I have no idea where the time went. I've been battling a cough and insomnia (beither helping the other at all), and this weekend's crop of wide releases don't offer much respite:

WHITEOUT (2745 theaters). This is apparently not very good at all; the LA Times review today was rather scornful. Apparently it's one of those mysteries where there is endless dialogue in which characters over-explain what they are looking at (note to writers: don't do this). It's hard to believe anyone will care about this film. Estimate: $4.7 million for the weekend.

SORORITY ROW (2665 theaters). With The Final Destination and Halloween II still hanging around, theaters are a bit overclotted with horror movies. $7.1 million.

TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF (2255 theaters). I learned long ago not to underestimate the drawing power of Tyler Perry. $17.4 million.

9 (1661 theaters). This actually opened on Wednesday, and did okay, not great. Figure $9.8 million.

*********

Last weekend, for the 4-day Labor Day weekend, ALL ABOUT STEVE did $14.1 million, GAMER did $11.2 million, and EXTRACT did $5.5 million.

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Weekend Box Office #150

Not much this weekend. EXTRACT sort of looks amusing, though reviews have been slightly mixed.

Opening wide:

GAMER (2502 theaters). I've seen commercials, and there's nothing here that feels like a real grabber. Prediction: $6.7 million for the weekend.

ALL ABOUT STEVE (2251 theaters). This movie also has an odd hook -- she's a stalker, but it's a romantic comedy -- though Sandra Bullock's name is worth a little something. $11.2 million.

EXTRACT (1611 theaters). There's some buzz, but Mike Judge movies don't have much of a track record in theaters. $5.5 million.

******

Last weekend, THE FINAL DESTINATION did a solid $27.4 million, while HALLOWEEN II did a decent $16.3 million.

TAKING WOODSTOCK only did $3.5 million.

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Nicholl Update

My script made the semi-finals of the Nicholl Fellowship. Which is what it did 3 years ago (the only other time I entered it), though it's nice to see that it wasn't a fluke. It put a smile on my face.

Good luck to the others who are hearing news today...

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Weekend Box Office #149

And another week rockets by.

The only movie I saw in theaters this past week was BANDSLAM, which is a solid, solid teen movie that deserved to be sold better and seen by more people. This weekend, (weekend #3 for the film) it is in only 207 theaters, down from 2121 last week. Hopefully it'll find its audience on DVD or cable; it deserves it.

Opening wide this weekend:

THE FINAL DESTINATION (3121 theaters). It's a weird trend to give sequels similar names to the original movie in the series. This one is in 3D, and the basic premise is still a draw, so it should do fairly well, say $16.1 million.

HALLOWEEN 2 (3000 theaters). I don't think it's too wise to have two similar movies coming out the same weekend, and I think this one is going to be the one that suffers. $11.2 million.

TAKING WOODSTOCK (1393 theaters). They are advertising this a lot, but it's not a huge amount of theaters yet. Figure $9.4 million for the weekend.

***********

Last weekend, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS made $38.1 million, for Tarantino's best opening weekend ever, and probably saving The Weinstein Company for the near future.

SHORTS did only $6.4 million; I guess it looked too goofy even to draw a lot of kids. POST GRAD did only $2.7 million; X-GAMES 3D THE MOVIE stumbled in with only $837,216.

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Weekend Box Office #148

The summer is just drifting by. I saw JULIE & JULIA -- and liked it -- but otherwise I haven't seen much of anything.

This weekend's new wide offerings:

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (3165 theaters). Apparently it's too long and slow, but has its moments, sort of like the script. It'll probably do okay, though the 2 1/2 hour running time will hurt the box office a bit. Prediction: $19.5 million for the weekend.

SHORTS (3105 theaters). They are trying to sell this as a film for kids and adults, but apparently it skews pretty young, despite the presence of Jon Cryer and James Spader. Call it $22.4 million, just for the kid factor.

POST GRAD (1958 theaters). I haven't seen any commercials for this, though the LA Times review was pretty dour. $2.6 million.

X-GAMES THE MOVIE (1399 theaters). A limited one-week run, but are there really a huge amount of X-Games fans ready to pony to see this in a theater? $5.2 million.

******

Last weekend, DISTRICT 9 made a very solid $37.4 million, and should hold well. THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE did an okay $18.6 million.

THE GOODS did only $5.6 million, while PONYO did $3.6 million, and BANDSLAM stumbled in with $2.2 million; wow did they sell this movie badly.

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Weekend Box Office #147

Well I've sunk back into too much working and not enough posting. Such is life.

This weekend:

DISTRICT 9 (3049 theaters). I'd call it a big sleeper, except that it is opening on the most screens of any movie this weekend. But the buzz is great, and though it's lack of star might have it open a little small, it should build well if it's as good as they say. $21.3 million for the weekend.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (2988 theaters). I've seen a lot of ads for this, though the reviews aren't great. $21.2 million.

BANDSLAM (2121 theaters). I'd be ready to dismiss it except that it's directed by Todd Graff, whose movie CAMP I liked a lot, and reviews for this have been solid. Still, I don't see it being huge. $8.8 million for the weekend.

THE GOODS (1838 theaters). Decent reviews and it looks fun, though the title is kind dumb. $7.8 million.

*******

Last weekend, GI JOE made a solid $54.7 million.

JULIE AND JULIA did a pretty good $20.1 million. PERFECT GETAWAY stumbled in with just $5.9 million.

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Weekend Box Office #146

Sometime this weekend I'll write a post on John Hughes, a man whose movies I generally loved; when he was at his best, in his teen comedy/dramas, he was gold.

Opening this weekend:

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (4007 theaters). I'm sure it'll make a lot of money, but I have no interest in seeing it. I don't think I ever owned a G.I. Joe, but if I did I don't think this was the kind of adventures I was imagining. Though again, blowing stuff up real good generally makes a lot of money. Call it $40.0 million for the weekend, but I could be way low or even way high; I'm just not sure this is really going to hit women that well.

