2 - FILM NEWS
Why Are We Still Surprised When Smart Horror Movies Like “Get Out” and “A Quiet Place” Are Big Hits?
“There’s gold in them there scares, and just about every studio is eager to mine the fright genre and its loyal audience for all they’re worth,” writes Neil Turitz. The question now is, who will follow in Jordan Peele and John Krasinski’s successful footsteps?
Multiple WGA members are lobbying for an “Additional Writing By” credit section, naming everyone who had a hand in a film’s screenplay. The general concept behind this is that, if you were hired to write and you wrote, you should get credit for that work, whether or not said work was used. But is that really a good idea?
“Steven Spielberg doesn’t think that Netflix movies should be eligible for Oscars. So would Spielberg, who has been such an enormous supporter of the #MeToo movement, begrudge Mudbound cinematographer Rachel Morrison her history-making nomination? In the words of my therapist, ‘there’s a lot to unpack here,'” writes Neil Turitz.
Hollywood’s star system is under siege, but Oscar winner Alicia Vikander “knocks the ball so far out of the park as the rugged English adventurer that she might as well be Babe Ruth,” writes Neil Turitz.
“What is it about this new Terminator movie that requires a huge, $200 million-plus mega-budget? Scale the thing back to a third of the price, and not only do you increase the film’s odds of turning a profit, thereby ensuring another installment, but you’re also potentially grounding the storytelling into something more accessible,” writes Neil Turitz.
“Whatever del Toro decides to do next — be it the live-action version of Pinocchio, a remake of either Fantastic Voyage, The Haunted Mansion or the little-seen 1947 noir thriller Nightmare Alley, or something else entirely, he has earned my blind faith after The Shape of Water,” writes Neil Turitz. 
“Sure, awards season is a horrible slog and the Oscars always last longer than they should, but honestly, I can’t help myself. I’m like the Grinch who has a heart two sizes too small at the beginning of the show, but by the time Best Picture has been handed out, it has grown three full sizes,” writes Neil Turitz.
“Paramount made the Heathers pilot available to critics online after the Parkland shooting two weeks ago. Early reviews were not kind, to say the least, so when Paramount made the announcement about delaying the premiere, it raised more than a few eyebrows,” writes Neil Turitz.
It would be great if the Moonlight team comes out to bask in the triumphant moment they were robbed of last year and give a proper acceptance speech before handing out Best Picture to their successor,” writes Neil Turitz.
The sad truth is, this town is full of predators eager to prey on your dreams, knowing full well how many people will do anything for a job in showbiz. For Harvey Weinstein and those like him, that meant sex in exchange. For others, like this cowardly scammer, that means money. Just know that you don’t need to give up either for a job,” writes Neil Turitz.
“It makes sense for Boyle to take the reins of James Bond down the line, as his skill set would be perfect for that eventual transition. But stepping in to bring this particular Bond’s run to a close? Sorry, but that really doesn’t,” writes Neil Turitz.
A movie about a superhero could end up leading to enormous change in this country, and by extension the world, simply because it empowers people to get involved, many of whom have felt disenfranchised that their voice, and their vote, doesn’t really count,” writes Neil Turitz.
“You have to wonder if these Netflix numbers are, in a sense, an effort by Nielsen to justify its own continued existence. All the way back to 1950, the Nielsen company has tracked TV viewership, and has become synonymous with the medium. But as that medium changes, the company has struggled to keep up,” writes Neil Turitz.
“If we’re using Jodie Foster’s metaphor, and Black Panther is part of the theme park that Hollywood has become, then it’s one of the best rides — the kind that leaves you wanting more,” writes Neil Turitz.
“It’s not the most ridiculous idea that Sony would go looking for more comic book IP, but the way it’s going about it is what feels so misguided, and until someone explains to me the value of an IP that has no popular recognition, I will continue to be baffled,” writes Neil Turitz.
With a clever marketing campaign that perhaps distributed DNA and paternity tests to people, thus getting them talking and maybe even laughing, the studio behind Father Figures might’ve had a conversation starter on its hands, rather than an underwhelming movie,” writes Neil Turitz.
“According to the [Jean-Pierre Jeunet], Guillermo Del Toro’s brilliant tour de force that is The Shape of Water — my favorite film this year and, it would appear, the prime Oscar frontrunner — contains a blatant rip-off of Jeunet’s work, and it’s all trés scandaleux,” writes Neil Turitz. 
The true story of the B-17 Bomber known as “Old 666” and her crew, the “Eager Beavers.” On June 16th, 1943, over the Solomon Sea in the South Pacific, they engaged in what is still the longest sustained dogfight in the annals of the U.S. Air Force, and became the most highly decorated flight crew in American history.
Between his fatherly roles on Frasier and in Say Anything…, the beloved character actor was a true heavyweight even though he never played one himself, writes Neil Turitz.
“It also was that rare moment when Netflix actually spent some serious money to push one of its movies, which might just suggest a change in thinking for the streaming service. That being the spending of money to do any marketing at all,” writes Neil Turitz.
“DMG boss Dan Mintz has no interest in comic book publishing. He sees it as a sort of ghetto art, and is focused solely on turning the company into an output factory for the big and small screens, rather than focusing on the publishing entity that gave the company its value in the first place,” writes Neil Turitz. 
“It’s almost subversive, the way that the Akils and fellow EP Greg Berlanti have so deftly disguised such a hard-hitting and political series as a mere superhero piece, utilizing the conventions of the genre to progress a much more powerful message,” writes Neil Turitz.
“I’ve spoken to a few people who don’t believe that Maria Contreras-Sweet and her team will be able to pull it off, but the industry will be behind her, as there’s nothing that Hollywood loves more than a happy ending,” writes Neil Turitz.
“An industry that is struggling to survive needs to start embracing multiculturalism the way it’s now attempting to embrace gender equality,” writes Neil Turitz.
“I am all for the #MeToo movement, and firmly believe that it’s long overdue, but when the awards that are supposed to be about the films and the artists who make them instead become about other things entirely, then we’re losing something in the process,” writes Neil Turitz.
“The three big companies being bandied about are the reconstituted CBS-Viacom, Verizon, and Amazon. Each has its pros and cons, but to me, only one of them is truly the right fit. So let’s take a look at each and examine why they are or are not Cinderella’s slipper,” writes Neil Turitz.
“Selling a cinematic property to a buyer who has no chance of recouping an investment. These kinds of things happen all day every day here, and this is just the most obvious and blatant one this week,” writes Neil Turitz.
“Life would be just a wee bit better if these shows found a home at a streaming service that isn’t too enamored with the future of content to forget about the classics of the past,” writes Neil Turitz.
“The longer Apple waits to reveal the specifics of its distribution plan, the more the company risks getting the short end of the stick from both the creative community, and audiences who will have already committed their annual entertainment budget elsewhere,” writes Neil Turitz.
“I’ve seen an alarming number of complaints from paid subscribers who either did not receive their cards in a timely fashion, or received inoperable cards. MoviePass also has an issue with customer service, in that it appears to be basically nonexistent,” writes Neil Turitz.