JULIE & JULIA (2975 theaters). Look for this one to do really well, just because I think it's going to draw women, as well as an over-40 audience that might not go to the movies much. Prediction: $28.7 opening weekend, and then it'll hold well.

A PERFECT GETAWAY (2159 theaters). This might work as a compromise date movie: the girl doesn't want to see G.I. Joe, the guy doesn't want to see Julie and Julia, so they settle on this. $15.5 million.

Opening in only 38 theaters is PAPER HEART, which is on my short list.

*******

Last weekend, FUNNY PEOPLE did $22.7 million, a bit low, and I have a feeling it's going to drop a good 40% this weekend.

ALIENS IN THE ATTIC only did $8.0 million. THE COLLECTOR did $3.8 million. I overestimated everything...

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Weekend Box Office #145

I need to get to the movies sometime this weekend, I'm falling behind.

ALIENS IN THE ATTIC (3106 theaters). I haven't seem much advertising for this, though that's probably because I'm not watching the TV shows that their demographic watches. Should do something, though it's hard to imagine it'll really click. Prediction: $15.6 million for the weekend.

FUNNY PEOPLE (3008 theaters). I'm a Judd Apatow fan, but this is getting some mixed reviews, while at 2 hours 25 minutes it's also rather long. Still, it's on my short list, and it should have a solid weekend. $33.5 million.

THE COLLECTOR (1325 theaters). I saw a commercial for this last night, and I'm still not sure what it's about. $4.1 million.

Also, THE HURT LOCKER and (500) DAYS OF SUMMER are both continuing to expand. Both are also on my short list.

*******

Last weekend, G-FORCE made $31.7 million, better than I thought, though I think it'll drop fast.

THE UGLY TRUTH made a fairly-shocking $27.6 million. Apparently Katherine Heigl is a movie star, and there is still life in romantic comedies.

ORPHAN made $12.8 million, and will likely sink like a stone.

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Just Got Some Nicholl Fellowship Love...

Just learned my script made the quarterfinal round. Top 321 of 6398.

Except for a nip here and a tuck there, it's the same script that semi'd three years ago (which was the only other time I entered the Nicholl). But given the stories of scripts getting very different results in very different years, I wasn't taking anything for granted.

Best wishes to those of you who made the cut as well, and to those who didn't, I'm sure you should have :-)

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Weekend Box Office #144

An underwhelming weekend, at least for wide-release movies:

G-FORCE (3697 theaters). This looks like it is skewing very young, and I'm not sure how much adult appeal there is to it at all. Call it $24.5 million for the weekend, though it could do a lot more or less.

THE UGLY TRUTH (2882 theaters). Reviews don't seem to be very solid, while the film doesn't seem to have much of a hook, and the leads aren't really draws in a vacuum. Call it $9.5 million.

ORPHAN (2750 theaters). I heard what the twist is, and it made me roll my eyes (no spoilers for those who might actually drag their butts out to see it). It'll probably do well enough. $15.5 million.

*****

Last weekend, HARRY POTTER 6 did $77.8 million, for $158 million in its first 5 days. Not bad, but not huge huge huge.

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Weekend Box Office #143

And then there was Potter.

I've seen the first 4 movies, missed #5, though I borrowed it from my sister-in-law (like a year ago, but who's counting).

I'm still trying to figure out if I should watch all 5 again, before going to see 6, or just the last couple, or save it all for some future marathon when the series is done and I have the time and inclination.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (4325 theaters). This made $58 million on Wednesday (counting midnight sneaks from the night before) and it should continue to roll this weekend. Figure a good $125 million or so for the three days.

*******

Last weekend, BRUNO made $30.6 million after all. Be interesting to see how it holds up.

I LOVE BETH COOPER did only $4.9 million.

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Visual Commerciality

This could even dovetail with the Michael Bay conversation, I'm not sure.

I just read an interesting quote about the new Harry Potter movie. Apparently director David Yates and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel's first cut of the film used a funky, bold unusual color scheme that Daniel Radcliffe calls "surreal".

But Warner Brothers didn't like it, and Yates and Delbonnel recolored the film to make it much more straightforward.

Yates states "We'd done a few wacky things originally, and in fairness to the studio, they are very sophisticated in their artistic sensibilities, but they do have to be very aware of what works in the marketplace".

Apparently Joe Sixpack doesn't like his Harry Potter movies surreal.

Good thing, bad thing? At what point should commercial concerns override the director's vision?

And who wishes they could see the original cut?

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Boring Main Characters

So I just read a vampire script in which the vampire was really a very dull, passive character, who we really weren't made to care about at all; he wasn't sympathetic, he wasn't really evil. He just was, and he didn't do all that much along the way.

I guess maybe the writers were going for a banality-of-evil kind of thing, but it just didn't work.

It got me thinking, though -- are there any good examples of movies like this that work even though the main character is sort of a bland hole in the center of the script? Or does this so violate how to tell an involving story that it's the kiss of death?

Discuss --

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Michael Bay Is A Golden God, And I Can't Wait To See What He Directs Next

Not really.

Just wanted to throw up a new post, before the comments section below collapses under its own weight.

But maybe it's time to respin it, into a new talking point: there's no denying that Transformers 2 has made a buttload of money. How much of it is due to its direction, or is it all marketing?

Is there an under-respected section of the populace that actually likes this movie a lot, justifying its creation and making Michael Bay a respectable director? Or is it the kind of mediocre-enough dumb fun that too many people are willing to settle for?

Does it take a special skill set to have made a $400 million (inevitably) Transformers sequel, or could even someone as dubious as McG have done the same thing?

And as writers, are there lessons to be learned here, or should it just make us shake our heads in dumbfoundedness?

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Weekend Box Office #142

This weekend in the cinemaplex:

BRUNO (2755 theaters). I've read predictions that this is going to make a ton of money (like $30-$40 million-plus opening weekend), and somehow I don't think it's going to do that well. The problem with the way they are selling this -- as another Borat -- is that I think people sort of got tired of Borat, while this doesn't seem like anywhere near as interesting a character. The reviews are solid, and it benefits from nothing else really opening this weekend, but I'm going to say that it may have trouble breaking $20 million for the weekend. Call it $18.2 million.

I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER (1858 theaters). I haven't really sensed the big hook that is going to yank in teen audiences. $6.4 million.

*************

Last weekend, ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS made $41.7 million. PUBLIC ENEMIES did $25.2 million. Both should hold pretty well this weekend; I wouldn't be surprised if ICE AGE, which narrowly finished second to TRANSFORMERS last weekend, won the weekend.

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In Quest of Intelligent Conversation

Being that the last comment section has de-evolved into sniping, I figured I'd start another post, and try to spark some intelligent conversation.

Topic:

I find myself at the point of my writing where I want to sell something. But if I feel my current project isn't amazing and commercial, should I abandon it in favor of something else? Is it about writing something that you want to write, or looking for something that might have more commercial potential?

Discuss.

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Weekend Box Office #141

Oops. This Friday prediction post is late, for the first week in a long while.

Blame it on the holiday weekend. My wife was off from work yesterday, and that made it seem like a Saturday.

Blame it on a weird week too. I've been wrestling with a medical issue for about a month, since a "mass" was discovered in my liver. Mass is a really scary word; so is "biopsy", which I had last Tuesday. They stuck a long needle into my chest, and scraped out some cells.

The news is great -- it's non-cancerous. A load off my back, after 4 uncertain weeks in which I threw myself into my work to distract myself, and didn't write a word of my own stuff.

Now it's time to return to the business of screenwriting.

This weekend (and even though it's Saturday morning, I haven't peeked yet, though I am aware of how things opened on Wednesday).

ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (4099 theaters). Opening on a Wednesday will lower the weekend grosses a bit, as will the fact that this skews a lot younger than something like UP. Figure about $48.1 million for the three-day weekend.

PUBLIC ENEMIES (3334 theaters). They haven't done a very good job selling this to me, while reviews have only been okay. Figure about $26.7 million for the weekend.

*******

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN made $109 million over the three days last weekend.

MY SISTER'S KEEPER did $12.4 million.

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Weekend Box Office #140

So TRANSFORMERS 2 is already jaw-droppingly huge; it did some $60 million on Wednesday (best Wednesday ever; second best day ever for a movie) and another $28 million yesterday.

Imagine if it had gotten good reviews?

Ironically, Michael Jackson died yesterday, and something similar happened -- suddenly he was viewed as this tragic icon, the king of pop cut down in his prime. But imagine the reaction if he hadn't been a weird little pervert.

Even pop culture successes are never quite as big as they could have/should've been.

Opening wide today:

TRANSFORMERS 2 (4234 theaters). I didn't see the first one, but apparently it has something to do with robot cars and a sexy Megan Fox. The sequel will probably add another $95 million this weekend. Yay, the economy is coming back.

MY SISTER'S KEEPER (2606 theaters). Oy. I guess there's room for a weepy movie geared toward women, and they have been advertising the heck out of this. But it's not exactly escapsim. $11.2 million for the weekend.

******

THE PROPOSAL did a very strong $33.6 million for the weekend, Sandra Bullock's best opening ever, and a jolt of life for star-driven romcoms.

YEAR ONE did a pretty good $19.6 million, but word of mouth doesn't seem very solid, and it'll probably drop fast.

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Weekend Box Office #139

I'm swamped this week, which is great -- I'm not complaining. Not sure if I'll have time to go to the movies this weekend, though, and I'm starting to fall behind.

Not that this week's offerings are all that thrilling:

THE PROPOSAL (3056 theaters). Though it's nice to see Sandra Bullock out in a movie that's getting some decent reviews, at the same time I've seen the trailer and I feel like I've seen the whole movie, and don't want to see it again. Call it $13.4 million for the weekend.

YEAR ONE (3022 theaters). It looks like dumb fun, and it could click with audiences, though then again audiences could just yawn and stay in to watch NASCAR. Prediction: $14.4 million.

WHATEVER WORKS (limited release). Remember when the release of a new Woody Allen movie was an event? Neither do I. None of the reviews that I've seen have been very enthusiastic.

*************

Last weekend, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 made $23.3, which isn't terrible but is less than I thought.

IMAGINE THAT made $5.5 million, so I was dead on in my underwhelmedness.

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Weekend Box Office #138

One interesting, one not:

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 (3074 theaters). I haven't seen the original in a while; it's one of those classic 70s movies that never seems to be on TV much. But you can't beat the cast here, they are making it seem exciting, and the reviews I've seen have been solid. Let's call it $34.5 million for the weekend.

IMAGINE THAT (3008 theaters). Oy. It's hard to believe that anyone would want to see this, except maybe little girls, but even then not really. But they are advertising the heck out of it. I smell a big flop. $5.5 million for the weekend.

**********

Last weekend, THE HANGOVER roared out and gobbled up almost $45 million to edge UP for the top slot. Pretty amazing for an R-rated comedy with no stars, and it's holding up very well over the past 4 days as well.

LAND OF THE LOST tanked, with only $18.8 million for the weekend and the promise of a steep tumble this weekend. I bet Will Ferrell is wishing he'd stuck with Hangover director Todd Phillips, who directed Ferrell in OLD SCHOOL.

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Weekend Box Office #137

Yuck, it's raining. It's not supposed to rain in Los Angeles in June.

Opening this weekend:

LAND OF THE LOST (3521 theaters). It's a good time for a movie that looks like dumb fun, and it it should grab the family audience. I'm going to take a wild guess and say $46.5 million for the weekend, though I could be way off.

THE HANGOVER (3269 theaters). I gave the makers of this some notes along the way, and though I'd like to take credit for making it the funny movie it apparently is, it's likely I really had little to do with that. Still, see it, so they can keep paying me to read other things. Prediction: $18.7 million for the weekend, but it should hold well.

MY LIFE IN RUINS (1164 theaters). I haven't seen any commercials for this film, which stars Nia Vardelos from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". I'm not sure she has enough of a real following to make this a big hit through. $3.6 million for the weekend.

*****

Last weekend, UP made $68.1 million, and DRAG ME TO HELL made $15.8 million.

STAR TREK became the first movie this year to crash over the $200 million mark, though it likely won't make it to $300 million.

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Weekend Box Office #136

Two fairly big movies opening today, and I have no real idea how well they might do. Which of course won't prevent me from taking a guess.

Plus it's my birthday today. For some reason, I'm getting older every year. There's gotta be some way to address that.

UP (3766 theaters). On the one hand it's Pixar, which is a big plus. On the other hand, it features a kid, a dog and a crusty old man, and seems to skew a little young to really grab the adult audience. Still, it should do fine. My guess: $56 million for the weekend, and it'll hold well.

DRAG ME TO HELL (2508 theaters). On the plus side it's a good title, it's Sam Raimi, and it's getting very good reviews. But a PG-13 horror movie? Let's call it a solid $22.6 million.

******

Last weekend, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2 did $70 million. TERMINATOR: SALVATION did only $51 million. I saw it, and it's not great or terrible; it just is, and it'll probably drop pretty quickly.

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Shaking The Tree

So work has been slow, times are tough, and they just got tougher: my wife's car (the good car - or it was) died for good today.

So I need to start busting my can and making some money.

Anyone who has enjoyed my notes service in the past, and has offered to spread the word, now is the time. Give me a plug on a website or a blog; send people to http://www.sixtybucknotes.blogspot.com/

For the near future, that's the price again: $60.

Still the best deal on the web. 4-6 pages of notes. I will make your script better.

Thanks --

Scott

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Weekend Box Office #135

It's Memorial Day weekend, and theaters should be packed. Though I predict STAR TREK will hold pretty well, because the new stuff is a bit underwhelming.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE AT THE SMITHSONIAN (4096 theaters). The reviews have been unexciting, while it seems like a clone of the first movie, which wasn't that good. Still, there isn't much out there for family audiences. Call it $54 million for the 4-day weekend.

TERMINATOR SALVATION (3530 theaters). This is also a sequel to a movie that wasn't that great, not to mention a TV series that never found much of an audience. Reviews have been pretty sour, and though people will see this (because things blow up) I think it'll underperform expectations. Call it $42 million for the 4-day weekend.

DANCE FLICK (2450 theaters). It's supposed to be a little better than most of the parody movies of the past few years (though the bar is really low), and the Wayans' brothers name will help. $18.6 million for the 4 days.

********

Last weekend, ANGELS AND DEMONS did $46.2 million, narrowly beating out STAR TREK in its second week.

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The Title Page

So there was a question in the comment section of the post below, that I figured I'd repost up here so that I could get some input on it.

The question is about what to put on one's title page, copywright info or WGAw or nothing. Whether it's seen as amateurish to do so -- or whether a producer won't read your script if it doesn't have it on it.

I can't speak to the latter, but I can speak to the former -- it always seemed a little amateurish to me, a sign that the newbie writer is trying to validate the script by putting these signs-that-this-is-an-actual-screenplay on the cover. Or that he/she thinks that a producer definitely won't steal their idea because look, there's the WGAw number, but if it's not on there they definitely might swipe it all and your girlfriend too.

Not a break-the-bank, sway-my-opinion-going-in thing. But a sign of an amateur, definitely, because pros don't do this -- and I think a lot of the more experienced amateurs just don't bother.

But I have no idea if a producer would require the scripts be registered before reading the script. I think registering one's script is probably a good idea in general, but I can't speak to anyone in the business requiring you to have that protection and plastering it on your title page.

Title, name, maybe an address, phone number. That's all mine ever have. Though that's just me. I can't say that has helped me or hurt me in any significant way whatsoever.

But if anyone can speak to any aspect of this, feel free to weigh in.

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Weekend Box Office #134

So yeah, big overestimatage on STAR TREK last weekend. Forgot that it's still sort of a cult property -- though $75 million is nothing to sneeze at.

This weekend's big movie is ANGELS & DEMONS, which opens in 3,527. Let's see, factor in Tom Hanks, multiply it by action, divide it by somewhat mediocre reviews (and a somewhat mediocre first film) but boost it a couple of levels because the over-40 crowd might turn out for it and there isn't much else out there for them.

Let's call it $63 million for the weekend. Feel free to toss in your best guess; that one was out of my ass.

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Weekend Box Office #133

So I lobbed a script into the Nicholl Fellowship competition at the last minute, the same one I semi'd with back in 2006, albeit with a few minor tweaks.

Gotta be in it to win it.

*******

This weekend, it's all going to be STAR TREK (3849 theaters). Reviews are solid, and I'll just randomly guess it'll do $100 million for the weekend, $115 million when Thursday night is counted in.

NEXT DAY AIR (1138 theaters). Haven't gotten much real sense of this one yet. Call it $5.2 million.

********

Last weekend, WOLVERINE pounded out a solid $85 million. GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST did an okay $15.4.

BATTLE FOR TERRA sadly tanked with only $1.1 million.

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Weekend Box Office #132

So anyone rushing to get something in for the Nicholl Fellowship, the deadline has been pushed back at least one day, to late May 2.

I have nothing new, though I may lob an old script or two in, just for the heck of it.

*******

Opening this weekend:

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (4099 theaters). It's hard to believe that the online leak is going to hurt this all that much; it's still the kind of movie that a lot of people will want to experience in a theater. Call it $51.1 million for the weekend, though who knows -- it could do a lot less, or a lot more.

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST (3175 theaters). If you think there have been a lot of movies riffing on "A Christmas Carol", you should see how many scripts I've read that do the same thing, that never got made. This one will probably do well enough. $18.7 million.

BATTLE FOR TERRA (1159 theaters). I've met one of the producers, so I hope this does well, but it's very low-profile, and I just don't sense enough wanna-see factor here. $4.0 million.

*****

Last weekend, OBSESSED made $28.6 million. One more reason why Hollywood doesn't think it needs to be all that original any more.

FIGHTING made $11.0 million, and THE SOLOIST only did $9.7 million. So much for serious star vehicles.

EARTH made $8.8 million.

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Weekend Box Office #131

Another Friday already. Where does the time go?

OBSESSED (2514 theaters). Yet another iteration of FATAL ATTRACTION, in which we're supposed to believe that anyone would even think of cheating on Beyonce. Still, the specter of Beyonce kicking some white girl's ass will bring in some viewers. Maybe $12.3 million for the weekend.

FIGHTING (2310 theaters). I guess young men have to go see something, and Terrance Howard helps give this some pedigree. Still, it all seems so familiar. $9.1 million.

THE SOLOIST (2024 theaters). The LA Times trashed this movie, but only because the critic knows the character Robert Downey Jr. plays, and couldn't divorce the truth from the movie. Stupid critics. I read the script, and it's okay. Figure $11.7 million.

EARTH (1804 theaters). This opened on Wednesday, and did $4 million, so obviously people are into it. I still think this would have been a cool horror movie title. Figure $10.6 million for the weekend.

*************

Last weekend, 17 AGAIN did a solid $23.7 million. STATE OF PLAY (which I saw, thumbs up) did $14 million. CRANK stumbled in with only $6.9 million.

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Contest Season

For some reason, most of the major contests have their deadlines in the next couple of weeks.

I'm not a huge contest guy, at all. I've submitted to the Nicholl a couple of times, and made the semis in 2006, though that experience was ultimately not all that satisfying: a double-handful of read requests, mostly from managers, that didn't go anywhere.

I submitted to Bluecat, and as chronicled here that was a disaster; when I finally got their vaunted feedback with the script (weeks after it didn't make the next round), it was a rave without a single critical note. Oy.

When I bashed them about it here, they sent me an unhappy e-mail, though they did offer me free entry to their next competition. I didn't take them up on it. Just because I have another eye, doesn't mean I'm going to let them jam their fork in that one too.

But it's contest season again.

The Nicholl semi thing didn't ultimately lead anywhere, but at the same time it does look nice in an e-mail when I'm trying to get someone to read my stuff. It establishes that I'm not a complete noob.

But unless I dust that script off and send it in again, I don't really have anything that's Nicholl-friendly. In the last few years I've written a couple of dark thrillers and a TV pilot, but nothing that is liable to do well in that kind of competition.

It's the TV pilot that I'd like to get out there into the world; it's whining to me about sitting on the shelf all the time.

There aren't all that many contests that cater to TV pilots though. Austin takes specs of existing TV shows, but snubs pilots completely. Nicholl doesn't do TV at all.

There are Scriptapalooza and PAGE, both of which have deadlines coming up soon, and which are both possibles. Anyone have any experience with them?

Share stories here, as well as tales of any other contest experiences, good or bad.

Because it's contest season, and though it's always a longshot, it is one way to be a little proactive with the writing career thing.

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Weekend Box Office #130

So it's fair to say that this blog has slipped into a state of low priority. I just seem to be too busy every day, and not getting nearly enough done.

For those who want more insight into the reading/writing business, dig back into the columns from 2 or 3 years ago, when my mind was springy and I hadn't emptied it.

I'm a bit underwhelmed by this weekend's offerings:

17 AGAIN (3255 theaters). In what universe does Zac Efron grow up to look like Matthew Perry? Do you think that gives Zac nightmares? This movies for young women only, though there may be enough of them to let this do about $16.5 million for the weekend.

STATE OF PLAY (2803 theaters). The interesting thing about Russell Crowe is that his best movies always take place in the past. This one doesn't, and there just isn't anything to really distinguish it. Prediction: $8.3 million for the weekend.

CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE (2223 theaters). The premise is funny, but the quick-cutting, washed out look trailer gave me a headache. Still, it should do about $12.9 million.

*****

Last weekend, HANNAH MONTANA did a solid $32.3 million (ensuring that Miley isn't going away any time soon, for better or worse).

OBSERVE AND REPORT did $11 million. DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION did $4.6 million.

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Weekend Box Office #129

Finally went to the movies last weekend, and saw I LOVE YOU MAN (good) and KNOWING (ultimately didn't quite work).

This weekend's offerings aren't all that tempting:

HANNAH MONTANA (3118 theaters). Her concert movie made a lot of money, but it's going to take a lot of little girls to make this one hit big. Look for it to do about $17.1 million for the weekend.

OBSERVE AND REPORT (2727 theaters). Word on this one is that it's a lot darker than they are selling it as; it could be this generations THE CABLE GUY (which isn't a good thing). Though Seth Rogen has his fans, the hard-R rating (for profanity and non-Seth penis) might knock down the crowds. Call it $15.9 million, and look for it to drop like a stone on its second weekend.

DRAGONBALL Z (2181 theaters). Apparently fans are miffed at all the changes from the manga, including the absense of the main characters' big spiky hair. Oy. $7.4 million.

*******

Last weekend, FAST & FURIOUS made a brain-frying $71 million. ADVENTURELAND only did $5.7 million.

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Weekend Box Office #128

So finally the dust from the move is clearing, and I can focus on paying more attention to this blog.

And, you know, writing. Though I made a choice about a new character in the script I'm working on that I think is going to help me crack the story, finally.

Meanwhile, movies keep coming out:

FAST AND FURIOUS (3462 theaters). It seems really weird to have a titel so incredibly similar to the title of the first film, while no one in the cast has had a hit for a while. Still, apparently it pays off on an action level, and the marketing is working. Prediction $27.4 million for the weekend.

ADVENTURELAND (1862 theaters). This is getting great reviews, so word of mouth might be good, though it's hard to imagine it's going to do huge numbers opening weekend, particularly as a teen movie with much of a cast or story hook (except for TWILIGHT's Kristen Stewart). Figure it'll do about $8.3 million for the weekend, but hold well.

*****

Last weekend, MONSTERS VS. ALIENS did a strong $59.3 million. THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT did a solid $23.0 million. 12 ROUNDS limped in with only $5.3 million.

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Weekend Box Office #127

In the midst of a long tiring move. Moved my mother-in-law into the house, and now we're doing the big furniture move tomorrow.

Meanwhile I have too much stuff. Too many DVDs, too many books, too many scripts, too much writing, too many CDs, too many tapes, too many records.

I still haven't seen anything that opened in 2009 yet. But here is this weekend's action:

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS (4104 theaters). Early word is that it's okay, but no Pixar film. The 3-D will help, the high screen count will help. Prediction: $48.9 million for the weekend.

THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT (2732 theaters). Creepy commercials will bring people in. $17.3 million for the weekend.

12 ROUNDS (2331 theaters). The commercials are vague, while the LA Times didn't have an ad (or a review) today. $6.8 million.

******

Last weekend, KNOWING did a solid $24.6 million. I LOVE YOU, MAN did $17.8 million. DUPLICITY stiffed a bit with only $14.0 million.

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Weekend Box Office #126

Some interesting movies this weekend:

KNOWING (3332 theaters). Has anyone made more bad movies in the past 10 years than Nic Cage? This one at least has an interesting hook, and apparently he doesn't overact. My estimate? $18.2 million for the weekend.

I LOVE YOU, MAN (2711 theaters). They've done a pretty good job of advertising this too. $15.8 million.

DUPLICITY (2574 theaters). Despite being the most grown-up of these three movies, it could sneak into the number one slot. $18.8 million.

******

Last weekend, RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN did a solid 24.4 million. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT did a pretty good $14.1. MISS MARCH only did $2.4 million.

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It's a Small World

Today, for the second time in a week, I got a script to read from a production company that I gave someone notes on in 2007.

Different production companies, different scripts.

It's nice to see that tales I've helped (to whatever small extent) are circulating. It gives one hope.

And I told both writers -- so if I didn't tell you, no, it wasn't your script.

And yes, my coverage on both scripts will be honest...

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Weekend Box Office #125, and also 11,000

So I wrote my 11,000th piece of paid coverage or notes yesterday. Scary, scary, scary. Not bad for 18 years of doing this.

I wonder what the record is....

*******

I'm going to be moving at the end of the month, renting a house so that my wife's mom can live with us. I think it'll work out. Fingers crossed. Though I hate moving.

*******

I'm trying to bang out 15-20 pages of a new comedy so that I can bring it in to my group of Monday night. I have the basic outlines of a story, but at this point I'm just letting the pages flow, and seeing what comes out.

*******

New in theaters this weekend:

RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (3187 theaters). This seems to be getting solid-enough views, while the ads are positioning it well as a family movie that might draw in some young adults as well (the Rock plus aliens plus car chases can only help). Let's guess $26.7 million for the weekend.

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2401 theaters). It's a little weird that they are remaking old horror movies that their young target audience has probably never heard of, but what the hell, it's a cool title. $10.9 million.

MISS MARCH (1742 theaters). This just looks rather stupid, without the cast to compensate. $4.1 million.

*******

Last weekend, WATCHMEN did $55.2 million. A little short of my estimate, but not bad.

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Weekend Box Office #124 -- Watchmen

So I apologize for getting lazy on my blog again, and since I'm getting read to move at the end of the month, it may get worse.

Dig deep into the archives if you are bored.

This weekend the only movie opening wide is WATCHMEN (3611 theaters). I was on board with the graphic novel when it first came out (though I'm not really a graphic novel guy), but somewhere along the years since someone borrowed it and never gave it back -- I have no idea who.

It's a great graphic novel, however, and I've heard that's sort of the problem. Fans of it may be disappointed by the movie, while people who haven't read it apparently may be confused by parts of the film. Plus it's about 2 hours 40 minutes long.

Still, my prediction for the weekend: $63.1 million. Because it's escapism, it's a big screen movie, and there isn't much else fresh out there.

****************

Last weekend, MADEA GOES TO JAIL finished number 1, with $16.1 million, even though it dropped over 60%.

THE JONAS BROTHERS only did $12.5 million, just narrowly nosing out SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, which should zoom past $130 million this week. Not bad for a movie that at one point they were considering sending straight to DVD.

STREET FIGHTER limped in with $4.7 million.

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Weekend Box Office #123

Sorry this is being posted so late today, but I spent the day at jury service, despite still battling bronchitis.

JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3D CONCERT EXPERIENCE (1271 theaters). Yeah, they pulled Coraline out of most of its 3D theaters to make room for this. There are probably enough screaming girls out there to make this around $15 million for the weekend.

STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI (1136 theaters). It's hard to believe that fans of the game wouldn't simply just play the game. $4.9 million.

******

Last weekend, MADEA GOES TO JAIL made a stunning $41.0 million. Look for it to be #1 again, unless the expanding SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE can pull off a miracle, though probably not.

FIRED UP did only $5.4 million for the weekend.

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My Oscar Picks

Clip this, enter the pool at whatever party you are at. Feel free to tip me if you win.

BEST PICTURE: Slumdog Millionaire
BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, Slumdog
BEST ACTOR: Sean Penn
BEST ACTRESS: Kate Winslet
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Penelope Cruz
BEST ANIMATED FILM: Wall-E
ANIMATED SHORT: Presto
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Class
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Man On Wire
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Milk

BEST ART DIRECTION: Benjamin Button
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Benjamin Button
COSTUME DESIGN: Revolutionary Road
EDITING: The Dark Knight
SOUND EDITING: Wall-E
SOUND MIXING: The Dark Knight
MAKEUP: Benjamin Button
MUSIC (SCORE): Slumdog Millionaire
MUSIC (SONG): "Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire
VISUAL EFFECTS: Benjamin Button

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Weekend Box Office #122

Still sick, still dragging.

This weekend:

TYLER PERRY'S MEDEA GOES TO JAIL (2032 theaters). Typically, this didn't screen for scritics, though these movies always seem to do well despite their quality. $17.2 million for the weekend.

FIRED UP! (1810 theaters). They are advertising the hell out of this, but it doesn't look that great. $8.1 million.

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Sorry, I'm Back

I went away for a short anniversary trip, and forgot to post about the weekend movies before I left.

In theory, I'm returning with a mental reboot, but in fact I had (and still have) severe bronchitis all weekend. Still, I did avoid reading or writing anything for 5 days.

Meanwhile, though the economy continues to head south, the box office was huge this past weekend. Friday the 13th did over $43 million for its first 4 days, an opening-weekend record for a horror movie.

Confessions of a Shopaholic did a solid $17.8 million. The International did a slightly-underwhelming $10.7 million.

He's Just Not That Into You, Taken and Coraline are all holding on very well, each doing between $18 and 23 million for the weekend.

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Weekend Box Office #121

So I'm back on the horse. I finished a fairly-solid rewrite draft of my dark thriller this morning. Now I can send it out into the world, and dive into writing something funny for a change.

******

A few mildly-intriguing movies opening this weekend:

THE PINK PANTHER 2 (3243 theaters). This looks like ass. It's hard to imagine who is going to see this; most people who bothered to watch the first movie don't seem to have liked it at all, and anyone who didn't seems more likely to just rent that movie rather than spend money on this one. Prediction: $7.1 million for the weekend. I'd be happy if it did less, but hell it'll probably do more.

HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU (3175 theaters). They are advertising the hell out of this, the cast is solid, and reviews have been okay. It'll probably click. $16.5 million for the weekend.

PUSH (2313 theaters). The screen count on this is lowish, but it may be #1, because it looks cool enough. $17.6 million for the weekend.

CORALINE (2298 theaters). Interesting-looking, but I'm not really sure what the audience for this is either, because it really doesn;t look like it's for kids. $5.6 million.

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The Creative Urge Thing

So yesterday on Facebook I made the joke that my creative urge had seen its shadow, and retreated into its cave for six more weeks.

I hope it's a joke.

But my writing has stalled. I put aside the rewrite of my violent thriller in late December to focus on brainstorming my take pitch. The pitch was three weeks ago, and since then I haven't really written a word.

Oh, I've thought about stuff. I've jotted down a few notes, many on a new comedy idea that my brain has been wrestling with, trying to figure out the best characters to make the story work (mainly, the question of whether the lead should be male or female, and why).

I printed out a rough draft of my violent thing, so that I could curl up with it and make the changes I've been pondering to focus it more and make it more of a story.

And I was going to do the curl up thing yesterday... and then I didn't.

Because I had paying work to do, and the wife was home sick from work, and my day was short because of my screenwriting group and a meeting beforehand.

And so there was no time to indulge the creative urge. And it felt ignored, and went back to its cave.

I guess I was the shadow.

But I'm feeling like this is the year I have to write something sellable, and be a lot more productive than I ultimately was last year, when my productivity was maybe a C-.

There's the violent thing to polish up, and as much as I hate the dark reputation it has given me in script group, it might be commercial.

Then I have two comedy ideas I have been wrestling with, one of which I did 40 pages of last year but which needs a minor main character reboot, the other the new thing.

I need to get the stuff I've written out there more. I need to network. I need to write.

I need.

I need to get my creative urge out of its cave.

Depressive rant over.

*****

TAKEN make $24.7 million over the weekend. Pretty impressive, considering.

THE UNINVITED did $10.3 million. NEW IN TOWN stumbled in with only $6.7 million.

THE PINK PANTHER 2 looks like it is going to be an atrocity.

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Weekend Box Office #120

Still in the January doldrums --

TAKEN (3183 theaters). This looks like it might be okay, though the commercials I've seen are a little vague about what it's about (other than aggressively comparing it to the Bourne movies). Prediction: $16.2 million for the weekend.

THE UNINVITED (2344 theaters). I like Elizabeth Banks, but as an evil force? No so sure. $13.5 million.

NEW IN TOWN (1941 theaters). The trailer works, but reviews have been pretty dire. Call it $9.4 million.

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Movies, Movies

Finally binged on movies over the weekend, convincing the wife to tag along as we saw SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, THE WRESTLER and FROST/NIXON (which was actually her choice).

All three are solid films, all make my top 10 of the year at this point.

Still, I'm finding that the movie that really sticks with me is THE WRESTLER. There's something just oddly perfect about it, from Mickey Rourke (who is so seamless in this part it hardly feels like acting), to the whole world in creates, to a strong of griity/real scenes that keep it involving throughout.

It's not for everyone. Blood does flow, and there aren't any pat resolutions here.

But it's a grabber. And as a bonus, Marisa Tomei gets nekkid.

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Weekend Box Office #119

Not much opening wide this weekend, though Slumdog Millionaire expands to 1411 screens, and Frost/Nixon and Revolutionary Road expand to over 1000.

UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS (2942 theaters). It's a genre sequel, so that it'll help it do some business. $17.1 million.

INKHEART (2655 theaters). A terrible title, underwhelming reviews, and it sort of looks like a more-serious version of BEDTIME STORIES. $9.8 million.

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Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations

I'm still woefully behind on seeing 2008 movies, so I'll keep this brief:

-- It's cool that Richard Jenkins got nominated for best actor; "The Visitor" is a personal fave. Though I'm not sure why the screenplay didn't get nominated.

-- It's also nice that the Academy is recognizing a fairly obscure, early-in-the-year indie like "Frozen River" (best actress for Melissa Leo, best screenplay).

-- It's nice to see Marisa Tomei back in the nominations. It would also be nice if she'd make more than one good movie a decade.

-- I'm not sure whether Mickey Rourke's oddball Golden Globes acceptance speech is going to hurt him or get him an Oscar.

-- Heath Ledger is a gimme pick.

-- Four of the five Best Picture Nominees were also nominated for best editing (the other Best Editing Nominee was The Dark Knight, which should have snagged a Best Picture nomination). Maybe it is all about the editing.

-- Milk was nominated for Best Costumes, which seems sort of odd. Basically all you need to do is look at old photos, and go to the right thrift shops.

-- Benjamin Button was nominated for best makeup and for best visual effects. I'm wondering how many people can tell which was which....

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Weekend Box Office #118

Nothing too too exciting opening wide this weekend:

HOTEL FOR DOGS (3271 theaters). I have no idea what Don Cheadle is doing in this. I guess it'll do some family business. $14.5 million.

PAUL BLART: MALL COP (3144 theaters). Is there a huge crying need to see Kevin James on the big screen? I guess we'll find out. Probably not. $7.1 million.

MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D (2534 theaters). Last time I looked, Valentine's Day isn't for a month. The 3D might help, but otherwise not much draw here. $6.9 million.

NOTORIOUS (1637 theaters). Could do something. Call it $9.2 million.

******

Last weekend, Gran Torino did a shockingly solid $29.5 million. Bride Wars chipped in $21 million, and The Unborn did a surprising $19.8, though it'll likely drop like a stone this weekend.

Not Easily Broken did an okay $5.3 million.

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The Art of the Pitch

So I've been busy the past week, trying to be proactive about my screenwriting career, something that I'm just not very good at.

I'm really not the bang-on-doors, get-your-script-to-everyone, look-everywhere-for-writing-jobs kind of aggressive person that you really need to be to give yourself a better shot in this business.

In a perfect world, screenwriting would just be about words on paper. But it's not.

So about a month ago, one of the smaller companies I worked for started sending me writing samples for a project they had bought the rights to. It's an intriguing true story with a lot of possibilities that interested me, while the company was looking to hire someone cheap and good to write it, and searching through the ranks of recent Nicholl finalists and semifinalists and non-WGA writers of that ilk.

So I contacted a writer I knew, and asked her if she was interested in teaming up and trying to get this gig, because I thought that our different strengths would mesh perfectly on a project like this. She was interested, the company read our writing samples and was interested.

And my fellow writer and I then spent much-longer-chunks-of-time-than-we-ever-expected really busting our asses figuring out this story in a beat-by-beat, character arc, fairly complete way.

And then figuring out how to pitch it as a team, whether to take turns telling the story, or to have one person telling the story and the other person coloring it in along the way.

We practiced with friends (while trying to break the story until the night before the pitch) and realized that most of the ways we were trying really, really sucked, particularly since we had yet to have a tight, complete, lean pitchable plot take.

So we figured that out, and concluded that by far the best way to do it was for her to tell the whole story in 10-12 minutes, and for me to just shut the hell up the whole time that was taking place.

So yesterday we had the meeting -- and we rocked it. The pitch was smooth, not a misstep, she told the story, I shut up, though after the story pitch I got a chance to talk about character and a lot of other stuff that shows we've been thinking about the story and we get it and that I was more than just Teller to her Penn.

So there's no telling if it is going to lead anywhere -- there are a zillion ways to take this material, the next step is three or four writers/teams getting a chance to pitch directly to the boss, but a lot is going to depend on whether our take meshes with what he is really looking for (which apparently changes on a fairly regular basis).

But ultimately we got to tell the story we wanted to tell, we told it well, and it's all going to rest on the story, and you can't ask for any more than that.

So fingers crossed.

But at the minimum, I learned I could colloborate with someone else, we both some some good, satisfying real-life pitch experience, and we put ourselves out there.

And sometimes screenwriting is simply about doing more of that.

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Weekend Box Office #117

Not a whole lot this weekend. Still a zillion movies in theaters from the holidays.

Opening wide:

BRIDE WARS (3226 theaters). The Kate Hudson/Anne Hathaway combo and the promise of laughs will help bring in a female audience, though the reviews I have seen haven't been great. $15.2 million.

THE UNBORN (2356 theaters). A spooky commercial is undercut by the fact that this is PG-13, while reviews for this haven't been very excited either. $6.1 million.

NOT EASILY BROKEN (724 theaters). I've seen a lot of commercials for this around Los Angeles, but it's not a very wide release. $2.1 million.

GRAN TORINO goes from 84 theaters to 2808. It should do about $14 million.

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Way Too Far Behind, On Everything

So it's a new year, and time for old resolutions. Drop a few pounds, write a lot of scripts.

Things are in play. I have a few scripts floating around out there getting read.

I'm work on an assignment pitch with a writing partner, and also brainstorming a return to my fantasy/comedy, so that with either one I can convince my writing group that I'm not the sick, twisted guy that my recent dark thriller efforts might lead on to believe.

Meanwhile, I'm far, far, far behind on movies. How far?

Entertainment Weekly just came out with it's list of the 25 movies from 2008 to see before the Oscars.

I've seen 3 -- The Visitor, The Dark Knight, and Milk. Maybe I get a half-point because I read the script for Gran Torino.

But there have been years in the past where that number would have been closer to 20.

What haven't I seen from that list?

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost/Nixon
Doubt
Revolutionary Road
Wall-E
The Wrestler
Gran Torino
The Reader
Rachel Getting Married
Changeling
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Tropic Thunder
Happy-Go-Lucky
I Loved You So Long
Frozen River
Nothing But The Truth
Man On Wire
Synecdoche, New York
The Duchess
Defiance
Australia

I know, I suck.

How many have you seen?

And what's the best 2008 movie you've seen?

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Happy New Year...

Nothing new is opening wide this week, so it's just a matter of catching up on everything old in theaters.

Feel free to post opinions of anything you see this week.

Otherwise, onward into the new year :-)

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